Principal IT Systems Engineer

About Mach Industries

Founded in 2022, Mach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology company focused on developing next-generation autonomous defense platforms. At the core of our mission is the commitment to delivering scalable, decentralized defense systems that enhance the strategic capabilities of the United States and its allies. With a workforce of approximately 220 employees, we operate with startup agility and ambition.

Our vision is to redefine the future of warfare through cutting-edge manufacturing, innovation at speed, and unwavering focus on national security. We are dedicated to solving the next generation of warfare with lethal systems that deter kinetic conflict and protect global security.

The Role

We are seeking a Principal IT Systems Engineer to lead the architecture, implementation, automation, and lifecycle management of enterprise IT infrastructure. This role serves as technical authority across engineering, cloud and on-prem platforms, identity, endpoint management, observability, security hardening, and infrastructure automation. This person will drive modernization through infrastructure as code, configuration management, CI/CD integration, system reliability practices, and repeatable operational workflows. You will be responsible for building the technical foundations, standards, and deployment models required to scale IT reliably across a growing multi-site organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and maintain scalable, resilient, and secure infrastructure across cloud, hybrid, and on-prem environments.

• Lead design standards and long-term roadmaps for core platforms including servers, virtualization, storage, identity, endpoints, collaboration, and backup systems.

• Build reference architectures, deployment blueprints, and repeatable site rollout models to support offices, warehouses, production environments, and remote locations.

• Drive an automation-first approach using infrastructure as code, CI/CD pipelines, and operational automation for provisioning, patching, compliance, backups, certificates, and access management.

• Improve reliability through standardized recovery procedures, automation, and resilient support models.

• Oversee enterprise systems administration and operations, ensuring availability, performance, lifecycle management, and disaster readiness.

• Strengthen security and compliance by implementing controls aligned with frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2, and CMMC, while advancing SSO, MFA, PAM, RBAC, and conditional access.

• Lead major infrastructure initiatives, translate business needs into technical execution plans, mentor engineers, and advise leadership on risk, resilience, and long-term scaling.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• 10+ years of systems engineering, infrastructure engineering.

• Deep experience supporting complex enterprise environments across cloud and on-prem systems.

• Strong hands-on experience with automation and scripting, including PowerShell, Python, Bash, or similar.

• Experience building and maintaining infrastructure as code and configuration automation using tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Puppet, or similar.

• Experience with CI/CD platforms such as GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, or similar.

• Strong expertise in Windows, Linux, virtualization, identity systems, endpoint management, cloud platforms, backup/recovery, and enterprise systems operations.

• Experience with observability, monitoring, logging, and operational health tooling.

• Strong knowledge of systems security, access control, hardening, and vulnerability remediation.

• Ability to travel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in regulated or compliance-driven environments such as defense, manufacturing, aerospace, or similar industries.

• Exposure to security and compliance frameworks including NIST 800-171, CMMC, SOC 2, ISO 27001, or related standards.

• Experience with SRE-style operational practices and service reliability or platform engineering initiatives.

• Familiarity with integrating enterprise IT systems with software delivery pipelines and cloud-native tooling.

• Working knowledge of modern infrastructure technologies such as containers, artifact repositories, secrets management, and service orchestration.

• Experience developing automation for identity lifecycle management, PKI/certificates, patching, endpoint deployment, or compliance validation.

• Experience supporting standardized infrastructure deployments for branch offices, warehouses, or production sites.

• Relevant industry certifications such as Microsoft, AWS, Terraform, Kubernetes, VMware, CISSP, RHCSA/RHCE, or similar.

Disclosures

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).  Please note that any offer for employment may be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations without sponsorship for an export license.

Mach participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offers may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and training, critical skills, and business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in most offers and are considered part of Mach’s total compensation package. Mach offers benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and opportunities for professional development.

Mach is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws. If you’d like to defend the American way of life, please reach out!