Lead Systems Architect/Engineer
General Dynamics Mission Systems
Manassas, VA · Posted October 1, 2026
Just laid off? Start here: a plan for the first weeks
See every open role at General Dynamics Mission Systems
More in Virginia job market · Aerospace & Defense · Engineering jobs
More roles at General Dynamics Mission Systems
- Senior Advanced Financial Specialist · Manassas, VA
- Sr Advanced Mechanical Engineer · Canonsburg, PA
- Sr Principal Execution Business Specialist (PPM / EVM) · Scottsdale, AZ
- Principal Field Support Representative (TS/SCI Clearance Required) · Annapolis Junction, MD
- Senior Embedded Software Integration Engineer · Boise, ID
- Systems Integration & Test Engineering Lead · Bloomington, MN
Similar jobs
- Solutions Architect · Caci International · Reston, VA
- Senior Cloud Architect - Remote · ICF International · Reston, VA
- CRM Solution Architect · ICF International · Reston, VA
- Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer · Peraton · Chantilly, VA
- Senior Director - Cyber and AI Lead Systems Architect (LSA) · Peraton Enterprise Solutions · Reston, VA
- Senior Level Systems Engineer · Peraton · Chantilly, VA
Where Manassas, VA ranks
Where Manassas, VA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #2Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Southeast67 / 100 · of 33
- #7Best cities for junior jobs in Virginia36% · of 26
- #8Best cities for pay after cost of living in Virginia$137k · of 15
- #8Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Mid-Atlantic63 / 100 · of 37
- #9Cities with the most jobs that need no experience in the Mid-Atlantic1.8% · of 84
- #9Cities with the most jobs that need no experience in the Southeast1.8% · of 84
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
How AI is used in this kind of work
Among computer occupations, all other, AI is already used for a large share of the tasks. Measured exposure for computer occupations, all other: 31% (high).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
Skills this job asks for
Say which you have and which you want to build. We use it to match you to jobs like this one.
About the job
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, or a related Science, Engineering or Mathematics field, plus a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience; or Master's degree plus a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience.
CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS: Must be able to obtain a Department of Defense Secret security clearance within a reasonable amount of time. Applicants selected will be subject to a U.S. Government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Due to the nature of work performed within our facilities, U.S. citizenship is required.
Responsibilities for this Position
ROLE AND POSITION OBJECTIVES:
Key Responsibilities
Serve as technical lead and system architect for the prototype effort.
Define the prototype architecture, integration strategy, performance objectives, technical risks, and verification approach.
Lead trade studies and down-select recommendations for voice recording, network switching, network security gateways or boundary-protection solutions, and related communications components.
Direct development of a virtualized voice and communications-services environment, including high availability, configuration backup and recovery, and network segmentation.
Lead technical evaluation of voice services, analog gateways, recording solutions, network-switching, wireless, and legacy-interface options.
Ensure the solution preserves physical, hard-wired, and operational interface constraints while minimizing impacts to existing platform documentation and configuration.
Plan and lead integration testing in designated laboratory environments, including mobile-device-to-handset call flows and representative operational scenarios.
Develop test plans, acceptance criteria, technical findings, risk assessments, and corrective-action recommendations.
Produce and defend the final technical report covering architecture, trade-study outcomes, integration-test results, cybersecurity considerations, obsolescence strategy, performance improvements, and recommended next steps.
Coordinate technical activities with government customers, program management, cybersecurity stakeholders, and internal engineering disciplines.
Mentor engineers and establish configuration management for prototype software, network configurations, test evidence, and design artifacts.
Required Qualifications
Demonstrated systems-engineering experience with architecture, interface definition, requirements decomposition, integration, test, and technical risk management.
Deep practical experience with voice-over-IP, session-based communications, private-branch-exchange systems, network switching, virtual LANs, quality of service, power over Ethernet, and Linux-based or virtualized environments.
Experience architecting and integrating containerized services using Kubernetes or a comparable container-orchestration platform, including high availability, service isolation, configuration management, and deployment in disconnected or resource-constrained environments.
Experience integrating legacy analog or telephony interfaces using analog telephony gateways, interface adapters, or comparable voice-integration technologies.
Knowledge of commercial-off-the-shelf lifecycle management, obsolescence analysis, trade studies, and hardware-refresh strategies.
Ability to write clear, defensible technical reports and brief technical findings to government customers and senior leadership.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with naval, maritime, enterprise communications, or comparable mission systems.
Experience with virtualization, containers, high-availability design, virtual-machine hardening, and real-time audio performance tuning.
Familiarity with Risk Management Framework (RMF), security hardening benchmarks, secure wireless architecture, and classified-network cybersecurity engineering.
Experience working in laboratory, waterfront, or integration-test environments.
Our Commitment to You:
An exciting career path with opportunities for continuous learning and development.
Research oriented work, alongside award winning teams developing practical solutions for our nation’s security
Flexible schedules with every other Friday off work, if desired (9/80 schedule)
Competitive benefits, including 401k matching, flex time off, paid parental leave, healthcare benefits, health & wellness programs, employee resource and social groups, and more
See more at gdmissionsystems.com/careers/why-work-for-us/benefits
Workplace Options:
Candidate must be local to the office. There may be some flexibility for a hybrid schedule to work from home up to two days per week depending on the business needs and workload. Travel required within the US up to 20% per year.While on-site, you will be a part of the Progeny Systems - GDMS, Manassas, VA facility.
#LI-TM1
#CJ2
Salary Note This estimate represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors (geographic location, etc.). Actual pay may vary. This job posting will remain open until the position is filled.
Combined Salary Range USD $174,648.00 - USD $193,751.00 /Yr.
Company Overview
General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) engineers a diverse portfolio of high technology solutions, products and services that enable customers to successfully execute missions across all domains of operation. With a global team of 12,000+ top professionals, we partner with the best in industry to expand the bounds of innovation in the defense and scientific arenas. Given the nature of our work and who we are, we value trust, honesty, alignment and transparency. We offer highly competitive benefits and pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose. You will also enjoy a flexible work environment where contributions are recognized and rewarded. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we invite you to join our high-performance team!
Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans