Systems Engineer Junior to Senior LEVELS
General Dynamics Information Technology · Denver, CO
$83,927–$113,549from the description
Jul 16, 2026
Denver, CO
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior-level architecture role supporting a U.S. government nuclear security agency, focused on designing and guiding enterprise and cloud infrastructure solutions. Day-to-day work centers on DNS architecture, Azure and AWS cloud migrations, on-premises infrastructure (including VMware, VDI, and Linux environments), and stakeholder-facing technical guidance. The role also involves mentoring less-experienced staff and may include team or task lead responsibilities. An active Top Secret or Q-level clearance is required.
Senior level · 20+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Top Secret clearance · Full-time
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
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $160,085 (middle half $128,934–$179,584). 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 (9)
The title is 'Systems Architect' with no seniority modifier, so the title states no level. However, the 20+ years requirement and scope (enterprise/cloud architecture for a federal agency) clearly support a Senior classification — the role does not meet Staff/Principal criteria as it lacks explicit org-wide or cross-program authority.
SOC classification is a genuine judgment call: the role is primarily enterprise/cloud architecture design (15-1299 is used here as the closest fit for an Architect role that spans infrastructure, cloud, and systems design without mapping cleanly to a single narrower code). 15-1211 Computer Systems Analysts is a reasonable runner-up given the requirements-elicitation and stakeholder-advisory duties.
Clearance: the JD requires an 'Active TS or Q-level clearance' as a hard gate. Q clearance is a DOE equivalent to TS; this is mapped to TopSecret. A current or previous Q clearance is separately listed under Nice to Have, which refers to the DOE-specific variant.
Degree: the JD states 'BA/BS and 20+ years… or equivalent combination of education and experience.' Because equivalent experience is explicitly accepted in lieu of a degree, the degree requirement is set to None.
Infoblox is listed under required technical skills with the qualifier 'or similar platforms'; alternatives are not named, so well-known DNS/IPAM peers would apply, but the JD names only Infoblox — it is treated as a hard gate on that capability category.
VDI and Azure Virtual Desktop are listed as separate items under on-premises infrastructure in the required section; both are retained as distinct skills.
The salary range ($83,927–$113,549/year) is described explicitly as not a guarantee and subject to adjustment; it is reported as stated.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): Azure Solutions Architect Expert.
Requires a Top 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.
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