Cloud Solutions Architect

• Location: Springfield, VA
• Schedule: Full-Time
• Work Location: On-Site
• Shift: Day Job
• Travel: No
• Minimum Clearance Required: TS/SCI with FS Poly
• Benefits: Click here

Rapid Cycle Solutions LLC (RCS) is an innovative small business providing IT and management consulting services to the U.S. Federal Government and commercial clients. We have unique strengths in complex, cross-organizational solution analysis, design, development, implementation, and change management supporting enterprise requirements. Our team of professionals has deep consulting backgrounds supporting the unique needs of our clients. Our team members have proven experience leading strategic initiatives within the civilian Government agencies.

*Note: Please ensure you meet the Security Clearance obligations before applying to optimize your consideration for this and other employment opportunities with RCS.

RCS is seeking a Cloud Solutions Architect to support an air-gapped standalone network that provides enterprise application functions to approximately 3000 users. The position requires enterprise architecture and engineering expertise to assist the Chief Architect in modernization efforts relating to the program's entire IT stack to include secure phone, network, internet facing systems and platform architecture. The architect will need strong engineering experience with a deep understanding to independently develop decision-quality architecture products. Additionally, the position requires support for a ServiceNow platform deployed across an enterprise domain.

This position requires the candidate to meet specific Security Clearance obligations to work onsite in Springfield, VA.

What you will do:

• Perform a review of the secure and unsecure phone system, network and platform hardware, software, network environments and identify individual application and enterprise systems and services that can be modernized or optimized, taking into account the interactions between the application systems and services, and their relationships to core business processes.
• Assist to assess lifecycle status, obsolescence, duplication, interoperability, standards alignment, investment dependencies, and modernization opportunities.
• Identify cross-domain dependencies, gaps, redundancies, constraints, risks, and considerations across infrastructure, applications, data, security, identity, cloud, and network.
• Evaluate relevant technologies and trends; identify mission-aligned use cases; frame expected value, risk, dependencies, and adoption considerations.
• Provide technology recommendations to advise and develop the Enterprise technology roadmap, used to predict end of life equipment and tech.
• Work in partnership with the Chief Architect on further iterations of this roadmap.
• Provide actionable adoption, sustainment, migration, consolidation, and retirement recommendations for hardware and software.
• Help prepare decision packages for internal review boards or IT leadership that clearly document outcomes, alternatives, assumptions, dependencies, tradeoffs, costs, risks, technical-debt implications, standards impact, and recommendations.
• Coordinate technical proposals and recommendations with engineering teams who will partner to develop and deploy the architecture solutions.
• Deliver concise executive briefings and clearly communicate the overall cost associated (OCA) with proposed architecture including value proposition, available services, decisions influenced, risks reduced, and modernization progress.
• Develop and maintain enterprise reference architectures, conformance criteria, and exception guidance; develop and maintain current-state, target-state, and transition-state architecture products such as engineering designs.
• Assess OCA maturity, stakeholder demand, current architecture activities, and capability gaps.
• Develop and maintain a prioritized list of proposed architecture initiatives with associated costs, intake process, work plan, methods, templates, repository structure, and performance measures.
• Coordinate products with IT departments, and other program stakeholders, to ensure they are authoritative, reusable, implementable, and operationally supportable.

Required Qualifications/Education:

• Clearance: Active TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph
• U.S. Citizenship required (NO EXCEPTIONS)

Enterprise Architecture Support.

• Enterprise architecture leadership in a complex, federated, regulated, or mission-oriented IT enterprise.
• Establishing or maturing an EA practice, preferably from a low-maturity or start-up condition.
• Business architecture skills, including capability modeling, value streams, operating models, stakeholder outcomes, and investment framing.
• Technology strategy, portfolio management, lifecycle planning, technical-debt analysis, road mapping, and modernization.
• Developing according to architecture principles, standards, patterns, reference architectures, and exception processes.
• Executive-level writing and briefing.
• Executive level facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder-influence skills.
• Distinguishing strategic enterprise architecture from solution architecture, technical architecture, engineering execution, cybersecurity authority, and operational authority.

ServiceNow Support.

• Building automation-heavy workflows and front door experiences in IC environments.
• Implementation of Flow Designer and Integration Hub patterns (approvals, routing, notifications, and orchestration).
• Building and extending catalog items, such as for IT support and service requests, new business requirements intake (demand-style), or visit or access requests.
• Supporting PPM module configuration buildout (forms, flows, and templates).
• Creating reusable subflows (approval chains, task pack generation, SLA timers, and escalations).
• CAM (Continuous Authorization Monitoring) module in relation to A&A processes or RMF tasks or evidence requests.
• Leading process mapping and future-state design for various types of processes.
• Writing user stories, documenting user acceptance criteria.
• Managing UAT testing.
• Training Service Now users.
• Facilitating workshops with ISSO/ISSM, system owners, or PMOs.
• Creating SOPs and quick reference guides.

Nice to Have Qualifications:

Enterprise Architecture Support.

• Producing decision-useful current-state, target-state, and transition architectures across multiple technology domains.
• Working knowledge of relevant architecture frameworks and modeling methods, such as DoDAF (Department of War Architecture Framework), UAF (Unclassified Architecture Framework), capability-based planning, and minimal viable architecture.
• Understanding Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of War (DoW) governance, cybersecurity, acquisition, lifecycle, and operational considerations.
• Developing according to architecture principles, standards, reference architectures, and exception processes.

ServiceNow Support.

• Providing change management support for thousands of users.
• Increasing adoption of ServiceNow tools.
• Implementing form validation and conditional logic to enforce "vetting".
• Building integrations with: identity or group lookups; evidence storage links (SharePoint/Confluence/file store) with access control; or eMASS or other RMF systems (even if only one-way status sync).
• Optimizing a Virtual Agent or chat-to-ticket functions.
• Building role-based training in Service Now for: end users (submit/track), fulfillment teams, RMF practitioners (ISSO, assessors), and project managers.
• Running UAT cycles and managing defect triage.
• CAM module.
• A&A process.
  
  

RCS is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Our company uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities as an applicant, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify

All RCS work locations are drug-free workplaces.

RCS considers several factors which can influence a final salary including but not limited to; skill set relevancy, work experience, geographic location, security clearance, education, certifications, training, and other business and organizational requirements. At RCS we offer competitive compensation packages, benefits, and learning and development opportunities. Individuals are typically not hired at or near the top of the salary range being that compensation decisions are dependent on individual circumstances. The salary range listed for this position is a reasonable estimate taking into consideration the required qualifications.

RCS encourages external referrals and offers a referral bonus after a successful hire. This will be paid 90 days after the new hire's start date. Bonus amounts vary based on the skill level and position of the referred candidate and are provided in the form of a gift certificate.