Senior Systems Engineer - Security & Data Engineering

Fusion Innovation is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to design, secure, and improve cloud and data solutions supporting critical intelligence missions. This position combines information systems security engineering with hands-on data engineering, helping mission teams move from complex technical requirements to secure, reliable systems and usable data. You will lead security engineering activities throughout the system lifecycle while developing data pipelines, supporting advanced analytics, and building graph database solutions. Working alongside engineers, developers, and mission partners, you will embed security into system designs and data workflows, support system authorization, and address the technical challenges of operating in classified environments. The ideal candidate brings strong ISSE experience, practical data engineering skills, and the ability to explain technical decisions clearly to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities Lead information systems security engineering activities across the system lifecycle, including security architecture, control selection and implementation, and compliance with NIST and customer-specific requirements.

Develop and maintain assessment and authorization (A&A) and Authority to Operate (ATO) documentation, including System Security Plans (SSPs), Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms), test procedures, and supporting evidence.

Perform security scans and vulnerability assessments, coordinate patches and updates, and support remediation across cloud and on-premises systems.

Incorporate security requirements into system architectures, data flows, extract, transform, and load (ETL) pipelines, and operational workflows.

Partner with engineering and mission teams to address authorization requirements, classification constraints, and operational risks.

Maintain continuous monitoring documentation and evidence supporting ongoing system security.

Data Engineering and Analytics Design, develop, and optimize ETL pipelines supporting mission analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), and large language model (LLM) initiatives.

Clean, preprocess, model, analyze, and visualize medium-to-large datasets using analytical and statistical methods.

Build and optimize Neo4j graph database solutions, including schemas, relationship models, and Cypher queries.

Develop software components and data processing capabilities using Cypher, Python, Java, or JavaScript, following secure development practices.

Document datasets, queries, data flows, and software components to support maintenance and collaboration.

Systems Engineering and Technical Collaboration Evaluate requirements and conduct functional and technical analyses, risk assessments, cost estimates, schedule assessments, and technical trade studies.

Apply systems engineering principles and concepts of operations to develop secure, scalable solutions across organizational boundaries.

Support cloud and data architecture decisions within classified AWS environments.

Contribute to Agile planning, sprint activities, and continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) processes.

Communicate engineering decisions, security considerations, and analytical findings to diverse stakeholders.

Active Top Secret/SCI with Polygraph., Bachelor’s degree with at least eight years of experience.

Master’s degree with at least six years of experience.

Doctoral degree with at least three years of experience.

An additional four years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

At least two years of customer-specific experience, including experience supporting mission systems or classified programs.

Demonstrated experience designing, securing, and operating data flow solutions in classified or other high-security environments.

Strong information systems security engineering experience, including security architecture, A&A/ATO processes, vulnerability analysis, authorization documentation, and continuous monitoring.

Hands-on experience with ETL pipelines, data modeling, activity modeling, and data engineering supporting AI/ML applications.

Proficiency in at least one of the following: Cypher, Python, Java, or JavaScript.

Experience with graph database technologies.

Demonstrated ability to clean, model, and visualize medium-to-large datasets.

Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.

, Desired Skills

Expertise with Neo4j and the Cypher query language.

Experience with enterprise data strategy, data governance, data stewardship, and metadata management.

Experience developing dashboards and system visualizations.

Experience supporting AI/ML or LLM system engineering and data workflows.

Familiarity with Agile development frameworks and cloud-native design patterns.

Fusion Innovation anticipates the annual base salary for this position will generally range from $100,000 to $215,000. Actual compensation will be determined based on several factors, including, but not limited to: Relevant education, certifications, and training

Years of direct applicable experience with this work and the customer

Contract labor category requirements, skill level, contract bill rate, and hours allocation

Alignment with the position’s responsibilities

Additional specialized skills

In addition to base salary, eligible employees may be considered for discretionary bonuses and are eligible for Fusion Innovation’s comprehensive benefits package, which includes medical, dental, vision, company-sponsored retirement contributions, paid leave, professional development opportunities, and other employee benefits.

Fusion Innovation’s recent growth has earned us a top spot in the Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America and in Washington Business Journal’s Best Places to Work multiple years in a row. Our team members are passionate about their work and are empowered to contribute their unique skills and perspectives to our projects. Here at Fusion, we put people first. When you join us, you don’t just join a company, you join a family. If you are ready to be part of a fun and engaging team where your innovative ideas are heard, supported, and make ever lasting mission impacts for our Nation’s most sensitive programs, you have come to the right place., About Fusion Innovation

Our primary focus is on developing people to further their own unique craft. This includes helping our team become more experienced leaders, learn a team-first mentality, strive for more innovation, be thought leaders, and better overall people. By putting our people first and treating them as family and helping to develop their careers in a unique and specific fashion, we’re not just giving them more opportunities to grow and be successful, we’re also raising the bar for what our customers, families, and communities receive. Don’t Just Join a Company - Join a Family Exciting work, innovative colleagues, great teammates, unique customers, and a company that invests in you personally and professionally. We work hard to make Fusion Innovation a place that makes people excited to come to work; where colleagues stay connected and engaged; and where loved ones are welcomed with open arms. We hope this makes us feel less like a company and more like a family. We achieve this by our commitments to you, our culture, and our employee focused perks.