Sr. Systems Engineer - SME

*Interested candidates will need to be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance*

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a Sr. Systems Engineer - SME, to support a Data Services customer in their Military and Intelligence based missions. The right candidate will have a background in Python and working in open source software doing custom development to tie systems together. The core skill set will revolve around Linux, Ansible, and Python for automation. Versatility will be needed from a Systems Engineering and Python Development perspective, therefore a true end to end SME is desired for this opportunity. This position is based out of Phoenix, AZ and will need to be on-site as needed. Remote applicants who are open to traveling to Phoenix, AZ as needed are welcomed to apply.

Responsibilities and Qualifications:

• Position requires a self-starter that can work independently and not wait for instructions
• Applicant must be a motivated analytical problem solver that embraces challenge
• Familiarity with replacing hardware components
• Ability to make occasional trips to Phoenix metro areas data centers, as needed
• Well organized and experienced in documentation, including use of ticketing systems
• Ability to provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior project team members, ensuring alignment with architectural standards and best practices
• Minimum 7 years of experience as an IT Systems Engineer involving Linux environments
• Minimum 7 years of experience in Python development or similar object-oriented programming language (Java, C++, C#, etc)
• Minimum 4 years of experience using Ansible open source configuration management
• Familiar enough with programming to minimally work in most languages
• Demonstrable ability to implement open-source projects for a production environment, ensuring optimal performance, security, and scalability
• Deep understanding of systems integration topics - Hardware, Software, Security, Network (VLAN, DNS, DHCP, Firewall, VPN, Load balancing, etc)
• Troubleshooting (Hardware, Network, Applications)
• Virtualization / Containerization (QEMU/KVM, Docker, Podman, etc)
• Familiarity with cloud platforms
• Active Security Clearance preferred; ability to obtain and maintain up to a Top Secret Clearance

Functional Knowledge:

• Installation, configuration, testing and maintenance on major OS distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, RHEL),
• Scripting (Python, Perl, Bash, etc)
• Network proxies and HA solutions (Haproxy, Nginx, keepalived, etc)
• SQL database operation (MySQL, Postgres, etc)
• Storage solutions (raid, zfs, networked block and object level, etc)
• Elasticsearch/Opensearch
• Web applications & servers (Nginx, Apache, uWSGI, flask, node, etc)
• Data streaming / queuing (Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, etc)
• Metrics collection/ monitoring/ visibility (Zabbix, Nagios, Grafana, Graphite/Carbon, Prometheus, InfluxDB, Telegraf, OpenTelemetry, etc)
• Version Control & CI/CD (Git/Gitlab, Gitlab CI/CD, Jenkins, etc)

Work Includes:

• Design solutions based on internal and customer requirements
• Build, test, monitor, backup and maintain solutions in production
• Hardware installation, troubleshooting, and replacement (chassis, blades, CPU, RAM, disks, power supplies, cabling, etc.)
• Very rare overnight travel

Compensation:

• $120,000 - $170,000 *depending on experience*
• Health, Dental, Vision, PTO, 401K, Paid Holidays, Sick Leave if required by Law

This job posting opens on 8/29/2025 and will remain open for at least 30 days from the date of the posting

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