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Chief Engineer

Peraton

Fort Meade, MDFull-time$135–216K/yrPosted 1 day agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$135–216K/yr
Location
Fort Meade, MD
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

DoD 8140 DCWF 651 Qualification Paths, requiredTop Secret clearance, required

Job overview

Peraton is pursuing a DISA enterprise engineering program at Fort Meade and seeks a Chief Engineer to serve as its technical authority. The role leads Tier-4 diagnostics, network and optical capacity modeling, monitoring and observability, and delivery of custom tools for Government sustainment. It also directs subject-matter experts, ensures compliance with DoD security requirements, and briefs senior DISA and DoD leaders.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Root-Cause Analysis, requiredPacket Capture, requiredFlow Data Analysis, requiredApplication Performance Monitoring, requiredTCP/IP, requiredIPv4/IPv6, requiredRouting and Switching, requiredQoS, requiredVPN, requiredTransport Behavior, requiredOptical Networking, requiredEnterprise Monitoring, requiredObservability Platforms, requiredNetwork Modeling, requiredNetwork Simulation, requiredDevSecOps, requiredGovernment Tool Delivery, requiredRMF/ATO, requiredSTIGs, requiredIAVM, requiredGovernment Leadership Briefing, requiredJCSS, nice to haveOPNET/Riverbed Modeler, nice to haveDISN/DoDIN, nice to haveDISA Enterprise Services, nice to haveNetscout, nice to haveSplunk, nice to haveServiceNow, nice to haveDatabricks, nice to haveJRSS/IAP/CAP Analysis, nice to haveSysML/MBSE, nice to haveIPv6 Transition, nice to haveVoIP/UC Performance, nice to haveTactical Data Links, nice to haveAdvanced Networking, nice to haveCloud Certification, nice to haveTechnical Publication, nice to haveIETF/IEEE Participation, nice to haveNetwork Diagnostics, nice to have

Qualifications

Active Top Secret Clearance With SCI, requiredU.S. Citizenship, requiredBachelor's+12, Master's+10, PhD+7, 16 Years No Degree, or Associate's+14, required8+ Years Chief Engineer, Lead Architect, or Technical Lead, requiredDoD 8140 DCWF 651 Qualification Paths, required20 Hours Annual Professional Development, requiredMaster's or Doctorate in Engineering or Computer Science, nice to haveAdvanced Networking or Cloud Certification, nice to havePublished Technical Work, nice to haveIETF/IEEE Participation, nice to haveRecognized Network Diagnostics Expertise, nice to have

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave

Full job description

Peraton Overview

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world’s leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees do the can’t be done by solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit peraton.com to learn how we’re keeping people around the world safe and secure.

Responsibilities

Peraton is pursuing the DISA Enterprise Engineering & Performance Analysis Program for the Defense Information Systems Agency's Enterprise Engineering Directorate at Fort Meade, MD and we are looking for a Chief Engineer. This team gets the calls nobody else can answer: performance failures in DoD applications and networks that no other support tier could fix, optical and IP network capacity modeling, enterprise monitoring and observability, and custom tools built for the Government to own for the long term. The work is high-visibility, fast-moving, and sometimes "no-fail," with findings that can reach the Secretary of Defense.

Why You'll Love This Role

When a DoD application or network fails and no support tier can explain why, it comes to you. As the program's technical authority, you'll set the diagnostic and modeling methods, direct top SMEs across voice, cloud, security, and mobile, and explain root causes clearly to senior DISA and DoD leaders. This is hands-on technical leadership with real mission impact.

What You'll Do

  • Serve as technical authority: own the end-to-end approach, architecture decisions, and engineering standards, and technically review every deliverable before it goes to the Government.

  • Lead Tier-4 diagnostics: frame the problem, design and run controlled tests (including after hours), and use cross-layer, deep-packet, and application analysis to reach a defensible root cause.

  • Direct SMEs who rotate in within days across VoIP, mobile, classified conferencing, security stacks, cloud, and enterprise apps. Capture every case as reusable detection logic.

  • Shape SPMM assessments (10 to 20 a week at full operation) and guide monitoring, dashboards, synthetic "bots," and AI/analytics using Netscout, IPFIX, CloudWatch, ServiceNow, GMS, and Databricks.

  • Direct optical and IP capacity and path modeling, discrete-event and flow simulation, Riverbed integration, and SysML dependency analysis across JRSS, IAP, and CAP. Validate every model against observed behavior.

  • Own the DevSecOps discipline for custom tools and lead technical hand-over to Government staff.

  • Make sure solutions and IL4/IL5/IL6 environments meet RMF/ATO, STIG, IAVM, and DISA zone requirements. Lead IPv6 support and emerging-technology evaluations (for example, Link 16/22).

  • Brief senior DISA and DoD leadership, sometimes for reporting that reaches the Secretary of Defense, and provide technical content for congressional responses.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

  • Active Top Secret clearance with SCI access

  • US. citizenship.

  • Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of experience (or a Master's with 10+ years, or a PhD with 7+ years, 16 years without a degree, 14 years with Associates Degree

  • 8+ years as a Chief Engineer, Lead Architect, or Technical Lead on DoD or federal enterprise programs.

  • Personally led root-cause analysis of complex, large-scale application or network performance problems using packet capture (Wireshark), flow data (NetFlow/IPFIX), and APM.

  • Strong command of TCP/IP, IPv4/IPv6, routing and switching, QoS, VPN, and transport behavior, plus working knowledge of optical networking.

  • Experience with enterprise monitoring and observability platforms, network modeling and simulation (Riverbed, discrete-event, or similar), and DevSecOps tool delivery to Government sustainment.

  • Working knowledge of DoD RMF/ATO, STIGs, and IAVM, and experience briefing senior Government leaders.

  • DoD 8140 compliance for DCWF 651 Enterprise Architect, Advanced, at hire or within 6 months. Qualify through ONE of: (a) a Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or Software Engineering; (b) the DoD Enterprise Architect (Advanced) training playlist; or (c) a certification: CISSP-ISSAP, CISSP-ISSEP, GCIA, GCSA, GCLD, GICSP, or CISSO. You will also need to complete on-the-job qualification and at least 20 hours of continuing professional development each year.

Desired Qualifications

  • Master's or doctorate in engineering or computer science.

  • Hands-on experience with JCSS or OPNET/Riverbed Modeler, including validating models against observed behavior.

  • Experience with DISN/DoDIN, DISA enterprise services, or the DISA Enterprise Engineering Directorate.

  • Experience with Netscout, Splunk, ServiceNow, Databricks, JRSS/IAP/CAP performance analysis, and SysML/MBSE.

  • Experience with IPv6 transition, VoIP/UC performance, or tactical data links (Link 16/22).

  • An advanced networking or cloud certification (for example, CCNP/CCIE or a professional-level cloud certification).

  • Published technical work, IETF/IEEE participation, or recognized network-diagnostics expertise.

Worklocation:

  • Fort Meade

Target Salary Range $135,000 - $216,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual’s experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Benefits Statement

Peraton offers eligible employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, health savings account, short/long term disability, EAP, parental leave, 401(k), paid time off (PTO) for vacation, and company paid holidays. A full listing of available benefits can be viewed at https://www.careers.peraton.com/benefits.

Application Statements The application period for the job is estimated to be 30 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates. By applying to this job, you are expressing interest in the role and the Company. During the review of your application, you may be required to participate in an on-camera interview, as well as participate in a process to verify your identity. Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools of any kind during Peraton interviews is strictly prohibited unless the candidate has obtained prior written authorization. All interview responses must be the candidate’s own. EEO EEO: Equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veterans, or other characteristics protected by law.

How this job compares

Set against the 371 open Chief Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 12, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$135–216K/yr
  • US median$154–250K/yr275 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $176K, is 13% below the US median midpoint ($202K) — in the middle half of Chief Engineer salary ranges across the US.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 15 open Chief Engineer jobs in Maryland and 371 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most across the US
Experience
This posting asks for at least 7 years of experience; Chief Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 8 years at the median (315 postings).
Education
141 of the 371 open Chief Engineer jobs (38%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 12, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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