Messaging Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC (NOW HIRING)

Overview
Brandes Associates Inc. (BAI) is seeking a Product Support Engineer with 5+ years of experience to join the Agile Empowerment Technologies (AET) product support and sustainment team. The Product Support Engineer supports deployed AET software products used for DoD Organizational Messaging, information sharing, monitoring, and related mission workflows. The ideal candidate will be located within a geographic area which will provide regular work access to the customer location at Annapolis Junction, MD.
This is an onsite operational engineering role focused on customer tier III support, field issue investigation, and documentation.
The Product Support Engineer is a customer-facing position which ensures the sustained operations of AET products within the customer environment, coordinates with the AET development and in-service engineering teams to coordinate releases, perform installations, troubleshoot complex issues and act as the day-to-day customer interface.
The ideal candidate is comfortable learning complex software products, customer workflows, system architecture, and operational data formats through formal and on-the-job training.
Salary
The typical annual salary range for this position is $165,000.00 USD to $175,000.00 USD. Salary will be based on current qualifications, directly related experience, geographic location, and possible contractual requirements which could fall outside of this range.
Responsibilities
The Product Support Engineer works on-location with the customer supporting the Syndeo Intelligent Gateway within an operational environment and acts as the Tier III technical support for all AET products on-site. The PSE is the primary interface between our customers' operational team and AET's support and development team. Duties include:

• Install, update, configure, administer, troubleshoot, and monitor multiple Linux and Windows virtual machines running open-source and custom Java applications
• Work directly with software engineers who develop and design the products as needed, to fix product bugs or other issues that may need additional support
• Test and evaluate new software releases for suitability prior to deploying them in a production environment
• Implement and manage configuration management practices that align with the customer's enterprise
• Perform on site backup and recovery operations to include disaster recovery
• Provide direct knowledge of customer requirements and ensure that all requirements are being documented and relayed correctly
• Collaborate with engineers and software developers to vet design solutions and ensure the compatibility of system components with the customer's environment
• Conduct advanced technical troubleshooting to determine what component is failing
• Create and maintain Standard Operating Procedures for uncommon or recurring issues
• Provide weekly status reports on project status, schedule, and issues encountered

Qualifications

• Ability to read and diagnose issues from log files and system errors
• Strong troubleshooting skills
• Experience administering and troubleshooting Java Applications
• Knowledgeable and comfortable with the Linux Command Line (Bash)
• Bash Scripting
• Able to read JavaScript
• Able to execute entry level SQL Queries with MySQL or MSSQL
• Experience installing, configuring, or maintaining webservers like Jetty, Apache, or IIS
• Clear understanding of networking, sockets, and web methods
• Strong understanding of PKI, certificate, and key management
• Five (5) years of relevant work experience in a customer facing role as a system integrator, system administrator, or system engineer
• DoD 8140 Compliant certifications (CompTIA Network+ or CompTIA Security+)

Desired Experience

• DoD organizational messaging experience is very desirable

EDUCATION -
Degree: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer Information Systems, Software Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
Allowable Substitution: Four additional years of directly relevant technical experience may be substituted for a bachelor's degree. An associate degree in a related technical field plus two additional years of directly relevant technical experience may also substitute for the bachelor's degree. Relevant military technical training, DoD operational messaging experience, industry certifications, or equivalent technical training may be considered when combined with demonstrated hands-on experience supporting, administering, troubleshooting, integrating, or sustaining mission software systems. Substitution experience should demonstrate meaningful hands-on work with Linux, Java-based applications, logs, scripts, configuration files, web application environments, PKI/certificates, release support, testing, or operational messaging systems.
CLEARANCE - Top Secret SCI w/CIP minimum, Top Secret SCI w/FSP preferred.
Condition of Employment: Applicant must have an active Federal Government TS/SCI security clearance w/either a CIP or FSP. The applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
Additional Clearance and Onboarding Note: Candidates possessing an active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance with Counterintelligence Polygraph (CIP) meet the minimum clearance requirement for consideration. However, if hired, BAI will submit the selected individual for a Full Scope Polygraph (FSP) in accordance with customer access requirements. A TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph is preferred and may allow for a faster transition to independent on-site customer support.
Immediate Contract Alignment / Funded Onboarding: This position is aligned to an active funded customer requirement and is not contingent upon a future contract award. A fully qualified candidate who already possesses the required customer access, TS/SCI with FSP, product knowledge, and internal qualification approval may be placed on-site immediately in support of the customer mission.
Candidates should understand, however, that most selected individuals will complete a structured onboarding and qualification period before being assigned to independent on-site duties. This onboarding period may include remote work from the employee's home location, product familiarization, technical training, shadowing of AET in-service engineering personnel, support of internal sustainment activities, and evaluation by the AET In-Service Engineering Manager. The selected individual must be signed off as qualified by the AET In-Service Engineering Manager and must obtain any required Full Scope Polygraph/customer access approvals before performing independent on-site support.
CITIZENSHIP
The applicant must have US citizenship at the time of application.
BAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other non-merit based factors made unlawful by federal, state or local laws.