Software Systems Architect - Clearance Required

This is a highly technical, collaborative, and hands-on individual contributor role. The Software Systems Architect will work directly with developers, Product Management, DevSecOps, testing, cybersecurity, and Solution Architecture to translate mission and product needs into implementable designs, reduce technical ambiguity and rework, manage architectural and technical-debt risks, and ensure architecture actively enables delivery rather than becoming an approval gate., Lead team-level solution design and translate mission, product, functional, and non-functional requirements into implementable technical designs.

• Develop and maintain the team’s architectural runway, identifying technical enablers, dependencies, constraints, and architectural work needed to support upcoming capabilities.
• Lead interface and integration design across applications, services, APIs, data sources, external systems, and shared platform capabilities.
• Define and guide implementation of non-functional requirements (NFRs), including security, performance, reliability, scalability, maintainability, observability, and testability.
• Establish and guide team technology standards, reusable architectural patterns, reference implementations, and engineering guardrails in alignment with broader Solution Architecture direction.
• Partner with the Product Owner and Solution Architect to identify, assess, and prioritize technical debt based on mission impact, delivery risk, maintainability, and architectural health.
• Create and maintain architecture diagrams, system and component models, interface definitions, architectural decision records, and other technical documentation that directly supports development and delivery.
• Work directly with developers through design sessions, whiteboarding, implementation, code and design reviews, troubleshooting, and technical mentoring to ensure architectural decisions are practical and implemented effectively.
• Collaborate with DevSecOps, testing, UX, cybersecurity, Product Management, and other stakeholders to ensure architecture supports secure CI/CD, automated testing, deployment, integration, and operational requirements.
• Identify cross-team, environment, infrastructure, integration, and external dependencies early and drive the technical coordination necessary to reduce delivery risk.
• Remain actively engaged in implementation and technical problem solving, including root-cause analysis of complex or recurring defects, integration issues, environment constraints, and architectural problems.
• Promote reusable solutions, knowledge sharing, and team self-sufficiency while reducing unnecessary complexity and reliance on tribal knowledge.

The ideal candidate combines strong architectural judgment with hands-on software engineering experience and is comfortable working directly with engineering teams through design, implementation, integration, troubleshooting, and technical problem solving., * Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent relevant experience.

• 7+ years of professional software engineering, application development, systems engineering, or technical architecture experience, including hands-on responsibility for designing and delivering production software.
• Demonstrated experience with software/application architecture and system design, including translating functional and non-functional requirements into implementable technical solutions and making architecture tradeoffs.
• Hands-on experience with cloud environments (AWS preferred) and understanding of cloud architecture, secure networking, identity and access management, service integration, and deployment considerations.
• Experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs and integrating applications, services, data sources, and external systems.
• Working knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, Git-based workflows, automation, and DevSecOps practices.
• Demonstrated ability to work directly with software developers through technical design, implementation guidance, code/design reviews, troubleshooting, and complex problem solving.
• Demonstrated ability to address non-functional requirements including security, performance, reliability, scalability, maintainability, observability, and testability.
• Strong technical communication and collaborative leadership skills, with the ability to explain architecture decisions and tradeoffs to engineering, Product Management, testing, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Experience working in Agile software delivery environments and leading team-level technical decisions while operating within broader solution or enterprise architecture guardrails.
• Active DoD Secret security clearance or ability to obtain and maintain one.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with modern UI/frontend technologies and frameworks such as Angular, including frontend-to-backend integration patterns.
• Broad technical knowledge spanning applications, cloud, infrastructure/platforms, cybersecurity, integrations, data, and delivery pipelines.
• Experience with microservices, containers, Kubernetes, Docker, or comparable modern application/platform architectures.
• Familiarity with architectural decision records, reference architectures, technology standards, reusable architectural patterns, and lightweight architecture governance.
• AWS certification (e.g., Solutions Architect or DevOps Engineer) and/or demonstrated depth in AWS architecture.
• Experience working within a SAFe Agile Release Train (ART) and supporting architectural runway, technical enablers, PI Planning, and cross-team dependency management.
• Experience supporting Army, DoD, federal, or other secure/regulated mission systems, including familiarity with ATO/RMF processes.
• Experience with ATIS, Army training systems, learning management systems (LMS), or similar enterprise mission systems is a plus.
• Additional useful experience includes UI/UX, accessibility testing, organizational change management, and demonstrated ability to rapidly learn unfamiliar technologies.

Travel Requirements

• Occasional travel required, including for PI Planning, program increment events, user engagement sessions, architecture/design workshops, and key program milestones.

The target salary range for this position is $160,000 - 185,000.

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, healthcare, and energy 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.