OverviewKentro is hiring for a
Endpoint Engineering Senior Systems Architect to support the
VA ESOM contract. The Senior Systems Architect will help formalize Enterprise Engineering planning across five divisions by establishing a consistent, repeatable process for evaluating, prioritizing, and integrating emerging technologies. The architect will define target-state architecture, guide investment and modernization decisions, and translate complex technical considerations into secure, scalable, and actionable recommendations for executive and engineering stakeholders.
The Endpoint Engineering Senior Systems Architect provides enterprise-level architectural leadership to help VA sustain and enhance existing endpoint technologies while evaluating new products and services that address emerging agency needs and capability gaps across its five divisions. Working closely with the VA Endpoint Engineering Director and division stakeholders, the architect assesses current capabilities, identifies improvement and modernization opportunities, and recommends the priorities, standards, and sequencing needed to maintain a secure, resilient, and sustainable endpoint ecosystem. A central responsibility is formalizing and strengthening VA's current Enterprise Engineering planning approach through a consistent, repeatable process for evaluating, prioritizing, and integrating technologies across all five divisions.
This position bridges executive decision-making and technical execution. The architect translates agency needs and capability gaps into architectural requirements, evaluates enhancements to existing technologies and proposed new capabilities, and identifies dependencies, risks, tradeoffs, and operational impacts. The architect establishes common evaluation criteria addressing mission value, security, interoperability, scalability, lifecycle supportability, resource requirements, and operational readiness. These assessments help the Director determine what to sustain, enhance, modernize, or introduce and how to sequence those efforts. The role provides an enterprise perspective across desktop and device engineering, endpoint management, mobile technology, macOS, endpoint security, application integration, virtual desktop, and enterprise printing services.
The Senior Systems Architect develops and maintains an Endpoint Modernization Roadmap and Emerging Technology Assessment grounded in stakeholder needs, current-state findings, and documented capability gaps. These deliverables guide coordinated planning across the five divisions, document recommendations and decision points, prioritize evaluations and pilots, and define the architectural and readiness considerations for transitioning approved capabilities into implementation and sustained operations. The architect works with engineering, security, and operational partners to ensure recommendations reduce operational and security risks, protect sensitive Veteran information, and support the Veteran digital experience. The ideal candidate combines deep endpoint architecture expertise with the judgment, communication skills, and credibility needed to advise senior government leaders.
Location: Remote - This position can be performed remotely within the United States and will support Eastern Time working hours.
Compensation Range: The anticipated base salary range for this position is $145,000 -$185,000 annually and reflects Kentro's good-faith expectations at the time of posting. Final compensation is determined based on the role's requirements, relevant skills, experience, education, certifications, work location, applicable security clearance requirements, market conditions, internal equity, and contract requirements.
This Job Description reflects the primary duties of the role; however, it is not intended to be all-inclusive. Team members may be asked to take on additional responsibilities in alignment with customer expectations, business needs, and Kentro's culture of collaboration and adaptability.
Responsibilities- Serve as the primary technical and strategic advisor to the VA Endpoint Engineering Director on endpoint architecture, modernization priorities, emerging technologies, investment decisions, and enterprise risk.
- Develop and maintain the Endpoint Modernization Roadmap and Emerging Technology Assessment, including an initial baseline, quarterly updates, and a comprehensive annual refresh.
- Design, implement, and continuously improve a consistent, repeatable Enterprise Engineering planning process to assess, sustain, and enhance existing technologies, while evaluating, prioritizing, and integrating emerging technologies across the five divisions.
- Facilitate cross-division planning and prioritization sessions that surface changing demands, capability gaps, enterprise dependencies, and competing priorities for Director-level decision-making.
- Monitor and assess endpoint-industry trends, products, services, and architectural patterns, and translate their potential value, limitations, risks, dependencies, and implementation implications into actionable recommendations.
- Assess existing endpoint technologies for performance, security, lifecycle status, supportability, and alignment with agency needs; recommend sustainment, enhancement, modernization, or retirement actions.
- Define current-state, transition-state, and target-state architectures for the enterprise endpoint ecosystem, with clear principles, standards, decision points, and sequencing guidance.
- Establish and govern a common evaluation framework for new capabilities, including technical feasibility, cybersecurity and privacy impacts, interoperability, scalability, accessibility, operational readiness, total cost considerations, Veteran digital experience impacts, and alignment with VA priorities.
- Advise on architecture and integration across Windows, macOS, mobile, virtual desktop, endpoint management, application packaging and delivery, enterprise printing, identity, security tooling, cloud services, and supporting infrastructure.
- Lead or facilitate architecture reviews for major initiatives, proposed solutions, pilots, and technology changes; document decisions, assumptions, risks, exceptions, and required follow-up actions.
- Recommend and shape proofs of concept and pilot efforts, including success criteria, evaluation measures, decision gates, transition-to-production requirements, and sustainment considerations.
- Assess dependencies across engineering workstreams and partner organizations, identifying conflicts, capability gaps, technical debt, and sequencing risks before they affect delivery.
- Assess endpoint architectures against applicable federal cybersecurity requirements, Zero Trust principles, NIST guidance, DISA STIGs, VA policies, enterprise architecture standards, and approved ports and protocols; identify gaps and coordinate required reviews with designated VA authorities.
- Partner with cybersecurity, infrastructure, identity, networking, cloud, application, operations, acquisition, and service-management stakeholders to ensure proposed solutions are supportable and enterprise-ready.
- Develop executive briefings, decision papers, reference architectures, technology assessments, recommendation memoranda, and other materials that enable informed leadership decisions.
- Define measurable planning outcomes and maintain traceability from identified capability gaps and technology recommendations through prioritization, pilot decisions, integration planning, and operational adoption.
- Provide architectural guidance during complex technical escalations and high-impact initiatives while maintaining focus on systemic causes, long-term remediation, and architectural consistency.
- Coach engineering leads and technical staff on architecture practices, design quality, documentation expectations, and the translation of strategic direction into executable engineering plans.
- Represent Endpoint Engineering in enterprise planning and governance forums, clearly communicating architectural positions, operational impacts, and recommended courses of action.
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
- 12 or more years of progressive experience in systems architecture, endpoint engineering, infrastructure engineering, or a closely related discipline, including at least five years in an enterprise architecture or senior technical advisory capacity.
- Demonstrated experience advising senior leaders and translating complex technical issues, risks, and tradeoffs into clear recommendations and decision-ready materials.
- Deep knowledge of enterprise endpoint architecture across Windows, macOS, mobile, virtual desktop, identity, endpoint security, application delivery, and modern management platforms such as Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Configuration Manager, and Jamf Pro.
- Experience developing current-state and target-state architectures, modernization roadmaps, reference architectures, technical standards, and technology assessments for large, complex environments.
- Experience evaluating emerging technologies and leading structured proofs of concept, pilots, architecture reviews, or product-selection efforts.
- Strong understanding of cloud and hybrid architectures, Zero Trust, automation, configuration management, lifecycle management, interoperability, resilience, and operational sustainment.
- Working knowledge of federal cybersecurity and compliance requirements, including NIST 800-series guidance, NIST 800-53, DISA STIGs, and enterprise system-hardening practices.
- Proven ability to collaborate across cybersecurity, infrastructure, networking, identity, cloud, operations, acquisition, and service-management organizations.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief engineers, program leaders, and executive stakeholders.
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound technical judgment, and provide objective recommendations in a complex, highly governed environment.
Preferred Qualifications: - Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Systems Engineering, Enterprise Architecture, or a related field.
- Experience supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs or another large federal agency.
- A minimum of 10 years experience with federal enterprise architecture, technology governance, capital planning, acquisition support, or technical review boards.
- Familiarity with ServiceNow, configuration management databases, service catalogs, asset and configuration governance, and operational reporting.
- Experience applying architecture frameworks or structured methods such as TOGAF, Department of Defense Architecture Framework, or Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework.
- Experience with endpoint analytics, AI-enabled operations, digital employee experience, automation, cloud-native management, remote monitoring, or other emerging endpoint capabilities.
- Familiarity with ITIL practices and the transition of engineered capabilities into sustainable service operations.
Preferred Certifications:- TOGAF, Certified Enterprise Architect, or a comparable architecture certification.
- CISSP, GIAC, or another advanced cybersecurity certification.
- Microsoft certifications relevant to Azure, Microsoft 365, Intune, endpoint administration, or cybersecurity.
- Jamf certification or comparable macOS management credential.
- ITIL Foundation or higher.
- CompTIA Security+ or another certification meeting applicable federal baseline requirements.
Clearance Requirement:- US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card)
- Willing and able to obtain and maintain Public Trust Clearance
- Must meet updated ID requirements: https://www.gsa.gov/technology/it-contract-vehicles-and-purchasing-programs/federal-credentialing-services/get-appointment-help/bring-required-documents
- If you do not currently meet the ID requirements outlined, you must be willing and able to update your current forms of ID in a timely manner to complete the suitability process successfully.
BenefitsWe offer competitive benefits package including paid time off, healthcare benefits, supplemental benefits, 401k
