Deputy Chief Engineer - TS​/SCI

Deputy Chief Engineer

Required Skills & Experience
• 10+ years of progressive software engineering, systems engineering, or technical architecture experience
• Bachelor's degree and ability to obtain or maintain required clearance eligibility (TS/SCI preferred)
• Strong system-level architecture experience across backend applications, cloud infrastructure, data platforms, and software integrations, with the ability to understand and guide an entire ecosystem rather than a single application.
• Deep cloud and Dev Ops experience, including AWS, Kubernetes, Azure, CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation, infrastructure management, monitoring, and observability tooling.
• Experience with large-scale data platforms and big data technologies, including Hadoop, Apache ecosystem technologies, Cloudera, Accumulo, or comparable high-volume data processing environments.
• Experience operating and supporting high-availability production systems, including 24/7 operational environments, incident response, platform resiliency, scalability, performance optimization, and/or Site Reliability Engineering (SRE).
• Demonstrated technical leadership experience, including building technical roadmaps, making architecture decisions, mentoring senior engineers and technical leads, and influencing multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving and solutioning mindset, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, manage changing priorities, and make sound technical decisions in fast-paced operational environments.
• Communication and stakeholder management skills, including experience interfacing with customers, program leadership, engineers, and executive-level stakeholders.

Nice to Have Skills & Experience

- Experience with mission systems such as C2, ISR, sensor fusion, GEOINT, battle management, tracking, or operational decision-support platforms within government or defense environments.
• Familiarity with real-time data processing, geospatial applications, mission planning, and large-scale national security systems.
• Experience leading technical modernization within a legacy or continuously operating production environment
• Familiarity with AI-assisted or agentic software development workflows
• Experience developing organizational structures, technical leadership models, or engineering bench strength

Job Description Insight Global is seeking a Deputy Chief Engineer for a top national security and intelligence client supporting a large‑scale, mission‑critical operational software system. This individual will serve as the senior technical authority for a complex, real‑time platform focused on global situational awareness, data fusion, tracking, geospatial workflows, and operational decision support. This role sits at the intersection of software architecture, cloud infrastructure, Dev Ops, and operations, requiring someone who can seamlessly move from deep technical design to executive‑level communication.

The Deputy Chief Engineer will lead technical direction across dozens of engineers, guide architectural modernization, support 24/7 operational environments, and work directly with highly technical government stakeholders. The ideal candidate thrives in fast‑paced, high‑stakes environments, is comfortable making disciplined technical decisions under pressure, and is motivated by the real‑world impact of their work on mission success and safety. This role offers a clear growth path into the Chief Engineer position with full ownership of system delivery and technical strategy.

Act as the technical bridge between customer requirements and system architecture/design decisions

Partner closely with the current Chief Engineer to absorb system knowledge and progressively assume ownership

Provide technical leadership across 70–80+ engineers and subcontractors spanning multiple agile teams Own architectural decisions across:

- Backend services
- Real‑time data pipelines
- Cloud infrastructure & Dev Ops
- User interface (map‑based UI) integrations

Lead architecture trade studies balancing performance, resiliency, scalability, and delivery speed

Oversee high‑volume data platforms handling millions of records per minute with strict uptime requirements

Guide Dev Ops and hosting strategies across AWS, Azure, and Kubernetes

Support 24/7 operational environments, including rapid decision‑making during off‑hours incidents

Advise on third‑party software integrations and prototype technical solutions (often within weeks)

Drive 6‑month and longer‑term technical roadmaps in partnership with product and solutioning program leadership

Interface regularly with long‑standing government customers (6–7 year relationships)

Manage and mentor ~5 direct reports, cascading leadership across the broader engineering organization

Represent the program in technical reviews, customer briefings, and executive discussions

Prepare to transition into Chief Engineer with full end‑to‑end system ownership