Systems Engineer Full Time NEW

Location: San Diego, CA, US

Date Posted: 2026-04-16

Category: Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory: Systems Engineer

Schedule: Full-Time

Shift: Day Job

Travel: No

Minimum Clearance Required: Secret

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: None

Potential for Remote Work: ORA_ON_SITE

Description

SAIC is seeking a highly motivated and dynamic Systems Engineer with expertise in Kubernetes (K8s) and Ansible to join our team. As a Systems Engineer you will design, implement, and sustain scalable, secure, and reliable infrastructure solutions. You will leverage Kubernetes to manage containerized applications and Ansible for automation and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) solutions. This role requires technical depth in DevOps, container orchestration, configuration management, and cloud-native computing.

You will also work closely with cross-functional teams, such as developers, DevOps engineers, and IT professionals, to ensure the infrastructure and applications remain efficient, resilient, and secure.

Job Duties:

• Design, implement, and manage Kubernetes clusters for deployment of containerized applications.
• Develop and optimize container orchestration strategies for high availability, scalability, and performance.
• Manage and monitor network policies, ingress controllers, and persistent storage layers within Kubernetes environments.
• Integrate Kubernetes workflows with CI/CD pipelines for efficient and secure software deployments.
• Perform system integration activities, including hardware, software, and networking.
• Troubleshoot complex system issues and provide timely resolutions to ensure mission success.
• Monitor system performance, implement improvements, and perform disaster recovery planning.
• Participate in root cause analysis after incidents and evolve systems to mitigate future issues.
• Re-architect legacy systems into cloud-based or hybrid environments using Kubernetes and automation tools.
• Collaborate with cloud architects to implement containerized solutions in AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform environments.
• Work closely with DevOps, software development, and IT teams to ensure alignment of system capabilities with customer needs.
• Document system designs, processes, and configurations to ensure knowledge transfer and operational continuity.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline and five years of experience; four (4) years of experience will be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Experience as a Systems Engineer or a related role with 3+ years of hands-on experience working with Kubernetes and Ansible.
• Strong knowledge of Kubernetes architecture, containerization principles, and tools such as Kubectl, Helm, and Prometheus.
• Proficient in writing and troubleshooting Ansible playbooks for complex deployments and configuration tasks.
• Experience with Linux/Unix-based systems and shell scripting.
• Background in CI/CD frameworks such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or similar tools.
• Networking knowledge, including DNS, load balancers, and network security as it pertains to containerized environments.
• Experience with DoD or federal security frameworks such as RMF (Risk Management Framework), DISA STIGs, or FedRAMP requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Kubernetes certification (e.g., CKA, CKAD, or CKS).
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform.
• Familiarity with Service Mesh technologies such as Istio or Linkerd.
• Knowledge of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and certificate management within Kubernetes.
• Experience with monitoring and logging tools such as ELK Stack, Grafana, or Splunk.
• Prior experience supporting Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Government, or Intelligence Community (IC) contracts.

Required Security Clearance:

• Must have an active secret clearance on first day of employment.

Target salary range: $120,001 – $160,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.