Systems Engineer - Platform Lead
Job Description
Platform Technical Lead / Principal Platform Engineer Location: San Diego, CAEmployment Type: HybridSecurity Clearance: Top Secret/SCI (Or with SCI Eligibility)Compensation: $135,000 - $180,000Position Status: Anticipated opportunity; contingent upon XSITE being selected to provide support and final position approval. Position Overview XSITE is seeking a Platform Technical Lead / Principal Platform Engineer to support the Navy's Tactical Networks. In this role, you will serve as the Platform Team’s senior technical authority, guiding the architecture, integration, modernization, and sustainment of TIDE platform services. TIDE is intended to replace Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES), Automated Digital Network System (ADNS), and Agile Core Services (ACS). You will lead engineering efforts that enable secure, resilient, and supportable platform services across afloat, ashore, cloud, hybrid-cloud, and tactical-edge environments, including operations with intermittent connectivity and limited bandwidth. Working with engineering leadership, product stakeholders, and multidisciplinary teams, you will translate mission requirements into practical technical designs and delivery plans.
Key Responsibilities
- Establish and maintain platform reference architectures, technical standards, engineering roadmaps, integration strategies, and lifecycle baselines.
- Provide technical direction, engineering oversight, peer review, and mentorship to engineers responsible for container platforms, DevSecOps and automation, networking and identity, and observability and site reliability.
- Lead the design and integration of Kubernetes or equivalent container platforms, application-hosting services, virtual-machine integration, and platform lifecycle capabilities.
- Guide common approaches for infrastructure as code, configuration management, CI/CD, container registries, artifact management, and secure software supply chains.
- Oversee integration of platform networking, ingress, service discovery, identity and access management, certificates, secrets, and service-to-service security.
- Establish standards for logging, metrics, tracing, alerting, availability, capacity, resilience, backup, recovery, and incident response.
- Translate operational, cybersecurity, application, and sustainment requirements into engineering work packages, interface requirements, test objectives, and acceptance criteria.
- Coordinate interfaces and dependencies across platform, hardware, cloud, tactical application, cybersecurity, test, and sustainment teams.
- Lead technical reviews, evaluate engineering alternatives, manage technical risks, and communicate recommendations and tradeoffs to leadership.
- Direct integration, verification, validation, interoperability, cybersecurity, performance, and recovery testing.
- Coordinate secure architecture, hardening, vulnerability remediation, patching, continuous monitoring, and Risk Management Framework (RMF) support with cybersecurity personnel.
- Maintain technical documentation and work with Scrum Masters to support planning, sequencing, and delivery of engineering work.
Required Qualifications
- At least 12 years of progressively responsible technical experience in platform engineering, systems engineering, cloud infrastructure, DevSecOps, software engineering, cybersecurity, network engineering, systems administration, or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary technical teams and delivering complex, secure, and resilient platforms or systems.
- Expert knowledge of Kubernetes or equivalent container platforms, including cluster architecture, workload hosting, lifecycle management, networking, storage, identity integration, runtime security, and operational support.
- Experience developing technical architectures, reference designs, implementation strategies, engineering roadmaps, interface specifications, and lifecycle plans.
- Experience integrating platform services across enterprise, tactical, maritime, cloud, hybrid-cloud, edge, or distributed environments.
- Broad knowledge of automation, infrastructure as code, configuration management, CI/CD, artifact management, and secure software supply-chain practices.
- Broad knowledge of platform networking, identity and access management, public-key infrastructure, secrets management, and role-based access control.
- Knowledge of observability and site-reliability practices, including service-level objectives, capacity planning, performance analysis, backup, recovery, and incident response.
- Knowledge of secure systems engineering, STIG implementation, vulnerability management, least-privilege design, continuous monitoring, and RMF support.
- Strong systems-engineering skills in requirements development and traceability, interface management, configuration management, verification and validation, and technical-risk management.
- Ability to produce clear technical documentation and communicate engineering decisions to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
Education and Technical Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, information technology, cybersecurity, or a related technical discipline; an associate degree with substantial additional relevant experience; or a high school diploma or equivalent with extensive, progressively responsible relevant technical experience.
- Demonstrated technical experience with container platforms, Linux or equivalent operating systems, cloud or hybrid-cloud infrastructure, systems integration, automation, cybersecurity, and technical leadership.
- If designated as a DoD cyberspace workforce position, ability to meet and maintain the applicable DoD 8140 qualifications for the assigned work role and proficiency level.
- Ability to complete and maintain cybersecurity, privileged-access, and technical training applicable to the position.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting Navy, joint, maritime, afloat, expeditionary, tactical-network, command-and-control, or mission-system programs.
- Experience with platform modernization, platform as a service, cloud-native transformation, or tactical-edge engineering.
- Experience designing platforms for disconnected, intermittent, or limited-bandwidth operations and constrained computing environments.
- Experience with GitOps, policy as code, automated compliance validation, container-image scanning, software bills of materials, and artifact provenance.
- Experience supporting RMF authorization, cybersecurity assessments, audit-evidence development, and cybersecurity testing.
- Familiarity with Navy acquisition, fielding, configuration management, sustainment, and lifecycle processes.
- Advanced technical degree or relevant certifications in Kubernetes, cloud architecture, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, systems engineering, or site reliability.
Why XSITE LLC? Best-in-Class Benefits & Work-Life Balance
- Industry-leading PTO package, starting at 15+ days annually.
- Seven (7) paid company holidays annually, including New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
- 100% employer-paid employee coverage for Medical, Dental, Vision, and Basic Life Insurance.
- Employees enrolled in our High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) are eligible for a Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contributions.
- Eligibility to participate in XSITE’s 401(k) retirement plan with up to a 6% employer match.
- Eligibility to receive tuition reimbursement of up to $5,250 per year for job-related education.
- University of San Diego education benefits, including a 10% tuition discount on select online degree programs and a 25% discount on certificate programs.
- Cell phone stipend.
- Hybrid work environment, where contract and mission requirements permit.
- Additional employee benefits offered through ADP.
Stability & Long-Term Growth
- Prime contract holder supporting long-term Department of Defense programs.
- Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture partnership with a major defense company.
- Opportunities to support complex, mission-focused engineering efforts across multiple technical domains.
- Continued organizational growth creating opportunities for employees to expand their responsibilities and technical experience.
Career Advancement
- Work alongside experienced engineers, technical leaders, and program professionals across multiple disciplines.
- Opportunities to broaden technical expertise through hands-on integration, test, modeling, analysis, and systems engineering work.
- Exposure to advanced defense technologies and mission-critical programs.
- Opportunities for increased responsibility as XSITE and its customer programs continue to grow.
- Support for professional development through job-related education, training, and continuing learning opportunities.
About XSITE LLC XSITE LLC is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business providing systems engineering, integration, modeling and simulation, software development, cybersecurity, and technical services to Department of Defense customers. Our team supports complex mission environments by combining practical engineering experience, technical innovation, and a commitment to delivering solutions that meet real-world operational needs. XSITE LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
