GovCIO is seeking a Journeyman Systems Engineer to support a critical government computer system for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Software Yard – Capability Development Branch. This role is primarily responsible for applying consistent engineering approaches, executing software modernization tasks, and resolving technical debt for Product Teams developing applications on assigned technology platforms. This position will be located in Kearneysville, WV, and will be a hybrid position.

As a Journeyman Systems Engineer, you will serve as a core technical resource for supporting continuous software delivery, modernization, and long-term sustainability across the Software Yard. You will work within a vendor-heavy environment to translate mission needs into delivered capabilities with speed and quality. Key responsibilities include:

• Apply consistent engineering approaches and technical standards to the development, modernization, and maintenance of platform applications.
• Support continuous software delivery pipelines and assist with disciplined release train management across assigned technology platforms.
• Execute engineering tasks focused on application refactoring, code modernization, and technical debt reduction to prevent brittle systems.
• Troubleshoot, isolate, and resolve software bugs, performance bottlenecks, and system configuration issues to ensure high availability.
• Implement performance tuning and configuration management updates to ensure applications scale efficiently at the pace of mission demands.
• Ensure all engineering implementations and automated deployments comply with federal security standards, government baselines, and DISA STIGs.
• Collaborate with development teams, product owners, and government technical leadership to ensure software remains secure, maintainable, and adaptable over time.
• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for system configurations, engineering frameworks, processes, and standard operating procedures.

High School with 6 - 9 years (or commensurate experience)

Required Skills & Experience 

• DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification (Security+ CE, CySA+, CCNA Security).
• Systems engineering experience supporting software applications, systems infrastructure, or deployment pipelines.
• Proven experience participating in application modernization efforts, refactoring projects, or technical debt remediation.
• Comprehensive operational understanding of the systems development lifecycle (SDLC) and modern continuous integration / continuous delivery (CI/CD) environments.
• Strong experience diagnosing software bugs, executing performance tuning, and maintaining system baseline configurations.
• Proficiency using enterprise tools (such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or ServiceNow) to track engineering tasks, backlog items, and resolution activities.
• Strong foundational understanding of diverse IT domains including virtualization, operating systems (Linux/Windows), enterprise storage, and IP networking. 

Clearance Required: Active Secret Clearance 

Preferred Skills & Experience 

• Experience supporting U.S. Coast Guard, Software Yard, or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs.
• Familiarity with PEO C5I enterprise frameworks, configuration management baselines, or command structures.
• Relevant technical certifications preferred (e.g., CompTIA Linux+, Microsoft Certified, AWS/Azure Associate, or entry-level Red Hat or VMware credentials).
• Understanding of containerization concepts (Docker, Kubernetes) and managing containerized application workloads.
• Familiarity with infrastructure as code (IaC) concepts or basic scripting (e.g., Bash, PowerShell, or Python) to automate engineering tasks.