EmployeeAdministrative

Architect with Security Clearance

NALEJ CorporationArlington, VA🇺🇸United States

Why this role stands out

You'll thrive as a Software Architect designing cutting-edge, secure enterprise cloud and data platforms within a hybrid work environment, offering immense growth potential and the chance to shape AI-native development. This role is ideal for a mid-senior architect with a strong security clearance and a passion for building modular, event-driven systems in highly regulated environments, so apply today to make a significant impact.

Quick overview

SeniorityMid Senior

Employment typeEmployee

Work modeHybrid

LocationArlington, VA, United States

Job description

Software Architect - Enterprise Cloud & Data Platforms (DoW / GovCloud)
Location: Arlington, VA Clearance: Role Overview
We are seeking a highly skilled Software Architect (Individual Contributor) to design and guide the implementation of large-scale, Kubernetes-native platforms. Operating within AWS Commercial and GovCloud (IL2-IL5), you will architect enterprise-grade software systems that operate securely in highly regulated Department of War (DoW) environments. You will work in a modern, AI-Native "paved road" development environment. Our architectural philosophy emphasizes modular, event-driven, and API-first designs that enable parallel development by human engineering teams and autonomous AI agents.

Key Responsibilities
System Architecture (IC): Serve as the lead technical design authority, architecting comprehensive, modular systems deployed exclusively on Kubernetes (AWS EKS).

Balanced Full-Stack Design: Architect solutions across the entire stack, integrating high-throughput backend services (Go/Python), modern frontends, and complex data infrastructures.

Zero-Trust Security & Compliance: Architect and enforce strict DoW compliance (NIST 800-53, DoDI) using Istio (mTLS/Default Deny), Keycloak (CAC/PKI AuthZ/AuthN), and Vault for secrets management.

Data Ecosystem Strategy: Design scalable data architectures leveraging Open Table Formats (e.g., Apache Iceberg), distributed SQL (e.g., Trino), and robust event brokers (Kafka) over S3-compatible storage.

GitOps & IaC Vision: Define the declarative infrastructure strategy using tools like Crossplane, ArgoCD, and Helm, ensuring clean boundaries between open-source infrastructure and custom applications.

AI-Native Engineering: Design interface contracts (REST/gRPC/OpenAPI) and architectures that are easily consumable and maintainable by both human developers and autonomous AI coding agents.

Required Technical Expertise
Infrastructure & Cloud: Deep expertise in AWS (GovCloud) and Kubernetes (EKS). Experience with Crossplane and GitOps (ArgoCD) is highly preferred.

Software Engineering: Strong architectural experience with backend services in Go (Golang) and/or Python, adhering to strict API-first and event-driven patterns.

Data Architecture: Familiarity with modern data stack components (e.g., Iceberg, Airflow, Kafka, Postgres).

Security & IAM: Experience implementing Zero-Trust architectures utilizing Istio, Keycloak (OIDC/SAML/PKI), and robust policy engines (Kyverno).

Developer Tools: Extensive experience designing systems built within modern CI/CD ecosystems (GitLab) and remote developer workspaces (Coder, JupyterHub). Qualifications
8+ years of software engineering experience, with a minimum of 3+ years in a dedicated software architecture role.
Proven track record designing, deploying, and operating complex systems in DoW IL2, IL4, or IL5 environments.
Strong ability to operate autonomously as an Individual Contributor, producing clear architectural documentation, system diagrams, and interface contracts.
Experience architecting systems capable of "Disconnected Operations" or edge deployments is a significant plus.