Principal Systems Engineer - TS/SCI with Polygraph
GDIT· Defense IT· Sep 1, 2026 · 2mo ago
Chantilly, VA
In office
Full-time
Principal
$128K–$173K
8+ years exp
Job description
Type of Requisition:
Pipeline
Clearance Level Must Currently Possess:
Top Secret SCI + Polygraph
Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain:
Top Secret SCI + Polygraph
Public Trust/Other Required:
None
Job Family:
IT Infrastructure and Operations
Job Qualifications:
Skills:
Agile Methodology, Artificial Intelligence Technologies, DevSecOps Certifications:
None Experience:
8 + years of related experience US Citizenship Required:
Yes
Job Description:
Why GDIT
Are you ready to be a part of an elite team at GDIT, working on a large-scale, pioneering National Intelligence program? This is an incredible opportunity to immerse yourself into an environment that fuses innovation, speed, and security to safeguard our Nation.
At GDIT, you ll thrive in a dynamic and collaborative setting, where your technical skills will be both challenged and expanded. This program offers the chance to engage with cutting-edge technologies and contemporary development practices in support of a vital mission. You ll play a critical role in addressing some of the most intricate security and operational challenges facing Intelligence and Homeland Security today.
Come join us and contribute to a mission that truly matters, while advancing your career alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry.
What You’ll Achieve
The Lead Systems Engineer serves as the strategic technical leader for change and innovation across a six–Task Order software-development IDIQ portfolio. Operating within the PMO, this role is responsible for rationalizing the portfolio, guiding AI insertion, driving continuous improvement, leading transitions of legacy work to new platforms, and ensuring cost, schedule, and performance objectives are met across completion-based task orders. In this role, you will:
Portfolio Strategy & Rationalization
Assess existing projects, systems, and capabilities across all six Task Orders to identify:
Redundancies and overlaps.
Gaps relative to customer mission, priorities, and emerging needs.
Recommend consolidation, decommissioning, or modernization paths to optimize the portfolio.
Align technical investments with program and sponsor mission objectives, future-state architecture, and roadmap.
AI Insertion & Technology Modernization
Evaluate where AI and advanced automation can add measurable value (e.g., software development, testing, operations, analytics).
Define AI insertion strategies and implementation roadmaps, including:
Use cases and expected outcomes.
Integration patterns with existing systems and services.
Provide technical guidance to Task Order teams to ensure AI capabilities are:
Responsibly designed and implemented.
Secure, explainable where required, and aligned with customer policies.
Ensure new AI-enabled solutions integrate effectively with the existing technical ecosystem.
Responsible for Innovation report (CDRL)
Continuous Improvement & Innovation Framework
Establish and maintain frameworks, metrics, and best practices that promote:
Increased delivery efficiency and quality.
Reduction of technical debt.
Repeatable, scalable technical patterns across Task Orders.
Facilitate cross-team collaboration (TO leads, Solution Architects, Lead Agilist, QA/Mission Assurance) to share:
Lessons learned, reusable components, and improvement ideas.
Drive adoption of modern engineering practices (e.g., DevSecOps, CI/CD, test automation, observability).
Responsible for creating and maintain all technical CDRLs.
Culture of Optimization and Customer Outcomes
Champion a culture that continually seeks to:
Optimize technical performance and delivery processes.
Enhance customer mission outcomes and user experience.
Modernize legacy components and workflows.
Partner with PMO leadership and Task Order Leads to ensure engineering decisions are tied to measurable business and mission impacts.
Legacy SOW Transition to New Target Platform
Lead the technical transition of legacy Statements of Work (SOWs) to the “new” environment (or analogous new platform/architecture).
Define the end-to-end transition approach, including:
Technical decomposition of legacy solutions.
Migration paths, dependencies, and risk mitigation strategies.
Ensure unified strategic vision and coherent architecture across all transitioning efforts.
Sponsor Collaboration & Transparent Transition Management
Collaborate closely with the sponsor and key stakeholders to:
Provide transparent visibility into transition plans, progress, and risks.
Align expectations and obtain timely feedback on architectural decisions.
Ensure transitions are executed with minimal disruption to ongoing mission operations and no negative impact to project schedules.
Prepare and present technical briefings, options analyses, and status updates to the sponsor and internal leadership.
Cost, Schedule, and Performance Oversight (Technical)
Track and synthesize cost, schedule, and technical performance metrics across all Task Orders, especially where system engineering decisions have significant impact.
Provide technical input to PMO and program leadership on:
Trade-offs between scope, cost, and schedule.
Priorities for modernization and AI insertion based on value and risk.
Support remediation plans when metrics indicate risk to completion-based commitments.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline; Master’s preferred.
TS/SCI with Polygraph
8 years related experience
3 years of experience in a fast‑paced Agile development environment
Experience leading teams with demonstrated ability to plan, organize, and implement significant strategic initiatives.
Extensive experience in systems engineering and architecture for complex software-development programs, ideally in a multi–Task Order or portfolio environment.
Demonstrated experience leading modernization, portfolio rationalization, or large-scale technical transformations.
Hands-on understanding of AI/ML–enabled solutions and integration patterns in production environments.
Strong background in Agile/SAFe and DevSecOps practices.
Proven ability to work directly with government sponsors and senior stakeholders, articulating complex technical concepts in business/mission terms.
Experience with tracking and reporting on cost, schedule, and performance metrics in coordination with PMO/Program Management.
Desired Skills and Experience
Experience building / creating PowerBI dashboards
The likely salary range for this position is $128,039 - $173,229. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possibly contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.
Scheduled Weekly Hours:
40
Travel Required:
None
T elecommuting Options:
Onsite
Work Location:
USA VA Chantilly
Additional Work Locations:
Total Rewards at GDIT:
Our benefits package for all US-based employees includes a variety of medical plan options, some with Health Savings Accounts, dental plan options, a vision plan, and a 401(k) plan offering the ability to contribute both pre and post-tax dollars up to the IRS annual limits and receive a company match. To encourage work/life balance, GDIT offers employees full flex work weeks where possible and a variety of paid time off plans, including vacation, sick and personal time, holidays, paid parental, military, bereavement and jury duty leave. To ensure our employees are able to protect their income, other offerings such as short and long-term disability benefits, life, accidental death and dismemberment, personal accident, critical illness and business travel and accident insurance are provided or available. We regularly review our Total Rewards package to ensure our offerings are competitive and reflect what our employees have told us they value most.
Our Identity Verification Process:
As part of the hiring process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification process that leverages advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence to ensure authenticity and protect against identity fraud. You are expected to be on camera during virtual interviews. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud. By proceeding, you authorize the collection, processing, and use of your biometric data for identity verification and security purposes.
About Our Work:
We are GDIT. A global technology and professional services company that delivers technology solutions and mission services to every major agency across the U.S. government, defense and intelligence community. Our 26,000 experts extract the power of technology to create immediate value and deliver solutions at the edge of innovation. We operate across 50+ countries worldwide, offering leading mission-ready capabilities in AI, cloud, cyber and software development.
Join our Talent Community to stay up to date on our career opportunities and events at gdit.com/tc .
Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans
Application prep
Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.
Keywords to mirror
agileaici/cdml
- Platform
- workday
- Effort
- long
Benefits
Benefits detected in the listing.
Dental
Vision
401(K)
Paid Time Off