Systems Engineer at Bowhead
Ashburn, VA
$100,000–$120,000
Jul 26, 2026
Ashburn, VA
Jul 28, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role supports 24x7 production monitoring and desktop/web application support for U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Passenger Systems Program Directorate, operating within DHS network and cloud environments. Day-to-day work centers on monitoring mission-critical applications, triaging incidents, performing root cause analysis, and reporting system health to government stakeholders. It suits an early-career IT professional comfortable with application monitoring tools and government IT operations.
Junior level · 1+ years · Bachelor's required · Full-time
Long application — this platform typically asks you to create an account and re-enter your work history.
“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 $101,310 (middle half $79,725–$129,425).
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 (6)
The posting requires a 'current and favorably adjudicated CBP suitability background investigation,' which is a federal suitability determination, not a formal DoD security clearance — no clearance level (Secret, TS, etc.) is specified or required, so the clearance requirement is set to None.
The experience requirement is stated as '1-3 years,' which places this role at the Junior level despite the 'Systems Engineer' title.
Monitoring tools are listed as examples ('i.e.: Auto Ops, App Dynamics, Splunk, etc.') within the required qualifications section; AppDynamics is used as the primary named tool with AutoOps and Splunk as named alternatives. Splunk is also listed separately as a preferred/nice-to-have given its broader standalone use.
No work location or metro area is specified in the posting; the CBP/DHS context suggests a Washington, DC area placement is likely but cannot be confirmed from the text alone.
A Master's degree is listed as preferred, not required; the hard minimum is a Bachelor's degree.
ITIL certification is listed as preferred (or willingness to obtain within the first year); ITIL experience itself is listed as a hard requirement.
Read the full posting
The employer publishes the full description on their own site — read it there ↗. Or sign in to read it here — it's free, and it also lets you track this application.