Principal Architect (SE3) (Government)
Columbia, Maryland
AT&T Global Public Sector is a trusted provider of secure, IP enabled, network solutions and professional services to the Department of Defense. We are dedicated to recruiting, developing and empowering a diverse, high-performing workforce that is passionate about what they do, committed to shared values and dedicated to our customers’ mission.
The Regional IT Services I (RIS I) contract delivers secure, reliable, and mission-essential technology services that connect and support end users across the customer’s regional operating environment. The program integrates video teleconferencing, network services, land mobile radio, E911, voice, video, mobility, and structured cabling with the workplace and mobile devices and peripherals employees rely on each day. Through coordinated engineering, operations, field support, lifecycle management, and modernization, the RIS I team helps sustain service continuity, strengthen interoperability, improve the end-user experience, and introduce scalable technology solutions that advance the customer’s mission.
AT&T has an opening for a Principal Engineer to provide contract-wide technical leadership across RIS I. This role is responsible for evaluating technical requirements across services and delivery teams, ensuring end-to-end integration and architectural alignment, and identifying opportunities to apply innovative and emerging technologies that advance the customer’s mission. The Chief Engineer will collaborate with program leadership, service managers, field service delivery teams, cybersecurity stakeholders, and the customer to translate operational needs into cohesive technical strategies, resolve cross-functional dependencies, guide modernization priorities, and promote secure, scalable, reliable, and interoperable solutions across the RIS I environment.
This is a full-time onsite role based in the location(s) posted and is performed from the designated work location five days per week. No relocation is offered.
Description of Job Duties/Responsibilities:
The RIS I Principal Engineer is a senior individual contributor responsible for defining and advancing the contract-wide technical architecture. This role provides hands-on architectural leadership across RIS I services, platforms, infrastructure, and delivery teams, using technical expertise, influence, and collaboration rather than direct people-management authority.
· Serve as the principal technical advisor to RIS I program leadership, service managers, engineering teams, cybersecurity stakeholders, delivery teams, and the customer.
· Evaluate customer mission needs, contract requirements, service requirements, and operational constraints; translate them into cohesive architecture decisions and actionable technical requirements.
· Define, maintain, and communicate the RIS I target architecture, architecture principles, technical standards, reference patterns, and integration approach.
· Apply systems engineering practices and ITIL service-management principles across the solution lifecycle, including requirements analysis, service design, transition planning, configuration and change management, operational readiness, continual improvement, and alignment of technical solutions with service-level objectives.
· Assess proposed solutions and designs for architectural alignment, interoperability, scalability, resiliency, performance, supportability, security, and cost effectiveness.
· Lead cross-service architecture analysis to identify dependencies, integration risks, capability gaps, duplication, and opportunities for standardization across RIS I.
· Partner with cybersecurity stakeholders to incorporate security, compliance, zero-trust principles, and risk-management requirements into solution architectures.
· Develop current-state and future-state architecture views, technical roadmaps, transition plans, and sequencing recommendations that support modernization priorities.
· Facilitate technical design reviews and architecture decision forums; document key decisions, assumptions, tradeoffs, exceptions, and technical risks.
· Provide hands-on analysis and technical guidance to resolve complex, cross-functional engineering, integration, performance, and operational issues.
· Identify, evaluate, prototype, and recommend emerging technologies, automation opportunities, and innovative solutions that improve mission outcomes and service delivery.
· Develop technical insertion proposals, business and mission impact assessments, and recommendations for customer consideration.
· Establish architecture measures and evidence to evaluate technical debt, standards adoption, integration health, lifecycle posture, reliability, and modernization progress.
· Review lifecycle, capacity, availability, and technology-refresh plans to promote supported, maintainable, and sustainable solutions across the contract.
· Mentor engineers and technical stakeholders through consultation, design guidance, reusable patterns, and knowledge sharing without direct supervisory responsibility.
Required Clearance: TS/SCI with polygraph. (#ts/sci) (#polygraph)
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a related technical discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
- 10+ years of progressive experience designing, integrating, modernizing, or governing complex enterprise IT environments, including at least 5 years in an enterprise, solution, systems, or principal engineer capacity.
- Demonstrated experience serving as a senior individual contributor who leads through technical expertise, influence, collaboration, and architecture governance rather than direct supervisory authority.
- Proven ability to define and maintain current-state and target-state architectures, technical roadmaps, architecture principles, reference patterns, standards, and transition plans across multiple services or technology domains.
- Experience translating customer mission needs, contractual requirements, operational constraints, and service requirements into actionable technical requirements and cohesive architecture decisions.
- Minimum 5 years of systems engineering experience applying ITIL practices to complex enterprise IT services, including requirements management, service design and transition, configuration and change management, operational readiness, incident and problem management integration, service-level performance, and continual improvement.
- Broad technical depth across enterprise infrastructure and services, including networking, unified communications, video, mobility, end-user computing, cloud or hybrid platforms, systems management, monitoring, automation, and service-management technologies.
- Demonstrated success evaluating solution designs for integration, interoperability, scalability, resiliency, performance, lifecycle support, maintainability, security, and cost effectiveness.
- Experience leading architecture reviews, technical design reviews, trade studies, and cross-functional decision forums, with disciplined documentation of decisions, assumptions, exceptions, risks, owners, and closure dates.
- Working knowledge of federal cybersecurity and risk-management practices, including zero-trust principles, security-by-design, compliance controls, and collaboration with cybersecurity stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to identify technical debt, integration dependencies, lifecycle risks, capability gaps, and modernization opportunities and to develop prioritized, measurable mitigation or transition plans.
- Experience evaluating emerging technologies, automation, prototypes, and technology-insertion opportunities and developing evidence-based recommendations tied to mission, service, risk, performance, or cost outcomes.
- Ability to establish and report measurable architecture outcomes, such as standards conformance, review timeliness, action closure, technical-debt reduction, integration quality, lifecycle posture, reliability, and modernization progress.
- Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and executive briefing skills, with the ability to clearly communicate complex technical options, tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations to program leadership, engineering teams, cybersecurity stakeholders, and government customers.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities independently, meet established review and reporting timelines, mentor technical stakeholders, and deliver high-quality architecture artifacts in a mission-focused environment.
Desired Qualifications:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Proven experience with proactive monitoring & alerting solutions.
- Experience with IT compliance, risk management and security practices.
- Governance driven mindset, with knowledge of process improvement and quality improvement.
Ready to join our team? Apply Today!
Our Principal Architect (SE3) (Government)
earns $130,700 - $304,600
yearly. Not to mention all the other amazing rewards that working at AT&T offers. Individual starting salary within this range may depend on geography, experience, expertise, and education/training.
Joining our team comes with amazing perks and benefits:
Medical/Dental/Vision coverage
401(k) plan
Tuition reimbursement program
Paid Time Off and Holidays (based on date of hire, at least 23 days of vacation each year and 9 company-designated holidays) *Pro-rated when working less than 40 hrs/wk.
Paid Parental Leave
Paid Caregiver Leave
Additional sick leave beyond what state and local law require may be available but is unprotected · Adoption Reimbursement
Disability Benefits (short term and long term)
Life and Accidental Death Insurance
Supplemental benefit programs: critical illness/accident hospital indemnity/group legal
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
Extensive employee wellness programs
Employee discounts up to 50% off on eligible AT&T mobility plans and accessories, AT&T internet (and fiber where available) and AT&T wireline phone
Weekly Hours:
40Time Type:
RegularLocation:
Columbia, MarylandAT&T and its subsidiaries are committed to equal employment opportunity. All hiring, promotion, and other employment decisions remain merit-based and free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, pregnancy, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, military status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. In addition, AT&T will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. AT&T is a fair chance employer and does not initiate a background check until an offer is made. Click here to learn more or request an application accommodation here.
Benefits
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- Paid Time Off
- Tuition Assistance
- Medical and dental plans
- Discounts
- Training & Development
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