Senior Principal Big Data Engineer

Description
SAIC is seeking a visionary Senior Principal Big Data Engineer to support and expand our autonomous systems portfolio. This senior-level role requires a rare combination of strategic technology leadership, hands-on AI/ML delivery, enterprise-scale server infrastructure management. The successful candidate will contribute to the growth of the while driving path-breaking ML/AI solutions and ensure the highest levels of server infrastructure availability, performance, and security.
The ideal candidate brings proven IT leadership, a demonstrated history of delivering first-of-kind technology solutions, and the analytical mindset of a strategic visionary capable of operating at both the executive and technical levels across massive server environments.
This is a Hybrid/Remote role with expectations to be On-Site throughout the week in San Diego, CA. Must be local to area.
JOB DUTIES:
Autonomous Systems & AI/ML

• Lead design and implementation of ML/AI solutions supporting autonomous systems programs
• Drive Big Data analytics frameworks enabling real-time autonomous decision-making pipelines
• Apply predictive modeling expertise - including high-frequency algorithmic model development - to autonomous system response and decision architectures
• Develop and maintain autonomous systems data pipelines integrating server-side compute resources with edge autonomous platforms

Server Infrastructure Management & Support

• Plan, deploy, and manage scalable server environments supporting autonomous systems compute workloads, drawing on proven experience
• Oversee end-to-end server lifecycle management including procurement, provisioning, configuration, patching, performance tuning, and decommissioning
• Implement and maintain high-availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR) architectures for mission-critical autonomous systems server infrastructure
• Manage physical and virtual server environments including bare-metal, VMware, Hyper-V, and containerized workloads supporting DoD program requirements
• Drive server utilization optimization strategies leveraging allocation-to-utilization based models, achieving measurable efficiency improvements across server fleets
• Administer and support Redhat, Linux (RHEL/CentOS/Ubuntu) environments in classified and unclassified network enclaves
• Support server hardening and STIG compliance across all managed server assets in accordance with DoD cybersecurity requirements as required
• Monitor server health, performance metrics, and capacity planning using enterprise monitoring tools (SolarWinds, Nagios, Splunk, or equivalent)
• Manage storage area networks (SAN), NAS, and direct-attached storage (DAS) solutions supporting petabyte-scale data requirements
• Support GPU server infrastructure for AI/ML training and inference workloads critical to autonomous systems development
• Coordinate with network engineering teams to ensure optimal server-to-network integration across classified and unclassified environments
• Maintain server asset inventory and configuration management databases (CMDB) in compliance with DoD IT asset management standards

Data Center & Infrastructure Operations

• Manage Data Center operations supporting autonomous systems compute requirements including CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) compliance and physical security
• Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices using Ansible, Terraform, or equivalent tools for automated server provisioning and configuration management as required
• Drive cloud-hybrid server strategies integrating on-premises server infrastructure with Microsoft Azure and other cloud platforms
• Manage server backup and recovery solutions ensuring data integrity and business continuity for autonomous systems program data
• Support data center relocation and consolidation initiatives leveraging experience with portable, deployable server infrastructure
• Ensure compliance with FISMA, RMF (Risk Management Framework), and DoD 8570 requirements across all server infrastructure

Program & Stakeholder Management

• Support a cross-functional teams across software, data engineering, server administration, mechanical, and electrical disciplines in a matrix organization environment
• Prepare and deliver technical briefings on server infrastructure status, capacity planning, and modernization roadmaps to internal and external stakeholders including Federal and DoD entities
• Support RFP development and proposal responses for autonomous systems and server infrastructure opportunities
• Develop and maintain server infrastructure documentation including architecture diagrams, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and continuity of operations plans (COOP)

Innovation & Emerging Technology

• Research, prototype, and deliver cutting-edge autonomous and AI-driven technologies leveraging next-generation server platforms
• Evaluate and recommend emerging server technologies including ARM-based servers, composable infrastructure, and software-defined data center (SDDC) solutions
• Provide technical thought leadership on server infrastructure and autonomous systems capability gaps informing strategic investment decisions
• Leverage IoT, NFC, and RFID sensor integration experience to support autonomous platform server-side data ingestion and processing
• Drive adoption of DevSecOps practices across server infrastructure supporting autonomous systems CI/CD pipelines

Qualifications
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Requirement
Detail
Experience
14+ years in senior IT/technology leadership roles
Server Administration
10+ years managing large-scale enterprise server environments (1,000+ servers)
AI/ML
Hands-on ML/AI solution implementation in production server environments
DoD Experience
Prior NAVAIR or equivalent DoD program support
Cloud Platforms
Microsoft Azure, AWS, or equivalent hybrid cloud experience
Virtualization
VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, or equivalent
OS Proficiency
Windows Server 2016/2019/2022, RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu
Storage
SAN, NAS, and object storage management at petabyte scale
Program Scale
Demonstrated management of programs valued at $500M+
Clearance
Active Secret Clearance
Education
Bachelor of Science Degree or equivalent
REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS

• Certified Dataiku ML/AI Practitioner
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• ITIL Foundation
• Security+
• OCP (Oracle Certified Professional)
• MCSE (Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert)
• CNE (Certified Novell Engineer)
• MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional)

Preferred Additional Certifications

• VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
• AWS Solutions Architect
• Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104)
• CompTIA Server+
• DoD 8570 IAT Level II or III

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Prior experience in technology organizations with direct server infrastructure oversight
• Experience designing and deploying containerized server solutions for rapid deployment in austere or forward-operating environments
• Familiarity with change data capture (CDC) methodologies across heterogeneous server and database environments
• Experience with GPU cluster management for AI/ML training workloads
• Background in high-frequency trading (HFT) infrastructure requiring ultra-low latency server configurations
• Familiarity with DoD RMF accreditation processes for server systems

SERVER INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES
Domain
Technologies
Server Platforms
Dell PowerEdge, HP ProLiant, IBM Power, Cisco UCS
Virtualization
VMware vSphere/vCenter, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM
Containerization
Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift
Operating Systems
Windows Server, RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu, AIX
Storage
NetApp, EMC/Dell, Pure Storage, IBM Spectrum
Monitoring
SolarWinds, Nagios, Splunk, Dynatrace
Automation
Ansible, Terraform, PowerShell, Bash
Cloud Integration
Microsoft Azure, AWS GovCloud, DoD Cloud
Backup/Recovery
Veeam, Commvault, Veritas NetBackup
Security/Compliance
STIG, FISMA, RMF, CUI, NIST 800-53

Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.