Systems Engineer SME

VTG Defense; Tysons (VA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

VTG Defense is seeking a hands-on Systems Engineer (SME) with deep expertise across infrastructure, platforms, and application ecosystems spanning cloud and on‑premises environments. You will analyze current systems, document architectures, design future-state solutions, and lead end-to-end enhancements and transformations.

The ideal candidate owns complex systems from design through production, collaborates with cross-functional teams, and delivers clear technical documentation, diagrams, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a technical discipline with deep systems engineering experience.
• Minimum ten years of related systems engineering experience.
• Hands-on experience across cloud and on-prem infrastructure.
• Strong background in architecture documentation and design.
• Experience with IAM, PKI, and security hardening best practices.
• Proven ability to translate complex architectures into actionable plans.

Responsibilities

• Perform hands-on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, OS, middleware, databases, and applications.
• Analyze and document as-is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures.
• Create detailed engineering designs for modernization and transformations.
• Lead cloud and on-prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades.
• Ensure availability, scalability, security, and compliance requirements.
• Produce clear technical documentation, diagrams, and runbooks.

Skills

Enterprise networking

Storage technologies

Container platforms

Linux administration

PKI IAM

Hybrid/on-prem design

Relational/NoSQL databases

Web services & APIs

SDLC fundamentals

Event-based messaging

Infrastructure as Code

CI/CD pipelines

Security hardening

Monitoring & incident response

As-is / To-be architecture

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related

10+ years systems engineering experience

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

PowerShell

Python

Terraform

Ansible

CloudFormation

Jenkins

GitHub Actions

CI/CD tools

Job description

Overview

Byte Systems, a subsidiary of VTG, is seeking a hands-on Systems Engineer (SME) with deep expertise across infrastructure, platforms, and application ecosystems spanning cloud and on-premises environments. This role requires a proven practitioner who can analyze existing ("as is") systems and applications, document current state architectures, design future-state solutions, and implement systems enhancements or technology transformations end-to-end.

What will you do?

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

Infrastructure & Platforms

• Enterprise networking (e.g., routing, switching, firewalls, load balancers, DNS)
• Storage technologies (e.g., SAN, NAS, object storage)
• Container platforms (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker)
• Linux (Redhat, CentOS) operating systems (administration, hardening, automation)
• IdAM - Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) hands-on for AuthN and AuthZ

Cloud & On-Prem Technologies

• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, and/or GCP)
• Hybrid and on-prem infrastructure design and integration
• Cloud networking, identity, security, and cost optimization

Data & Application Platforms

• Relational and NoSQL databases - relational (e.g., Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB, Redis) databases
• Web services, APIs, and middleware
• Software development lifecycle (SDLC) fundamentals
• Event-based messaging systems (e.g., SQS, SNS, RabbitMQ)

Engineering & Automation

• Infrastructure as Code - Scripting & Automation: Python, Bash, PowerShell, Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation
• Configuration management and scripting (e.g., PowerShell, Bash, Python, etc.)
• CI/CD integration with infrastructure and platforms (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, GitOps, ArgoCD)
• Security best practices and systems hardening
• Monitoring & Incident Response: Proficiency with tools like Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, ELK Stack, CloudWatch

Architecture & Design

• Ability to create:
  • As-is architecture documentation
  • To-be architecture and detailed engineering designs
  • Implementation and migration plans

DESIRED SKILLS

• Observability and monitoring tools (e.g., logging, metrics, tracing)
• Zero Trust and modern security architectures
• Data analytics, AI/ML platform exposure
• Experience supporting production or mission-critical environments
• Relevant certifications (e.g., cloud, systems, security, or architecture)
• Knowledge of machine learning platforms (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, SageMaker)
• Familiarity with big data ecosystems (e.g., Hadoop, Databricks, Snowflake, Google BigQuery)
• Strong background in ITIL processes and agile methodologies
• Certifications: AWS Solutions Architect / DevOps Engineer, Azure Administrator, Kubernetes CKA/CKAD ITIL Foundation

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform hands-on systems engineering across network, compute, storage, operating systems, middleware, databases, and applications
• Analyze and document as-is infrastructure, platform, and application architectures
• Work with the System Architect and Cloud Architect to create the detail engineering designs for modernization, optimization, and transformation initiatives
• Lead and execute cloud and on-prem system implementations, migrations, and upgrades
• Ensure systems meet availability, scalability, performance, security, and compliance requirements
• Integrate infrastructure and platforms with DevOps and DevSecOps pipelines
• Troubleshoot complex, cross-stack issues spanning infrastructure, platforms, and applications
• Collaborate effectively with:
  • Infrastructure & Platforms Engineers
  • Software Engineers
  • DevOps / DevSecOps Engineers
  • Data Engineers (ETL)
  • Data Modelers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts
• Produce clear technical documentation, diagrams, standards, and runbooks
• Serve as a technical authority and escalation point for complex system issues
• Communication Skills:
  • Ability to brief executives clearly and translate technical issues into business impact
  • Ability to work across organizations (internal and IC) to implement complex solutions

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

• Recognized SME with deep, hands-on technical expertise
• Strong systems thinker with the ability to see and engineer across the full stack
• Comfortable operating at both strategic architecture and tactical implementation levels
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non-technical teams
• Proven ability to own complex systems from design through production

Do you have what it takes?

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical discipline, or other related technical discipline, or equivalent combination of education, technical certifications, training, and work/military experience
• Minimum ten (10) years of related systems engineering experience

PayRange: VTG's estimated starting pay range is $175,000-$230,000 annually, which is a general guideline for the geographic location. When extending an offer, VTG also considers work experience, education, skill level, market considerations and may possibly include contractual requirements which may cause an offer to fall outside of this range.