Chief System Engineer

The Bowen Group, a GTSC company, seeks an accomplished Chief Engineer to serve as the program's senior technical authority for enterprise IT and communications capabilities across secure facilities.

Location: Washington, DC metro area, with travel to program locations.

Security Clearance : Current Top Secret with SCI-eligibility and Special Access Programs (SAP) eligibility.

Travel: 25-50% travel to support activities across multiple program locations.

Certifications : None required.

Salary Range : $190,000-205,000

Mission

The Chief Engineer will establish the engineering vision, maintain the integrated technical baseline, and align systems, network, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, applications, data, and operations around a coherent solution. This execution-oriented leadership role supports a fast-paced, milestone-driven prototype with near-term commitments. Success requires broad technical credibility, disciplined governance, executive communication, and balanced judgment across mission, security, resilience, cost, schedule, and lifecycle risk.

Qualifications Required:

• 12+ years of progressive experience designing, integrating, modernizing, or sustaining complex enterprise IT, including classified environments.
• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering organizations or major initiatives across dispersed locations.
• Broad technical knowledge across enterprise architecture, systems, networking, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, applications, and operations.
• Experience leading architecture reviews, trade studies, risk assessments, integration, and major engineering decisions.
• Experience engineering capabilities for SCIF or other accredited classified environments, including multi-enclave systems and security boundaries.
• Working knowledge of the Risk Management Framework (NIST SP 800-37 / 800-53) and experience advising senior leaders.
• Active Top Secret Clearance (SCI eligibility) required.
• Excellent communication skills both verbally and in writing. Ability to develop papers, reports, and briefings targeted to senior decision makers.

Nice to Have:

• Advanced degree or relevant senior-level systems engineering, architecture, program management, or cybersecurity certification.
• Experience integrating cross-domain solutions (CDS) into enterprise architectures.
• Experience supporting Special Access Program (SAP) facilities, systems, or environments.
• Experience designing or standing up network or security operations centers (NOC/SOC), including 24x7 coverage models.

Primary duties include:

• Establish the program's technical vision, engineering strategy, priorities, architecture, standards, and modernization roadmap.
• Serve as the principal technical advisor to the Program Manager, government sponsors, executive leadership, and engineering teams.
• Own the integrated technical baseline across systems, network, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, applications, data, facilities, and operations.
• Lead architecture reviews, design reviews, readiness reviews, technical interchange meetings, and engineering working groups.
• Manage technical risks, architecture gaps, interface challenges, conflicting requirements, technical debt, and lifecycle concerns.
• Direct trade studies addressing assumptions, alternatives, cost, schedule, security, risk, and operational consequences.
• Ensure mission requirements remain traceable through architecture, implementation, integration, verification, validation, transition, acceptance, and operations.
• Resolve cross-domain conflicts and communicate major decisions, risks, dependencies, and recommendations to stakeholders.
• Establish an integrated automation strategy spanning engineering, cybersecurity, testing, monitoring, compliance, and operations.

FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS

• Enterprise architecture and multidisciplinary systems engineering.
• Requirements, interfaces, integration, verification, validation, and lifecycle management.
• Networking, infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, applications, identity, data, and operations.
• Technical governance, configuration management, change control, and decision management.
• Reliability, availability, resilience, scalability, maintainability, and operational supportability.
• Security architecture, zero-trust principles, risk management, and defense in depth.
• Automation, observability, infrastructure as code, configuration management, and modern engineering practices.
• Technical risk analysis, trade studies, investment prioritization, and lifecycle cost.
• Executive communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, mentoring, and multidisciplinary technical leadership.

Current Top Secret clearance with SCI-eligibility and SAP-eligibility are required for this position . Only applicants with a current security clearance will be considered. Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

Special Access Program (SAP) Eligibility: Candidates must successfully complete security screening related to foreign contacts, foreign interests, foreign travel, personal conduct, and financial responsibility as part of the SAP access determination process.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package for Full-time Employees to include the following:

• Health, dental, vision insurance.
• Generous paid vacation and holiday leave.
• Flexible Spending Account (medical and dependent).
• 401(k) with employer match.
• Life insurance.
• Short-term and long-term disability.
• Tuition assistance and professional development opportunities.

The Bowen Group is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to recruiting, hiring, and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, regardless of sex; race; color; creed; national origin; religion; age; marital status; pregnancy; physical, mental or sensory disability; sexual orientation; gender identity or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant.