Staff IT Systems Engineer- Palmdale, Ca- Secret Required

Standard Job Description

The System Engineer (Level 4) is a senior technical individual contributor responsible for the design, implementation, optimization, and support of complex enterprise‑wide IT systems. This role provides technical leadership across multiple platforms, ensures high availability, performance, and security of critical services, and mentors junior engineers.

Key Responsibilities

• Infrastructure Administration- Operate, configure, and maintain servers, storage, and virtualization infrastructure.
• Enterprise Services- Manage Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, PKI, and enterprise monitoring tools as well as various other servers.
• Service Delivery & Availability- Achieve >99.9 % uptime; conduct capacity planning, performance tuning, and proactive health checks.
• Operations & Performance Monitor and tune system performance; develop capacity‑planning models and implement scalability improvements. Own incident response for Level 3/4 issues; conduct root‑cause analysis and drive corrective actions.
• Security & Compliance Apply hardening standards (e.g., CIS Benchmarks, DISA STIGs) and ensure compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements (e.g., NIST, ISO 27001). Participate in vulnerability assessments and implement remediation strategies.
• Collaboration & Mentorship Partner with networking, security, application, and database teams to deliver integrated solutions. Provide technical mentorship, conduct knowledge‑transfer sessions, and review work of junior engineers.
• Documentation & Best Practices Create and maintain detailed design documents, runbooks, SOPs, and change‑management records. Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of IT standards and best‑practice libraries.
• Continuous Improvement- Identify opportunities to modernize legacy systems and consolidate platforms that reduce operational overhead.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, a related field or equivalent work experience
• Must possess DoD 8570 IAT Level II or III certification (i.e. Security+, CASP, CISSP)
• Active Secret Clearance; Ability and willingness to obtain Top Secret Clearance
• 5+ years of hands‑on experience designing, deploying, and supporting enterprise infrastructure
• 2+ years in a senior and/or lead role.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving abilities; excellent communication (technical & non‑technical); proven leadership/mentoring capability.

Desired Skills

Interview Questions

Technical Troubleshooting: Tell me your methods of diagnosing hardware, software and communication problems.

Technical Troubleshooting: What kinds of techniques did you apply to isolating technical problems with Local Area Networks and Wireless Networks?

Technical Troubleshooting: How did you successfully resolve complex, multi-component failures in your previous position(s)?

Pay Information

Full-Time Salary Range: $118000.00 - $219100.00

At Lockheed Martin, we know mission success starts with taking care of our people. Our Total Rewards program is designed to attract top talent, support your well-being, and help you grow-both professionally and personally.

The salary range for this position is as listed on the requisition. Please note that the salary information listed is a general guideline only. Lockheed Martin considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/ training, key skills as well as market(work location) and business considerations when extending an offer.

Benefits offered: Medical, Dental, Vision, Flexible work arrangements and schedules (e.g., 4x10), 401(k) match, Paid time off, Holidays, Parental Leave, EAP, Flexible Spending Accounts, Education Assistance, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability.

• Annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs may be offered depending on the position. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and can vary from year to year and are tied to a range of performance metrics.
• For (Washington state applicants only) Non-represented full-time employees: accrue at least 10 hours per month of Paid Time Off (PTO) to be used for incidental absences and other reasons; receive at least 90 hours for holidays. Represented full time employees accrue 6.67 hours of Vacation per month; accrue up to 52 hours of sick leave annually; receive at least 96 hours for holidays. PTO, Vacation, sick leave, and holiday hours are prorated based on start date during the calendar year.