Principal IT Solutions Architect

Clarity Innovations is a trusted national security partner, dedicated to safeguarding our nation's interests and delivering innovative solutions that empower the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) to transform data into actionable intelligence, ensuring mission success in an evolving world.

Our mission-first software and data engineering platform modernizes data operations, utilizing advanced workflows, CI/CD, and secure DevSecOps practices. We focus on challenges in Information Warfare, Cyber Operations, Operational Security, and Data Structuring, enabling end-to-end solutions that drive operational impact.

We are committed to delivering cutting-edge tools and capabilities that address the most complex national security challenges, empowering our partners to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensuring the success of their critical missions. At Clarity, we are people-focused and set on being a destination employer for top talent, offering an environment where innovation thrives, careers grow, and individuals are valued. Join us as we continue to lead innovation and tackle the most pressing challenges in national security.

Principal IT Solutions Architect

Description:

We are seeking a Principal IT Solutions Architect to lead the design and evolution of an on-site, self-contained "IT-Department in a Box" capability, tailored to support a high-complexity, compliance-driven hybrid infrastructure. This role will be instrumental in designing, documenting, and guiding the implementation of secure, scalable, and standards-aligned systems that integrate identity, virtualization, automation, and monitoring solutions.

The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise across Linux and Windows environments, identity and access management, compliance architectures, virtualization, automation tooling (e.g., Ansible), and hybrid cloud integration. This is a strategic and hands-on role that interfaces with stakeholders to ensure long-term maintainability, security, and performance of core infrastructure components.

Key Responsibilities

Architectural Leadership:

• Lead the end-to-end architecture design and technical planning for hybrid infrastructure deployments.

• Develop architectural documentation, system diagrams, and standards to support long-term scalability and auditability.

• Design trusted identity federation and integrated authentication platforms using Red Hat IdM, Keycloak, and related technologies.

• Define and maintain a roadmap for infrastructure services, aligned with evolving compliance and security requirements.

Infrastructure & Integration:

• Architect and support Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments with Satellite and Ansible integration.

• Provide technical direction for VMware-based virtualization environments, including resource optimization and DR planning.

• Ensure seamless integration between Linux and Windows systems, with secure identity bridging and interoperability.

• Recommend and validate infrastructure solutions that align with both organizational goals and compliance frameworks.

Security & Compliance:

• Provide architectural oversight to ensure alignment with NIST, CIS, FedRAMP, or other applicable security and compliance frameworks.

• Lead technical efforts to enhance security posture management, including secure baseline configurations, patching, and privileged access management.

• Collaborate with cybersecurity and compliance teams to embed security and privacy controls into system designs.

Technical Mentorship & Governance:

• Serve as a technical mentor to systems engineers and infrastructure staff.

• Contribute to internal architectural review boards and change advisory boards.

• Promote architectural best practices, including modularity, version control, and automated compliance checks.

Key Technologies & Focus Areas:

• Identity & Federation: Red Hat IdM, FreeIPA, Keycloak, SAML, OAuth2, LDAP, Active Directory

• Systems & Virtualization: Red Hat Linux (RHEL), Windows Server, VMware vSphere/ESXi, Satellite, Ansible

• Automation & Configuration Management: Ansible, Git, CI/CD Pipelines

• Security & Compliance: CIS Benchmarks, STIGs, vulnerability scanning, system hardening

• Documentation & Planning Tools: Visio, Confluence, Jira, or equivalent

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field (Master's preferred).

• 8+ years of progressive IT infrastructure experience, with at least 5 in an architecture or lead engineer capacity.

• Deep knowledge of enterprise Linux and Windows systems, identity federation, and virtualization platforms.

• Demonstrated success in designing compliant infrastructure systems in regulated environments.

• Proven ability to produce clear architectural documentation and articulate design decisions to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Clearance re quired: Current TS with SCI eligibility

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of US Air Force cybersecurity requirements and workflows.

• Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA), VMware VCP, or similar certifications.

• Experience working in defense, healthcare, finance, or similarly regulated industries.

• Hands-on experience with hybrid cloud models or edge computing environments.

• Familiarity with container technologies and orchestration (e.g., Podman, Kubernetes) a plus.

Work Environment:

• On-site role; must be available for full-time presence at the Pentagon.

• May require occasional after-hours support or weekend work to support mission needs or system updates.

If you are passionate about creating exceptional user outcomes and thrive in a collaborative team setting, we invite you to apply and be a key contributor to our product development efforts.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.