Senior Systems Engineer #587 Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. req820 Department Senate
Salary $102,745.00 to $173,959.00 Grade 00 to 00
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/28/2026 Close Date 2/11/2026
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Senate Sergeant at Arms is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer. The complete vacancy announcement and application can be found on the United States Senate Career Page at https://sen.gov/1VNZQ. This vacancy announcement closes at 7pm EST on the closing date. Late applications will not be accepted.

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Duties

Contributes to the section's work effort in responding to incidents from other sections, including the help desk. Supports tasks which may include helping to develop standard operating procedures, assignments, and coordination of work efforts to address issues. Assists users with computer needs such as installing and configuring software/hardware on their PC; troubleshoots problems with user systems. Provisions new accounts for users. Supports the section's work effort to develop processes and procedures to streamline the resolution of issues. Provides technical support for Senate information technology or telecommunications services, systems, hardware, software, and storage solutions to the users; supports Senate offices, contract support vendors, and other technical staff in troubleshooting and managing the various Senate environments. Maintains and monitors LAN/WAN and SAN operations and solves LAN/WAN and SAN applications problems; installs integrates, customizes, enhances, troubleshoots, and tests LAN and SAN hardware and software. Assists in installing, upgrading, customizing, tuning, and maintaining databases for optimal performance and availability; assists in developing, testing, and implementing database store procedures, functions, triggers, views, and packages. Conducts acceptance and integration testing; assists vendor systems implementation by troubleshooting related system issues affecting Senate users. Analyzes, designs, develops, implements, and maintains applications to meet the needs of Senate users; assists with product evaluations and implementation. Attends internal training provided by subject matter experts to understand operational tasks, documents support needs, and share the information within the assigned section. Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

  • For conditions of employment and citizenship requirements, please visit the job announcement on the United States Senate Career Page at https://sen.gov/YO0NL.

Qualifications

Required Work Experience

  • Five to eight years of relevant work experience (GED), three to six (Associates), one to three year (Bachelor’s), one to two (Master’s).

Required Special Skills/ Knowledge

  • As part of our hiring process, we may conduct a skills assessment to better understand an applicant’s proficiency in key areas relevant to the role. 
  • Manages current storage capacity and ensures storage is available to support all computing environments; plans for future storage growth; monitors and confirms that system files and application products are successfully backed-up; performs necessary installations, patches, and upgrades.
  • Works escalated issues from lower-tier team members. Mentors/relays information on solutions to train others.
  • Analyzes new hardware and software releases for their impact on the Senate environment; tests new releases on Senate supported platforms; develops product configuration standards for use in the Senate environment.
  • Creates, develops, modifies, instructs, and provides technical assistance on business continuity plans and processes.

Desired Qualifications

  • Expert level experience in any database type administration role.
  • 3+ Years of experience with managing and administrating databases.
  • 2+ Years of experience in Linux operating system.
  • Ability to set up real-time alerting for failed jobs, builds and databases, ensuring quick resolution of incidents in production or pre-production environments.
  • Ability to install, configure, and maintain at least one of MSSQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB in production, development, and staging environments.
  • Knowledge of optimizing database performance by configuring indexes, managing query efficiency, and tuning the database for workload-specific performance. This includes memory management, cache optimization, and monitoring tools like Ops Manager to proactively address performance bottlenecks.
  • Ability to configure and implement proactive monitoring, alerting and performance tools, e.g. PGMonitor, Ops Manager or similar.
  • Ability to design and maintain a Disaster Recovery architecture utilizing replication over a WAN for MySQL and PostgreSQL.
  • Working knowledge of Structured Query Language (SQL) Syntax, including the ability to manage the data within a PostgreSQL or MySQL database.
  • Knowledge of setting up backup and recovery strategies for seamless customer support.
  • Experience with databases in cloud environments, ensuring backups and scaling are automated is a plus.
  • Scripting and development skills (Ansible, Bash, Python, and PowerShell).

Desired Certifications

  • PostgreSQL Database Administration Certified Professional.
  • MongoDB Associate Database Administrator.
  • Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS).

Working Conditions

  • The U.S. Senate network cannot be taken offline for maintenance during the workday, or while the Senate is in session. As such, maintenance windows may only occur at night, on weekends, and occasionally on holidays. Employees who perform systems upgrades, maintenance, wiring, backups, support our alternate data centers will have schedules that include working nights, weekends, and holidays.
  • This position directly supports essential services of the U.S. Senate. As such, this position requires the employee be available and prepared to work during government shutdowns, in inclement weather, on holidays, weekends, and during late nights to ensure essential services to the Senate continue without interruption. In the context of government furloughs, this position is considered excepted.  
  • Since this position requires onsite presence in support of the U.S. Senate when in session, this position requires the employee to be available and prepared to work during government shutdowns, in inclement weather, on holidays, and during late night, overnight, and weekend sessions. In the context of government furloughs, this position is considered excepted.

Security Clearance

  • This position requires that the applicant obtain and maintain a Secret U.S. Government security clearance.
  • Applicants must be U.S. citizens in order for the SAA to submit your application for a security clearance.

Education

High School Diploma/ GED.

Additional information

The Sergeant at Arms is an equal opportunity employer in accordance with the requirements of Senate rules, regulations, and applicable Federal Laws. This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Decisions to grant reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Please email SAARecruitment@saa.senate.gov with “Applicant Accommodation” in the subject line. No moving, relocation or pre-employment travel expenses will be paid for this position, or while in application for this position.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application will be evaluated by a panel on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education. Highly qualified candidates may be interviewed and a reference check conducted.

Required Documents

  • Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade.

Subject to background/security investigation.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

All applicants must apply for jobs online using this link: https://sen.gov/YO0NL. Paper application materials, resumes and attachments that are sent via email, mail or brought in-person will not be considered or accepted. All applicants MUST attach their documents to the online employment application.

Agency contact information

Email
SAARecruitment@saa.senate.gov
Address
U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms
US. Senate Capitol Office Building
Washington, DC, Washington, DC 20001

Next steps

Qualified candidates will be contacted directly.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.