Senior Systems Engineer

Job Title: Senior Systems Engineer

Job Category: Information Technology

Time Type: Full time

Minimum Clearance Required to Start: None

Employee Type: Regular

Percentage of Travel Required: Up to 10%

Type of Travel: Local

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The Opportunity:

FEMA's technology modernization decisions will shape emergency management capabilities for the next decade—determining which systems are positioned to leverage cloud, AI, and modern architecture patterns, and which require fundamental transformation. As a Senior System Engineer on our FEMA ITSA program, you will provide expert-level technical leadership across the entire portfolio assessment, translating complex architectural realities into actionable modernization strategies that balance risk, cost, mission impact, and technical feasibility.

You'll conduct deep-dive architectural reviews spanning application design, hosting patterns, data architecture, integration maturity, API readiness, and cybersecurity posture. Your analysis will cut through complexity to identify the optimal modernization pathway for each system—whether retain, rehost, replatform, reengineer, replace, consolidate, or retire—with clear, evidence-based rationale that connects technical decisions to mission outcomes and financial implications. This role places you at the strategic center of FEMA's technology future, where your architectural expertise will directly inform enterprise investment decisions, cloud migration priorities, integration strategy, and portfolio rationalization. You'll build defensible modernization roadmaps that executives can confidently act upon, knowing the recommendations are grounded in rigorous technical analysis and aligned to federal compliance frameworks.

Responsibilities:

Application & System Architecture Assessment:

• •Analyze application and system architectures including platform dependencies, middleware components, configuration management practices, and deployment patterns
• •Evaluate monolithic vs. microservices architectures and assess decomposition opportunities
• •Review development frameworks, technology stacks, programming languages, and technical debt accumulation
• •Assess containerization readiness, cloud-native architecture potential, and modernization feasibility
• •Document architectural constraints, tightly coupled dependencies, and technical barriers to modernization
• •Identify legacy technology risks including unsupported platforms, vendor lock-in, and obsolescence challenges

Data Architecture & Analytics Readiness:

• •Assess data architecture including conceptual, logical, and physical data models
• •Review data dictionaries, metadata management practices, and data governance maturity
• •Evaluate data lineage, data flows, and upstream/downstream data dependencies
• •Analyze data accessibility, quality, completeness, and fitness for analytics and AI/ML applications
• •Identify data consolidation opportunities, master data management needs, and data standardization gaps
• •Assess data residency requirements, privacy controls, and sensitive data handling practices

Cybersecurity Posture & Compliance Assessment:

• •Contribute to comprehensive cybersecurity posture reviews including Authority to Operate (ATO) status and RMF package currency
• •Assess NIST SP 800-53 security control implementation across control families
• •Evaluate Identity and Access Management (IAM) architecture, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enforcement, and privileged access management
• •Review logging, monitoring, and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) integration maturity
• •Identify legacy technology security risks including unsupported operating systems, unpatched vulnerabilities, and compensating controls
• •Assess alignment with DHS cybersecurity policies, zero-trust principles, and continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM)

AI/Automation Readiness & Emerging Technology Evaluation:

• •Evaluate AI and automation readiness including data quality, volume, and structure suitable for machine learning
• •Assess data governance frameworks necessary to support responsible AI adoption
• •Analyze technical feasibility of AI/automation use cases aligned to mission value propositions
• •Identify risks, oversight requirements, and ethical considerations for AI implementation
• •Recommend opportunities to leverage Robotic Process Automation (RPA), intelligent document processing, or predictive analytics

Modernization Pathway Analysis & Strategy Development:

• •Develop detailed modernization options across the full spectrum: retain, rehost (lift-and-shift), replatform, reengineer (refactor), replace, consolidate, or retire
• •Quantify modernization complexity including technical effort, duration, team size, and skill requirements
• •Outline cost implications including migration costs, licensing changes, hosting model shifts, and total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis
• •Document transition risks, technical dependencies, sequencing constraints, and rollback strategies
• •Identify opportunities for phased migration, strangler pattern adoption, or incremental modernization approaches
• •Trace evidence through findings to recommendations, ensuring defensible, auditable decision rationale

Qualifications:

Required:

• •Bachelor's degree and 15+ years of enterprise systems engineering and solution architecture experience across hybrid cloud and on-premises environments
• •Proven expertise in integration architecture, API design and governance, data architecture, and security engineering
• •Demonstrated ability assessing complex federal IT portfolios and developing modernization strategies
• •Deep hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or hybrid multi-cloud) including cloud migration patterns and cloud-native architecture
• •Strong analytical skills with the ability to evaluate technical trade-offs, quantify complexity, and assess cost implications
• •Ability to write clear, compelling engineering narratives for both executive and technical audiences
• •Experience translating architectural findings into actionable recommendations with defensible rationale
• •Ability to obtain DHS Entry on Duty (EOD) clearance

Compliance & Framework Expertise:

• •Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) and federal security frameworks
• •OMB Circulars: A-130 (Information Security/Privacy), A-11 (Budget/Capital Planning), A-123 (Management Accountability & Internal Controls)
• •NIST SP 800-53 (Security and Privacy Controls), NIST SP 800-37 (Risk Management Framework)
• •Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and DHS 4300A Sensitive Systems Policy
• •Privacy Act, E-Government Act, and Federal Records Act requirements
• •Section 508 Accessibility Standards and accessible technology design principles
• •FedRAMP authorization processes and cloud security requirements (as applicable)
• •DHS MD 11042.1 (For Official Use Only/Controlled Unclassified Information handling)

Desired:

• •Direct experience with DHS enterprise architecture frameworks, reference architectures, and technical standards
• •FedRAMP authorization experience including security assessment, continuous monitoring, and RMF package development
• •Prior experience modernizing legacy, highly coupled, monolithic systems within federal government portfolios
• •Hands-on experience with digital transformation initiatives including cloud migration, application modernization, and data platform consolidation
• •TOGAF, Zachman, or federal enterprise architecture framework certification
• •Cloud architecture certifications (AWS Solutions Architect Professional, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or equivalent)
• •Experience with DevSecOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code
• •Familiarity with FEMA mission systems, emergency management operations, or disaster response technology
• •Background in agile architecture, evolutionary design, and incremental modernization approaches
• •Knowledge of emerging technologies including AI/ML platforms, containerization (D