Senior MQ Engineer; Secret Clearance in Annapolis Junction

Senior MQ Administrator

Job

Clearance: U.S. Citizenship required. DHS Secret Clearance required. Candidates with dual citizenship are not eligible.

• Design & Implement: Build and maintain secure, scalable IBM MQ and Liberty messaging infrastructure, including queue managers, channels, queues, clustering, and HA configurations.
• Optimize Performance: Monitor system health, troubleshoot bottlenecks, and tune MQ settings for optimal performance and reliability.
• Lead Enterprise Initiatives: Drive messaging projects from planning through deployment, ensuring alignment with business and IT strategies.
• Advanced Troubleshooting: Serve as the final escalation point for complex MQ and Liberty issues; support junior admins and application teams during integration and resolution.
• Security & Compliance: Implement encryption, auditing, and security controls across MQ environments to maintain compliance and data integrity.
• Capacity Planning: Forecast resources and plan for growth to ensure scalability across enterprise environments.
• Cross-Team
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Work closely with infrastructure, development, and operations teams to ensure seamless messaging integration.
• Documentation: Develop and maintain architecture diagrams, procedures, troubleshooting guides, and recovery strategies.
• Mentorship: Guide junior MQ administrators, promote best practices, and contribute to team standardization efforts.
• Continuous Improvement: Stay current on MQ technologies, patches, and best practices; recommend and implement enhancements.
• Other Duties: Perform additional tasks as assigned to support mission success.

• Active Secret clearance required.
• U.S. Citizenship required (dual citizenship not eligible due to federal contract requirements).
• Experience with federal government contracts, preference for contracts under Homeland Security.
• 12+ years in an MQ Administrator role or related field.
• Proven expertise with IBM Web Sphere MQ and Liberty environments.
• Strong experience with IBM MQ administration, clustering, and high-availability configurations.
• Familiarity with security controls, encryption, and compliance frameworks.
• Advanced troubleshooting and performance tuning skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration abilities.
• Ability to mentor junior team members and lead complex initiatives.
• Residency within commuting distance for daily onsite work and meet recall/on-call requirements in a 24x7x365 environment.

Our estimated salary range for this position is $125,000-$130,000. This presented salary range is not a guarantee of compensation; offered salary will be based on education, experience, geographic location, and contractual requirements as appropriate to the role.
* Salary could fall outside of this range.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans