Systems Engineer​/Solution Architect

Job Title:

Systems Engineer / Solution Architect Job Category:
Information Technology Time Type:
Full time Minimum Clearance Required to Start:
None Employee Type:
Regular Percentage of

Travel Required:

Up to 10% Type of Travel:
Local* * *

FEMA's technology modernization decisions will shape emergency management capabilities for the next decade—determining which systems are positioned to leverage cloud, AI, and modern architecture patterns, and which require fundamental transformation. As a System Engineer / Solutions Architect on our FEMA ITSA program, you will provide expert-level technical leadership across the entire portfolio assessment, translating complex architectural realities into actionable modernization strategies that balance risk, cost, mission impact, and technical feasibility.

You’ll conduct deep-dive architectural reviews spanning application design, hosting patterns, data architecture, integration maturity, API readiness, and cybersecurity posture. Your analysis will cut through complexity to identify the optimal modernization pathway for each system—whether retain, rehost, replatform, reengineer, replace, consolidate, or retire with clear, evidence-based rationale that connects technical decisions to mission outcomes and financial implications. This role places you at the strategic center of FEMA's technology future, where your architectural expertise will directly inform enterprise investment decisions, cloud migration priorities, integration strategy, and portfolio rationalization.

You'll build defensible modernization roadmaps that executives can confidently act upon, knowing the recommendations are grounded in rigorous technical analysis and aligned to federal compliance frameworks.

• Analyze application and system architectures including platform dependencies, middleware components, configuration management practices, and deployment patterns
• Evaluate monolithic vs. microservices architectures and assess decomposition opportunities
• Review development frameworks, technology stacks, programming languages, and technical debt accumulation
• Assess containerization readiness, cloud-native architecture potential, and modernization feasibility
• Document architectural constraints, tightly coupled dependencies, and technical barriers to modernization
• Identify legacy technology risks including unsupported platforms, vendor lock-in, and obsolescence challenges

• Assess data architecture including conceptual, logical, and physical data models
• Review data dictionaries, metadata management practices, and data governance maturity
• Evaluate data lineage, data flows, and upstream/downstream data dependencies
• Analyze data accessibility, quality, completeness, and fitness for analytics and AI/ML applications
• Identify data consolidation opportunities, master data management needs, and data standardization gaps
• Assess data residency requirements, privacy controls, and sensitive data handling practices

• Contribute to comprehensive cybersecurity posture reviews including Authority to Operate (ATO) status and RMF package currency
• Assess NIST SP 800-53 security control implementation across control families
• Evaluate Identity and Access Management (IAM) architecture, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enforcement, and privileged access management
• Review logging, monitoring, and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) integration maturity
• Identify legacy technology security risks including unsupported operating systems, unpatched vulnerabilities, and compensating controls
• Assess alignment with DHS cybersecurity policies, zero-trust principles, and continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM)

• Evaluate AI and automation readiness including data quality, volume, and structure suitable for machine learning
• Assess data governance frameworks necessary to support responsible AI adoption
• Analyze technical feasibility of AI/automation use cases aligned to mission value propositions
• Identify risks, oversight requirements, and ethical considerations for AI implementation
• Recommend opportunities to leverage Robotic Process Automation (RPA), intelligent document processing, or predictive analytics

• Develop detailed modernization options across the full spectrum: retain, rehost…