Senior Systems Engineer - Team Lead

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer - Team Lead to support a company providing secure, high-assurance IT services for Department of Defense missions. This position is onsite in San Diego, CA . This is a contract-to-hire opportunity supporting a classified IL6 cloud modernization effort enabling mission-critical DoD operations.

The Senior Systems Engineer - Team Lead will design, secure, and sustain Windows infrastructure operating within IL6 cloud environments while providing day-to-day technical leadership to the engineering team. This role supports highly regulated DoD environments requiring strict cybersecurity and automation-first engineering standards.

Responsibilities for the Senior Systems Engineer include:

• Engineer, secure, and sustain Windows Server environments within IL6 cloud architectures (Azure Government Secret, AWS GovCloud Secret).

• Implement automation-first infrastructure using PowerShell, scripting, and Infrastructure-as-Code (e.g., Terraform, ARM, Ansible).

• Harden systems in compliance with DISA STIGs, RMF controls, and DoD cybersecurity policy; support vulnerability and patch automation.

• Integrate Windows systems into DevSecOps, CI/CD pipelines, GitOps workflows, and containerized platform services.

• Troubleshoot and optimize mission infrastructure across compute, storage, identity, networking, and cloud layers.

• Serve as the day-to-day technical lead for the government customer-assign tasks, track delivery, coordinate engineering activities, and escalate risks.

• Ensure high availability, backup integrity, and continuity for mission-critical classified systems.

Required Qualifications for the Senior Systems Engineer include:

• 10+ years of relevant systems engineering experience

• Experience operating in DoD cybersecurity frameworks (RMF, STIG compliance)

• Expertise integrating Windows infrastructure into DevOps/DevSecOps automation workflows

• Strong scripting ability (PowerShell required; Python or Bash a plus)

• Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams in customer-facing DoD environments

• Certifications (IAT II - one required): Security+, CySA+, CCNA Security, GICSP, GSEC, or SSCP

• Active Secret clearance (ability to support IL6 classified environment)

Preferred Experience for the Senior Systems Engineer include:

• Kubernetes or OpenShift exposure

• Experience supporting restricted classified environments

• Infrastructure-as-Code tooling (Terraform, ARM, Ansible, etc.)

• Container security and hardened image pipelines

• Microsoft cloud certifications (Azure Government focus)

• Advanced cloud cybersecurity certifications

Compensation for the Senior Systems Engineer:

• Salary Range: $190,000-$200,000

• Full Benefits Package:

PTO, Paid Holidays, Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, Tuition Reimbursement, Paid Maternity Leave, Military Reserve Pay Offset, Cigna Medical/Dental/Vision, Sick Leave as required by law, Holidays

#LI-SA1 #LI-ONSITE

Keywords:

Windows Server, IL6 Cloud, DevSecOps, Azure Government Secret, AWS GovCloud Secret, DISA STIG, RMF, DoD Cybersecurity, PowerShell, Terraform, Ansible, CI/CD, GitOps, Kubernetes, OpenShift, Classified IT, Vulnerability Management, Cloud Hardening, Secret Clearance, DoD IT, Mission Systems, San Diego CA, Systems Engineering Lead, GovCloud,