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.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 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).

Clearance requirements: 

• U.S. Citizenship is required.

• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust.

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Original Posting:

Pay Range:

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.