Systems Engineer Jobs in District of Columbia
Systems Engineer jobs in District of Columbia are concentrated in Washington D.C. and its immediate suburbs, where the federal government, defense agencies, and major contractors anchor one of the most active systems engineering markets in the country. Employers like Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, and SAIC maintain large presences here, hiring across national security, IT infrastructure, and mission-critical systems integration. Demand runs from entry-level associate engineers through senior principal roles, with specialties in cybersecurity architecture, command and control systems, and enterprise IT systems engineering consistently in high demand. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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Showing 5 of 58+ Systems Engineer jobs
LMI is a new breed of digital solutions provider dedicated to accelerating government impact with innovation and speed. Investing in technology and prototypes ahead of need, LMI brings commercial-grade platforms and mission-ready AI to federal agencies at commercial speed.
Leveraging our mission-ready technology and solutions, proven expertise in federal deployment, and strategic relationships, we enhance outcomes for the government, efficiently and effectively. With a focus on agility and collaboration, LMI serves the defense, space, homeland, healthcare, and intelligence sectors—helping agencies navigate complexity and outpace change. Headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, LMI is committed to delivering impactful results that strengthen missions and drive lasting value.
Responsibilities:LMI is seeking a skilled Systems Engineer to design, integrate, validate, and sustain enterprise IT capabilities across a network of new and existing secure facilities. The Systems Engineer will work across networking, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, applications, data, and operations to ensure that individual components function together as a secure, resilient, and supportable system. This is an execution-oriented role supporting a fast-paced, milestone-driven prototype effort with near-term deliverable commitments. Success requires systems thinking, disciplined technical analysis, effective communication, and the ability to manage requirements, interfaces, dependencies, risk, and lifecycle considerations.
Primary duties include:
- Enumerate and document the technical baseline across geographically dispersed sites, including systems, services, interfaces, dependencies, security boundaries, and classified and unclassified network enclaves.
- Translate mission and stakeholder needs into clear, measurable, testable, and traceable system requirements.
- Develop current-state, transition-state, and target-state system designs that integrate network, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, application, identity, and data capabilities.
- Define system boundaries, interfaces, data flows, assumptions, constraints, and performance requirements across engineering disciplines.
- Conduct technical analyses and trade studies addressing capability, interoperability, security, resilience, cost, schedule, risk, and lifecycle impacts.
- Develop and execute integration, verification, validation, and acceptance plans demonstrating that delivered capabilities satisfy mission and operational requirements.
- Establish and maintain system configurations, technical baselines, architecture products, interface documentation, and engineering decision records.
- Coordinate with engineering leads, operators, security personnel, and government stakeholders to identify and resolve cross-domain technical issues.
- Develop automated methods for system provisioning, integration, testing, configuration validation, monitoring, compliance assessment, and recovery to improve consistency and reduce manual effort.
FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS
- Systems engineering lifecycle principles and systems thinking.
- Requirements analysis, decomposition, allocation, and traceability.
- System architecture, integration, interfaces, and dependency management.
- Verification, validation, test planning, and acceptance criteria.
- Network, compute, storage, virtualization, cloud, identity, cybersecurity, application, and data fundamentals.
- Reliability, availability, maintainability, scalability, resilience, and continuity of operations.
- Configuration management, change control, technical baselines, and decision analysis.
- Automation, scripting, configuration management, and infrastructure-as-code concepts.
- Structured troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, technical documentation, and stakeholder communication.
Location: This position is based in the Washington, DC metro area, with travel to program locations.
Travel: This position requires approximately 25-50% travel to support activities across multiple program locations.
Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
- 8+ years of experience designing, integrating, testing, or sustaining complex enterprise IT systems, including in classified environments.
- Demonstrated experience managing system requirements, interfaces, dependencies, configurations, and technical documentation.
- Experience integrating capabilities across network, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, application, identity, or data domains.
- Experience engineering capabilities for SCIF or other accredited classified environments, including multi-enclave systems and security boundaries.
- Working knowledge of the Risk Management Framework (NIST SP 800-37 / 800-53) and experience advising senior leaders.
- Active Top Secret Clearance (SCI eligibility) required.
Nice to Have:
- Relevant systems engineering, architecture, or cybersecurity certification.
- Experience integrating cross-domain solutions (CDS) into enterprise architectures.
- Experience supporting Special Access Program (SAP) facilities, systems, or environments.
- Experience designing or standing up network or security operations centers (NOC/SOC), including 24x7 coverage models.
TS/SCI clearance and SAP eligibility are required for this position. Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. LMI will only consider applicants with current security clearances. Please note that only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.
Target salary range: $125,000 - $250,000
Disclaimer:
LMI is a new breed of digital solutions provider dedicated to accelerating government impact with innovation and speed. Investing in technology and prototypes ahead of need, LMI brings commercial-grade platforms and mission-ready AI to federal agencies at commercial speed.
Leveraging our mission-ready technology and solutions, proven expertise in federal deployment, and strategic relationships, we enhance outcomes for the government, efficiently and effectively. With a focus on agility and collaboration, LMI serves the defense, space, homeland, healthcare, and intelligence sectors—helping agencies navigate complexity and outpace change. Headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, LMI is committed to delivering impactful results that strengthen missions and drive lasting value.
Responsibilities:LMI is seeking a skilled Systems Engineer to design, integrate, validate, and sustain enterprise IT capabilities across a network of new and existing secure facilities. The Systems Engineer will work across networking, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, applications, data, and operations to ensure that individual components function together as a secure, resilient, and supportable system. This is an execution-oriented role supporting a fast-paced, milestone-driven prototype effort with near-term deliverable commitments. Success requires systems thinking, disciplined technical analysis, effective communication, and the ability to manage requirements, interfaces, dependencies, risk, and lifecycle considerations.
Primary duties include:
- Enumerate and document the technical baseline across geographically dispersed sites, including systems, services, interfaces, dependencies, security boundaries, and classified and unclassified network enclaves.
- Translate mission and stakeholder needs into clear, measurable, testable, and traceable system requirements.
- Develop current-state, transition-state, and target-state system designs that integrate network, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, application, identity, and data capabilities.
- Define system boundaries, interfaces, data flows, assumptions, constraints, and performance requirements across engineering disciplines.
- Conduct technical analyses and trade studies addressing capability, interoperability, security, resilience, cost, schedule, risk, and lifecycle impacts.
- Develop and execute integration, verification, validation, and acceptance plans demonstrating that delivered capabilities satisfy mission and operational requirements.
- Establish and maintain system configurations, technical baselines, architecture products, interface documentation, and engineering decision records.
- Coordinate with engineering leads, operators, security personnel, and government stakeholders to identify and resolve cross-domain technical issues.
- Develop automated methods for system provisioning, integration, testing, configuration validation, monitoring, compliance assessment, and recovery to improve consistency and reduce manual effort.
FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS
- Systems engineering lifecycle principles and systems thinking.
- Requirements analysis, decomposition, allocation, and traceability.
- System architecture, integration, interfaces, and dependency management.
- Verification, validation, test planning, and acceptance criteria.
- Network, compute, storage, virtualization, cloud, identity, cybersecurity, application, and data fundamentals.
- Reliability, availability, maintainability, scalability, resilience, and continuity of operations.
- Configuration management, change control, technical baselines, and decision analysis.
- Automation, scripting, configuration management, and infrastructure-as-code concepts.
- Structured troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, technical documentation, and stakeholder communication.
Location: This position is based in the Washington, DC metro area, with travel to program locations.
Travel: This position requires approximately 25-50% travel to support activities across multiple program locations.
Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
- 8+ years of experience designing, integrating, testing, or sustaining complex enterprise IT systems, including in classified environments.
- Demonstrated experience managing system requirements, interfaces, dependencies, configurations, and technical documentation.
- Experience integrating capabilities across network, infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, application, identity, or data domains.
- Experience engineering capabilities for SCIF or other accredited classified environments, including multi-enclave systems and security boundaries.
- Working knowledge of the Risk Management Framework (NIST SP 800-37 / 800-53) and experience advising senior leaders.
- Active Top Secret Clearance (SCI eligibility) required.
Nice to Have:
- Relevant systems engineering, architecture, or cybersecurity certification.
- Experience integrating cross-domain solutions (CDS) into enterprise architectures.
- Experience supporting Special Access Program (SAP) facilities, systems, or environments.
- Experience designing or standing up network or security operations centers (NOC/SOC), including 24x7 coverage models.
TS/SCI clearance and SAP eligibility are required for this position. Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. LMI will only consider applicants with current security clearances. Please note that only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.
Target salary range: $125,000 - $250,000
Disclaimer:
See All 58 Systems Engineer Jobs in District of Columbia
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Find Systems Engineer JobsSystems Engineer Jobs by City in District of Columbia
Where District of Columbia roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Systems Engineer Job Market in District of Columbia
A snapshot from current District of Columbia openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
What District of Columbia Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in systems engineer jobs across District of Columbia.
- Active DoD security clearance, typically Secret or Top Secret/SCI
- Bachelor's degree in systems engineering, electrical engineering, or related technical field
- Experience with systems integration, requirements analysis, and lifecycle management
- Proficiency with MBSE tools such as Cameo, MagicDraw, or equivalent modeling software
- Familiarity with DoD acquisition frameworks, JCIDS, or federal systems development standards
- Relevant certifications such as INCOSE CSEP or CompTIA Security+ for cleared environments
Systems Engineer Jobs in District of Columbia: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a systems engineer in District of Columbia?
Most systems engineer roles in D.C. require a bachelor's degree in systems engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a closely related field. No state-issued license is required, but the D.C. market places heavy weight on federal security clearances, which employers typically sponsor after hire. Pursuing INCOSE certification and gaining exposure to DoD or federal IT frameworks through internships or contractor roles is the most direct path into the local market.
Which companies hire systems engineers in District of Columbia?
Employers hiring systems engineers in District of Columbia right now include Peraton, VTG Defense, and Serco, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. The D.C. market is dominated by large federal contractors and defense firms that maintain long-term government program offices in the region.
Which District of Columbia cities have the most systems engineer jobs?
The cities with the most systems engineer openings in District of Columbia are Washington and Washington Navy Yard. Washington D.C. itself drives the largest volume due to the concentration of federal agencies and defense headquarters, while Northern Virginia suburbs like Arlington and McLean contribute heavily because major contractors have planted their largest offices there to stay close to the Pentagon and intelligence community.
Are there remote systems engineer jobs in District of Columbia?
Yes, but they're limited. About 80% of systems engineer openings tied to District of Columbia are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting the reality that many roles here involve classified work, government facilities access, or hands-on integration labs that require physical presence. The portions of the role most amenable to remote work are requirements documentation, modeling, and systems analysis tasks that don't touch classified networks.
How can I get hired as a systems engineer in District of Columbia with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is through a junior systems engineer or systems analyst associate role with a federal contractor, where firms like Booz Allen Hamilton and Leidos run structured new-graduate hiring programs. A bachelor's in a relevant engineering or technical discipline is typically the floor requirement. Lateral moves from adjacent roles such as IT administrator, network engineer, or technical program analyst are common. Earning CompTIA Security+ early and pursuing a clearance-eligible background gives candidates a distinct edge in this market.
Where can I find and apply to systems engineer jobs in District of Columbia?
You can find and apply to systems engineer jobs in District of Columbia on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings in the area. Search the available roles, find the ones that match your background and clearance level, and apply directly to the ones that fit.
See All 58 Systems Engineer Jobs in District of Columbia
Find roles in District of Columbia that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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