Senior Technical Advisor (Chief Systems Engineer)

As a fast-growing professional services company, NIRA is a trusted advisor to federal agencies in their digital transformation-modernizing critical information dissemination infrastructure-and a pioneer in emerging technologies, including AI, Zero Trust, and supply chain resiliency. We are seeking a self-motivated, customer-oriented Senior Technical Advisor (Chief Systems Engineer) who is a recognized expert in Aviation and/or Information Technology (IT). This role serves as NIRA's senior technical authority for systems engineering and architecture on mission-critical federal programs.

Ideal Candidate Traits

Problem Solver: You spend 90% of the time understanding problems and 10% of the time finding solutions.

Storyteller: You're adept at presenting technical concepts in a compelling, accessible manner.

Change Agent: You relish creative chaos and take initiatives to enable transformative change.

Key Responsibilities

1. Storytelling: Create clarity, alignment, and momentum
   • Shape and communicate modernization strategy that links mission needs to architecture, acquisition, and measurable outcomes.
   • Translate complex technical concepts (Cloud, DevSecOps, CI/CD, software assurance, Zero Trust) into decision-ready guidance for technical and non-technical leaders.
   • Produce and oversee high-quality acquisition and engineering artifacts, including CONOPS, requirements decomposition, gap analysis, AoA, architecture products, roadmaps, and cost/schedule inputs.
2. People-connecting: Drive execution through collaboration
   • Lead federal customer engagements to support acquisition planning and management of major IT programs.
   • Build alignment across program offices, operators, security, data/information governance, enterprise architecture teams, and external partners.
   • Represent NIRA in intra- and inter-agency working groups and communities of practice to advance interoperability and information management goals.
3. Technical and organizational leadership
   • Serve as the senior technical advisor and architecture authority; guide design reviews, ensure consistency, and resolve complex integration and interoperability issues.
   • Lead and grow NIRA's systems engineering practice-mentor staff, reinforce standards and best practices, and support recruiting and onboarding.
   • Support business development and proposals across shaping, capture, solutioning, and proposal execution; may serve as a solution architect, proposal lead, and/or capture manager.

Required Qualifications

1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

2. 15+ years of relevant experience, including 5+ years supporting a major federal IT program.

3. Knowledge and expertise in IT technologies, Cloud, DevSecOps, and Zero Trust concepts and implementation patterns.

4. Proven ability to prioritize, plan, and deliver across multiple efforts in complex stakeholder environments.

5. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.

6. US Citizenship required. Must be able to obtain security clearance.

Desired Qualifications

1. Experience in aviation and knowledge of Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems.

2. Expert knowledge of federal contracting and acquisition processes.

Benefits

NIRA offers competitive compensation and benefits, including employer-paid health, life, and disability insurance, plus a 401(k) plan with generous employer matching vested immediately.