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
MissionThe 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.
BenefitsWe 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.