Computer Systems Architect - Entry Level (Maryland)

About the role

The Computer Systems Architects at NSA use commercial and government-developed hardware, software, networking, and security products to design, develop, and optimize the structure and performance of computer systems and computing platforms. Responsibilities may include:

• Modernize IT architecture through analysis of research and introducing changes based on evolving project requirements by designing, developing, and optimizing the structure and performance of computer systems and computing platforms
• Evaluate and select emerging technologies to improve system performance, scalability, reliability, and efficiency through technologies and standards and new vendor features
• Collaborate with experts in technical and application teams to identify, evaluate and recommend technical solutions to support project requirements
• Produce compliance results for established project requirements and IT architecture while ensuring systems architecture meet security, reliability, availability and regulatory compliance requirements
• Define and analyze data requirements, mapping legacy data stores and formats to logical and physical data models, review technical designs providing guidance on architectural best practices
• Propose standard ways for information transport between IT systems and stored within corporate knowledge databases
• Create technical documentation, architecture diagrams, and design specifications for stakeholders and development teams
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to engineering teams

Responsibilities

Multiple opportunities are available in the following Areas of Specialization (AOS):

• Environment Maintenance and Sustainment (EMS)
• Responsible for the maintenance and sustainment of advanced computing systems, ensuring their continuous operation and optimal performance.
• Perform routine maintenance tasks to ensure the stability and performance of advanced computing systems, staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends, technologies, and best practices related to system maintenance and sustainment.
• Work with technical teams to identify, configure, and assess system upgrades and patches, articulating and mitigating issues as needed.
• Implement system updates, patches, and enhancements to ensure the continuous operation of advanced computing systems, provide technical guidance and support to other team members and organizational units as needed, and troubleshoot and resolve system-related issues.
• Conduct routine audits and vulnerability analyses to ensure the security and integrity of advanced computing systems, integrate and configure hardware and software components to meet maintenance and performance requirements, monitor system health and status, and ensure compliance with relevant security policies, standards, and regulations.
• Enterprise IT Architecture (EIA)
• Responsible for providing robust and secure services that manage and protect the identities, credentials, and access permissions of users and systems within the NSA enterprise, while also serving the IC and DOW communities.
• Develop and implement encryption as a service and key management as a service for users across the agency and the Intelligence Community (IC).
• Manage digital rights management, and enterprise encryption libraries, ensuring continuous availability and optimal performance of these systems.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define system requirements and develop detailed technical specifications, providing technical guidance and support to other team members and organizational units as needed.
• Conduct risk assessments and vulnerability analyses to ensure the security and integrity of encryption services and key management systems.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues related to these services, develop and maintain documentation for system configurations, processes, and procedures, and ensure compliance with relevant security policies, standards, and regulations.
• Advanced Computing Systems (ACS)
• Responsible for researching and evaluating next-generation cross-domain technologies.
• Research and evaluate new tools that will shape the enterprise by identifying and configuring innovative solutions to facilitate secure data transfer across security domains.
• Support cross-domain technologies, cloud computing, and virtualization technologies.
• Conduct risk assessments and vulnerability analyses to ensure the security and integrity of cross-domain data transfers.
• Integrate hardware and software component configurations to meet security and performance requirements.
• Maintain cross-domain infrastructure, ensuring high availability and optimal performance, and ensure compliance with relevant security policies, standards, and regulations.

Qualifications

The qualifications listed are the minimum acceptable to be considered for the position. Degree must be in Computer Science (CS). Related fields (e.g., Engineering, Mathematics, Information Technology, Information Systems) may be considered relevant if the programs contain, at minimum, a concentration of courses in the following foundational CS areas: algorithms; computer architecture (not network architecture); programming methodologies and languages; data structures; logic and computation; and advanced mathematics (for example, calculus, discrete mathematics).

Relevant experience must be in the design/development of computer or information systems and include engineering hardware and/or software over their lifecycle (i.e., requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing, integration, deployment/installation, and maintenance), programming, computer systems research, reverse engineering, and/or computer/network security.

Completion of military training in a relevant area such as JCAC (Joint Cyber Analysis course) will be considered towards the relevant experience requirement (i.e., 24-week JCAC course will count as 6 months of experience).

ENTRY/DEVELOPMENTAL Entry is with a Bachelor's degree and no experience. An Associate's degree plus 2 years of relevant experience may be considered for individuals with in-depth experience that is clearly related to the position.