Jr Systems Engineer
Leidos · North Charleston, SC
$57,850–$104,575from the description
Jul 16, 2026
North Charleston, SC
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A junior-level systems engineering role supporting a Navy intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance processing system. Day-to-day work involves diagnosing hardware and software problems, writing technical assistance reports, and helping install and integrate systems at shore and shipboard sites — including occasional domestic and international travel. Suits candidates with foundational experience in Linux, Windows Server, VMware, and containerization who hold or can obtain a Secret clearance and relevant DoD cybersecurity certifications.
Mid level · Charleston-North Charleston, SC · Secret clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Junior, but the requirements read as Mid.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $99,624 (middle half $77,232–$127,534). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The title says 'Jr Systems Engineer' but the role requires an active Secret clearance (with ability to upgrade to TS/SCI), IAT II certification (CompTIA Security+ or equivalent), and hands-on experience across VMware, Docker, Linux, and Windows Server — a scope more consistent with a mid-level practitioner than a true junior. Seniority is assessed as Mid despite the advertised Junior framing.
A Bachelor's degree is listed under Basic Qualifications but the JD explicitly states 'additional experience, training, and/or certifications may substitute degree requirement,' so the degree requirement is set to None.
The Secret clearance is a hard gate ('currently possess an active Secret clearance'); the TS/SCI upgrade is stated as an ability requirement, not a current possession gate.
Cisco certifications (CCNA/CCNP) and the IAT II certs (CompTIA Security+) are listed as required but with a 180-day grace period to obtain them if not already held — still treated as hard gates per the Basic Qualifications section.
The role involves travel CONUS/OCONUS to shore and ship sites; it is not remote.
SOC classification is Medium confidence: the role blends systems administration/operations (15-1244) with systems engineering and integration analysis (15-1211). Day-to-day work — installing, integrating, troubleshooting hardware/software on deployed systems — leans toward 15-1244.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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