NEEDED: DDI Architect (DNS / DHCP / IPAM) – NASA
About the Role
NASA seeks a seasoned DDI Architect to lead the architecture, design, engineering, and lifecycle management of enterprise-scale DNS, DHCP, and IP Address Management (IPAM) services across Corporate and Mission networks. The role will drive secure, resilient name resolution aligned to federal requirements—including NIST SP 800‑53 controls for secure name/address resolution (SC‑20, SC‑21), NIST SP 800‑81r3 DNS security guidance, and CISA encrypted/protective DNS mandates—and support NASA’s mission-critical DNS operations, which include participation as a Root Server Operator (E‑root).
You will partner closely with Engineering, System Administration, and Operations teams.
Key Responsibilities:Enterprise DDI Architecture & Compliance
Design and maintain authoritative and recursive DNS architectures that implement NIST SP 800‑53 SC‑20 (authoritative) and SC‑21 (recursive/caching)—including DNSSEC signing/validation and chain-of-trust with DS records.
Operationalize NIST SP 800‑81r3 guidance for secure DNS deployment (protective DNS, encrypted DNS protocols such as DoT/DoH/DoQ, logging/forensics, QNAME minimization) across enterprise DNS roles (authoritative servers, resolvers, zone administration).
Ensure compliance with CISA’s Encrypted DNS Implementation Guidance and Zero Trust objectives, including routing egress resolution via CISA Protective DNS (PDNS) and blocking unauthorized external resolvers.
Align with CISA Binding Operational Directives (BODs)—BOD 18‑01 (DMARC/HSTS/STARTTLS), BOD 22‑01 (KEV remediation timelines), BOD 23‑01 (asset visibility/vulnerability detection), and BOD 23‑02 (mitigate internet‑exposed management interfaces).
Drive IPv6‑first strategy per OMB M‑21‑07 (native IPv6 for public services, IPv6‑only milestones) and maintain dual‑stack transition hygiene for DNS, DHCPv6, and IPAM.
Operations, Risk Reduction & Lifecycle Management
Serve as technical lead for large‑scale DDI environments, overseeing secure configurations, automation, availability, and performance across centers. (Role scope mirrors enterprise‑class environments consistent with NASA’s operational scale.)
Implement protective controls and monitoring to detect, log, and investigate DNS misuse; integrate with SIEM/SOAR for forensics and incident response per 800‑81r3.
Maintain continuous vulnerability management aligned to CISA’s KEV catalog and reporting expectations; coordinate remediation timelines and control validation.
Secure networked management interfaces (e.g., DNS appliance UI/API, DHCP consoles, IPAM admin) by removing public exposure or enforcing Zero Trust policy enforcement points in accordance with BOD 23‑02.
Govern DNS email‑related configurations (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) to meet BOD 18‑01 requirements and support NASA Email Architecture.
Root & .gov Domain Stewardship
Participate in operations for E.root‑servers.org (E‑root) as applicable—supporting authoritative root zone service, anycast deployments, and adherence to RSSAC‑002 metrics and RSO coordination.
Ensure .gov domain compliance (DNSSEC signing, secure delegation) per federal directives and NIST guidance.
IP Address Governance
Administer top‑level allocations and growth planning for IPv4/IPv6, consistent with ARIN policies and best practices (aggregation, RPKI, reverse DNS hygiene).
Automation & Modernization
Evaluate and integrate DDI platform capabilities (e.g., encrypted DNS with PDNS, DNSSEC automation, DHCPv6 prefix delegation, IPAM APIs), and champion modernization aligned with Zero Trust and federal CDM initiatives.
Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of experience, or an Associate's degree and 15+ years of experience designing and operating enterprise DNS/DHCP/IPAM (DDI) services, with demonstrated authority in secure DNS architectures (DNSSEC, validating resolvers, signed zones, DS management). (Aligned to NIST SP 800‑53 SC‑20/SC‑21.)
Hands‑on implementation of NIST SP 800‑81r3 practices: protective DNS, encrypted DNS (DoT/DoH/DoQ), secure recursive resolvers, authoritative hardening, and comprehensive DNS logging/forensics.
Practical experience meeting CISA’s Encrypted DNS Guidance and PDNS integration; ability to prevent unauthorized DNS traffic and enforce endpoint, cloud, and SASE/SSE DNS policies.
Proven track record implementing federal BODs (18‑01, 22‑01, 23‑01, 23‑02) within large environments, including KEV‑driven patch prioritization and Zero Trust controls for management interfaces.
IPv6 expertise: DNS over IPv6, DHCPv6, IPAM for IPv6, and strategic migration compliant with OMB M‑21‑07 milestones.
Familiarity with .gov DNSSEC requirements and secure delegation processes for federal domains.
Knowledge of ARIN policies (NRPM), address planning/aggregation, and registry hygiene (WHOIS/POC validation, RPKI, reverse DNS).
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience supporting or coordinating with Root Server Operators; familiarity with E‑root anycast operations and RSSAC‑002 metrics submissions.
Prior leadership in environments with protective DNS and encrypted DNS end‑to‑end (endpoint, internal resolvers, egress to PDNS, cloud).
Demonstrated capability to manage DMARC/SPF/DKIM deployments at scale per BOD 18‑01 (including HSTS/HTTPS and STARTTLS hardening).
Experience integrating DDI with asset discovery and vulnerability enumeration programs per BOD 23‑01; evidence of KEV remediation workflows.
Strong understanding of NIST SP 800‑53 Rev.5 broader control families (SC, SI, AU) and mapping to DNS/Network operations.
Background with ARIN IPv6 allocations, ASN operations, and address governance at federal scale.
U.S. Citizenship is required.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust.
If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.
Original Posting:August 7, 2026For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.
The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree and 10+ years experience OR Associate's degree and 15+ years designing and operating enterprise DNS/DHCP/IPAM (DDI) services.
- Hands-on implementation of NIST SP 800-81r3 practices: protective DNS, encrypted DNS (DoT/DoH/DoQ), secure recursive resolvers, authoritative hardening, and DNS logging/forensics.
- Practical experience implementing CISA Encrypted DNS Guidance and PDNS integration; preventing unauthorized DNS traffic and enforcing endpoint/cloud/SASE DNS policies.
- Proven track record implementing federal BODs (18-01, 22-01, 23-01, 23-02), including KEV remediation and Zero Trust controls for management interfaces.
- IPv6 expertise: DNS over IPv6, DHCPv6, IPAM for IPv6, and migration strategy compliant with OMB M-21-07.
- .gov DNSSEC requirements and secure delegation processes for federal domains.
- Knowledge of ARIN policies (NRPM), address planning/aggregation, RPKI, reverse DNS hygiene, and registry/WHOIS/POC practices.
- U.S. Citizenship.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust.
- Experience supporting or coordinating with Root Server Operators (E-root anycast, RSSAC-002).
- Leadership experience with protective DNS and encrypted DNS end-to-end (endpoint, resolvers, egress to PDNS).
- Experience managing DMARC/SPF/DKIM deployments at scale per BOD 18-01.
- Experience integrating DDI with asset discovery and vulnerability enumeration programs; KEV remediation workflows.
- Familiarity with NIST SP 800-53 Rev.5 control mappings for DNS/network operations.
- Background with ARIN IPv6 allocations, ASN operations, and federal-scale address governance.
Leidos Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Leidos and has not been reviewed or approved by Leidos.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, with multiple plan options, low office-visit copays in some plans, and access to mental health and wellness support tools. The availability of HSA/FSA options and employer contributions is positioned as a meaningful part of the total package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are framed as a strong component of total rewards, highlighted by a 401(k) match and immediate vesting in the standard package. The Employee Stock Purchase Plan is also presented as an additional long-term wealth-building feature.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing and lifestyle supports extend beyond core insurance, including wellness programs, fitness-related stipends, and assistance resources. Work flexibility and related perks are also included as part of the broader rewards experience.
Leidos Insights
What We Do
We Are Leidos For 50 years we have been tackling some of the biggest problems that face our nation and our world. OUR MISSION Through our culture of innovation and history of performance, we develop deep customer trust built on integrity and create enduring solutions that improve our world. Leidos is a science and technology solutions leader working to address some of the world’s toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and healthcare markets. The company’s 43,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2020. Leidos was cited for the meaningful work employees perform that is challenging, impactful, and aligned with our customers’ missions as reasons professionals want to work and stay at our company. Leidos has also been named to lists including Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity, Forbes’ America’s Best Employers for Women, Military Times Best for Vets Employers, and Ethisphere Institute’s World's Most Ethical Companies®. Employees enjoy career enrichment opportunities available through mobility and development and experience rewarding relationships with supportive supervisors and talented colleagues and customers. Employees appreciate our flexible work environment, allowing for and encouraging a true work-life balance. Our professionals are also excited about our Employee Resource Groups, like the newly launched Collaborative Outreach with Remote and Embedded Employees (CORE), which strives to create an environment where every employee, regardless of location, feels fully engaged as a valued employee of Leidos. Your most important work is ahead.
