We seek an accomplished Systems Engineer / Architect to support the VA’s Financial Management Systems (FMS). This leadership role centers on the high-level design, architecture, and strategic integration of critical VA financial systems—including FMS and other Financial Open Systems—ensuring resilient, scalable solutions that advance the mission of supporting Veterans and VA operations.
This senior technical leadership role focuses on creating resilient, scalable, and secure enterprise solutions that advance the mission of supporting Veterans and VA operations. In this position, you will set the architectural vision, design frameworks, and governance for complex financial system ecosystems. Your work will enable seamless data interoperability, high system performance, and compliance with federal security and enterprise IT standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Enterprise Architecture Leadership: Define, evolve, and govern enterprise software architectures for VA financial systems in alignment with VA enterprise and federal standards. Develop high-level system blueprints, technical roadmaps, and long-term integration strategies.
• Systems Integration & Interoperability: Architect solutions that facilitate secure, reliable data exchange between FMS, Financial Open Systems, and other VA enterprise applications.
• API Strategy & Governance: Lead API architecture, standardization, and lifecycle governance to ensure secure, scalable, and interoperable connectivity across VA platforms and external partners.
• Data & Database Architecture: Partner with data architects to design robust data models, integration frameworks, and data governance strategies that maximize performance and reliability.
• Technology Evaluation & Selection: Assess and recommend platforms, frameworks, and development patterns aligned with VA’s current and future needs, including microservices, cloud-native architectures, and modern application frameworks.
• DevSecOps & Automation Architecture: Define architecture for secure CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, automated testing, and monitoring to ensure rapid, reliable deployments.
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement: Partner with business, development, and operations leaders to ensure architectural solutions meet mission, operational, and compliance requirements.
• Documentation & Knowledge Transfer: Produce detailed architectural documentation, technical standards, and design patterns to ensure consistent implementation and long-term maintainability

Required Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical discipline
• 5+ years of experience in enterprise software architecture, system design, and large-scale application development
• Proven experience designing architectures for mission-critical enterprise systems
• Strong expertise in API design, integration patterns, and distributed systems
• Proficiency in modern programming languages (Java, C#, Python, JavaScript)
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases (SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
• Familiarity with web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript frameworks)
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Knowledge of DevSecOps practices, security-by-design, and CI/CD implementation

Preferred Experience and Certifications

• Previous experience supporting VA enterprise systems or federal financial applications
• Cloud architecture certifications (AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Architect, or GCP Professional Cloud Architect)
• Experience with microservices, event-driven architectures, and cloud-native design patterns
• Knowledge of federal compliance standards (FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST)
• Experience with Agile and SAFe frameworks

Advanced Technical Skills

• Expertise in enterprise integration patterns and service-oriented architectures
• Advanced API and microservices governance frameworks
• Deep understanding of distributed system design, scalability, and fault tolerance
• Strong grasp of security controls, encryption, and access control in federal environments
• Proficiency with modern automation, observability, and performance optimization tools

Job Type: Contract
Pay: $63.00 - $72.00 per hour
Expected hours: 40 per week

Education:

• Bachelor’s (Preferred)

Experience:

• DevSecOps & Automation Architecture: 5 years (Preferred)
• Data & Database Architecture: 5 years (Preferred)
• Enterprise Architecture Leadership: 5 years (Preferred)
• Programming languages (Java, C#, Python, JavaScript): 5 years (Preferred)
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP): 5 years (Preferred)
• Web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript frameworks): 5 years (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• AWS Certification (Preferred)

Security clearance:

• Confidential (Preferred)

Work Location: Remot

• Enterprise Architecture Leadership: Define, evolve, and govern enterprise software architectures for VA financial systems in alignment with VA enterprise and federal standards. Develop high-level system blueprints, technical roadmaps, and long-term integration strategies.
• Systems Integration & Interoperability: Architect solutions that facilitate secure, reliable data exchange between FMS, Financial Open Systems, and other VA enterprise applications.
• API Strategy & Governance: Lead API architecture, standardization, and lifecycle governance to ensure secure, scalable, and interoperable connectivity across VA platforms and external partners.
• Data & Database Architecture: Partner with data architects to design robust data models, integration frameworks, and data governance strategies that maximize performance and reliability.
• Technology Evaluation & Selection: Assess and recommend platforms, frameworks, and development patterns aligned with VA’s current and future needs, including microservices, cloud-native architectures, and modern application frameworks.
• DevSecOps & Automation Architecture: Define architecture for secure CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, automated testing, and monitoring to ensure rapid, reliable deployments.
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement: Partner with business, development, and operations leaders to ensure architectural solutions meet mission, operational, and compliance requirements.
• Documentation & Knowledge Transfer: Produce detailed architectural documentation, technical standards, and design patterns to ensure consistent implementation and long-term maintainabilit