Sr. Systems Architect - DHS

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Geography or a related field.
• 12+ years of progressively responsible systems, software, or enterprise architecture experience, including at least eight years supporting GIS/geospatial platforms and five years leading architecture for complex enterprise or cloud solutions.
• Demonstrated architecture and engineering experience with Esri Portal/ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online, geospatial services, enterprise geodatabases, custom web applications, and AWS or comparable cloud environments.
• Strong knowledge of systems engineering, requirements, integration, verification/validation, configuration management, DevSecOps, networking, identity/access, databases, APIs, observability, backup/recovery, and lifecycle operations.
• Experience evaluating and integrating COTS/GOTS products and leading proofs of concept, alternatives analyses, technical reviews, modernization roadmaps, and architecture governance.
• Working knowledge of .NET/C#, Python, JavaScript/web technologies, Esri APIs/SDKs, REST, SQL, Git-based workflows, automated testing, and infrastructure/configuration practices.
• Ability to produce clear architecture diagrams, technical specifications, decision records, test evidence, executive briefings, SOPs, and lifecycle documentation.
• Excellent technical leadership, analytical, communication, facilitation, mentoring, and stakeholder-management skills; ability to satisfy DHS suitability, background-investigation, EOD, security, and access requirements.
• TOGAF, AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Professional, INCOSE CSEP/ESEP, Esri enterprise system design/administration certification, CISSP, or comparable credential.
• Experience supporting DHS or another federal homeland-security, public-safety, emergency-management, critical-infrastructure, defense, or intelligence mission.
• Experience with DHS enterprise architecture and SELC governance, FISMA/ATO and continuous monitoring, IPv6 transition, Section 508, privacy, and federal records requirements.
• Experience architecting highly available public/private cloud integrations, large-scale geospatial information sharing, situational-awareness platforms, and automated data pipelines

• Develop, maintain, and communicate current-state, target-state, transition, logical, physical, data, application, integration, security, and deployment architecture products for enterprise and operational geospatial capabilities.
• Assess geospatial business objectives and existing environments; perform gap analyses; identify business and technical requirements; evaluate alternatives, technical trends, constraints, costs, risks, dependencies, and lifecycle impacts.
• Recommend technology standards, reference architectures, modernization roadmaps, reusable services, and practical implementation approaches aligned with DHS mission goals and enterprise architecture.
• Advise on network processing, client/server and relational database structures, storage, access, system integration, application interfaces, cloud services, and resilient network solutions
• Lead requirements analysis and management, system design, integration, verification and validation, configuration management, deployment, operations, maintenance, enhancement, and decommissioning activities.
• Establish technical baselines, interface definitions, traceability, architecture decision records, design reviews, acceptance criteria, and engineering evidence across the Systems Engineering Life Cycle (SELC).
• Identify architecture and engineering risks early; coordinate mitigations and trade studies; ensure designs support scalability, reliability, maintainability, availability, continuity, and operational suitability.
• Provide senior technical direction and mentoring to developers, engineers, administrators, analysts, testers, data specialists, and support personnel.
• Architect and integrate Esri Portal/ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online, custom applications, geospatial services, data stores, and approved COTS/GOTS components in AWS and DHS-managed environments.
• Coordinate technical dependencies with the DHS Enterprise Cloud Provider, OneNet, DHS Data Centers, commercial AWS providers, and emerging Government hosting environments.
• Design secure service interfaces and integration patterns using APIs, REST services, event/batch workflows, identity and access controls, logging, monitoring, backup, recovery, and configuration automation.
• Ensure infrastructure, application designs, operational systems, subsystems, and integrations support native IPv6 and/or dual-stack IPv6/IPv4 as required.
• Provide technical expertise designing, developing, enhancing, testing, debugging, and implementing GIS software in accordance with software-development best practices.
• Research, test, build, and coordinate conversion or integration of new COTS and GOTS products based on Government requirements.
• Research emerging geospatial, cloud, automation, analytics, and artificial-intelligence technologies; build and evaluate proof-of-concept capabilities and recommend viable enterprise or operational solutions.
• Guide architectural use of .NET/C#, Python/Jupyter notebooks, Esri APIs/SDKs, ArcGIS API for JavaScript, Experience Builder, web maps, dashboards, and automated data/application workflows
• Plan and oversee independent technical evaluation of performance and operational effectiveness, suitability, integrity, security, interoperability, and user requirements.
• Develop or review test strategies, plans, scripts, environments, results, conclusions, and corrective recommendations; ensure defects and architecture findings are traceable through resolution.
• Design for and monitor SOW performance objectives, including system reliability, availability, recovery/repair time, monthly patching, vulnerability remediation, and continuity of services.
• Support upgrades, enhancements, emergency fixes, incident/problem analysis, capacity planning, configuration/change control, and production readiness.