The role
Description
Senior Systems Engineer
Location: San Diego, CA
Hybrid; on-site as required at Government facility
Salary $175K-195K
Clearance: Active Secret required; Top Secret eligibility preferred
Position Overview
ActioNet is seeking an experienced Senior Systems Engineer to design, build, and validate the compute, storage, and network foundation of a Navy tactical systems integration testbed under a phased modernization and prototype effort.
The Senior Systems Engineer owns the infrastructure layer across two capability areas: technical and integration support for the testbed environment, and AI-ready infrastructure and systems modernization. The position carries a design from current-state assessment through architecture, pilot build, performance validation, and scale-out roadmap, with Government decision points at defined milestones.
This is a hands-on prototype role. A dedicated C4I/Tactical Data Link subject matter expert and an AI compute specialist support the effort; this position supplies the environment they operate in and the interfaces they build against.
Key Responsibilities
Assessment and Baseline
• Assess the existing testbed environment, including virtualization, storage area networks, enterprise network architecture, cyber posture, and integration constraints across legacy virtual and physical systems.
• Conduct the infrastructure current-state review across compute, storage, virtualization, data, and edge environments to define the pilot baseline.
• Identify candidate systems, interfaces, and modernization priorities, and rank them by integration risk.
• Document interface assumptions, dependencies, and Government-furnished infrastructure requirements.
Architecture and Design
• Own the transport, network, and storage layers of the integration architecture, translating protocol and data-flow requirements into network design, interface specifications, and throughput budgets.
• Design hyperconverged infrastructure environments, secure hybrid cloud edge nodes, and high-performance storage optimized for data throughput.
• Size and lay out the network and storage fabric supporting GPU-dense compute against defined workload profiles.
• Incorporate segmentation, identity and access, and secure configuration into the design from the outset, aligned to Impact Level 5 requirements and Zero Trust principles.
Pilot Build and Integration
• Drive component selection and the pilot bill of materials, including hardware, software, and licensing assumptions, configuration dependencies, lead times, and cost drivers.
• Stand up, cable, configure, and integrate the pilot environment within approved scope.
• Execute the network and infrastructure portion of the integration prototype and validate interoperability with existing testbed systems or protocols.
• Resolve integration defects across vendor boundaries and coordinate original equipment manufacturer support where required.
Validation and Roadmap• Establish throughput, latency, and input/output performance baselines and validate the pilot against defined AI/ML workload benchmarks.
• Build automated test and validation where feasible and document constraints where automation is not practical.
• Assess scalability, operational fit, and readiness for follow-on expansion.
• Author the infrastructure sections of the scale-out roadmap and follow-on Rough Order of Magnitude estimate, including hardware quantities, licensing, and sustainment considerations.
Program Support
• Support Initial Design Review, interim progress demonstrations, and prototype demonstrations to the Government customer.
• Produce engineering documentation to Government standards and maintain technical interface and dependency risks in the program risk register.
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 8+ years of infrastructure, systems, or network engineering experience, including 3+ years leading technical design on DoW or federal programs.
• Demonstrated depth in at least two of the following, and working competence in the third: enterprise networking; virtualization and hyperconverged infrastructure; storage architecture and performance tuning.
• Demonstrated record taking an infrastructure design from current-state assessment through build, test, and customer acceptance.
• Working experience with DoW cybersecurity compliance in practice, including Security Technical Implementation Guides, eMASS, Risk Management Framework artifacts, or Authority to Operate support.
• Experience producing engineering documentation that others build against, including interface specifications, design packages, and test procedures.
• Experience coordinating original equipment manufacturers or technology partners during integration.
• Active Secret clearance.
• Ability to work a hybrid schedule, with on-site support at a Government facility in San Diego, CA, as required.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with GPU-dense or AI/ML workload infrastructure, or with tuning network and storage for high-throughput workloads.
• Exposure to Tactical Data Links, C4I/JADC2, or Integrated Air and Missile Defense environments.
• NAVWAR or Naval Information Warfare Center program experience, including NAVWAR Systems Engineering Process, System Installation Planning and Handling, Department of Defense Architecture Framework artifacts, or System Operational Verification Testing.
• Lab-as-a-Service, Model-Based Systems Engineering, or automated environment provisioning experience.
• Infrastructure-as-code or configuration management tooling, such as Terraform or Ansible.
• Prototype, Other Transaction Authority, or other milestone-gated delivery experience with Government decision points.
• Top Secret eligibility or an active Top Secret clearance.
Desired Certifications
• Security+, required for DoW 8570 IAT Level II compliance
• CCNP or CCIE
• VMware VCP or VCAP, or Nutanix NCP
• Storage vendor certification (NetApp, Pure Storage, Dell EMC)
• CISSP, preferred but not required
Key Competencies
• Infrastructure design • Systems integration
• Network architecture • Storage performance tuning
• Virtualization and HCI • Test and validation
• Technical documentation • Vendor and OEM coordination
• Problem isolation • Customer briefing
What Makes a Successful Candidate?
The ideal candidate is a hands-on infrastructure engineer who works comfortably across the network, compute, and storage layers rather than owning one of them. The candidate assesses environments they did not build, produces documentation others can execute against, defends technical decisions to a Government customer at milestone reviews, and delivers a working pilot under a compressed prototype schedule.
ActioNet is a CMMI-DEV Level 4, CMMI-SVC Level 4, ISO 20000, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, HDI-certified, woman-owned IT Solutions Provider with strong qualifications and expertise in Agile Software Engineering, Cloud Solutions, Cyber Security and IT Managed Services. With 26+ years of stellar past performance, ActioNet is the premier Trusted Innogrator!
Core Capabilities:
Advanced and Managed IT Services
Agile Software Development
DevSecOps
Cybersecurity
Health IT
C4ISR & SIGINT
Data Center Engineering & Operations
Engineering & Installation
Why ActioNet?
At ActioNet, our Passion for Quality is at the heart of everything we do:
Commitment to Employees: We are committed to making ActioNet a great place to work and continue to invest in our ActioNeters.
Commitment to Customers: We are committed to our customers by driving and sustaining Service Delivery Excellence.
Commitment to Community: We are committed to giving back to our community, helping others, and making the world a better place for our next generation.
ActioNet is proud to be named a Top Workplace for the thirteen year in a row (2014 - 2026). We have a 98% customer retention rate. We are passionate about the inspirational missions of our customers, and we entrust our employees and teams to deliver exceptional performance to enable the safety, security, health, and well-being of our nation.
What's in It For You?
As an ActioNeter, you get to be part of an exceptional team and a corporate culture that nurtures mutual success for our customers, employees, and communities. We give you the tools to be successful; all you need to do is bring your best ideas, your energy, and a desire to develop your skills, experience, and career. Are you ready to make a difference?
ActioNet is an equal-opportunity employer and values inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
Full-Time Employees are eligible to participate in our ActioNet’s Benefits Program:
Medical Insurance
Vision Insurance
Dental Insurance
Life and AD&D Insurance
401(k) Savings Plan
Education and Professional Training
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
Employee Referral and Merit Recognition Programs
Employee Assistance and Identity Theft Protection
Paid Holidays: 11 per year
Paid Time Off (PTO)
Disability Insurance
ActioNet is an equal opportunity employer and value inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
********Direct Applicants, only. No Agencies, No third-party recruiters, please********