Platform Cloud Engineer - Space Programs (build/deploy)

Peraton; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 112,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Heavily subsidized employee benefits

25 days PTO

Eligibility for bonus plan

Job summary

Peraton is looking for a Cloud Engineer - Space Programs in Herndon, Virginia. This role involves designing, automating, and operating mission-critical cloud infrastructure for national security. Ideal candidates will have cloud engineering experience, expertise in CI/CD processes, and current TS/SCI clearance. The position offers competitive salary ranges between $112,000 - $179,000, along with generous benefits, including 25 days of PTO and eligibility for a bonus plan.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience; 4 years may substitute for Bachelor's degree.
• Minimum TS clearance with SCI eligibility and pass polygraph.
• 4+ years of experience in cloud engineering or orchestration.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms and automation tools.
• Proficient with containerization technologies.

Responsibilities

• Design, automate, and operate cloud infrastructure for mission-critical applications.
• Build CI/CD pipelines for large-scale deployments using infrastructure-as-code.
• Secure systems using DevSecOps practices and troubleshoot security issues.
• Optimize reliability and observability across cloud services and containers.
• Maintain documentation and configuration management for operations.

Skills

Cloud engineering

Build/release automation

Containerization and orchestration

DevSecOps practices

Scripting abilities (Bash, PowerShell, Python)

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Current IAT Level II certification

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Ansible

Git/GitLab

Jenkins

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Job description

Cloud Engineer - Space Programs (build/deploy)

Job Locations: US-VA-Herndon | US-CO-Aurora

Requisition ID: 2026-166199
Position Category: Information Technology
Clearance: Top Secret/SCI w/Poly

Responsibilities

Peraton is seeking a Cloud Engineer - Space Programs to design, automate, and operate mission‑critical cloud infrastructure. This position will support the EMMETT program, a next‑gen Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Indications and Warning (I&W) system – an enterprise capability that catalogs resident space objects (RSOs), identifies RSOs of interest, and delivers timely data to ground operators. Leveraging cloud platforms, infrastructure‑as‑code, container orchestration, and CI/CD, this role enables secure, scalable delivery of capabilities to Agile scrum teams across classified environments. The ideal candidate combines deep hands‑on experience in automation and large‑scale deployments with strong problem‑solving and DevSecOps discipline to improve reliability, speed, and security of releases.

What you’ll do:

• Build and automate cloud infrastructure and containerized services (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift), enabling high availability.
• Design, implement, and maintain CI/CD pipelines and release orchestration for large‑scale deployments, leveraging infrastructure‑as‑code and automated configuration to streamline builds, testing, patching, and delivery.
• Harden and secure systems using DevSecOps practices or OWASP frameworks; implement and troubleshoot PKI/certificates, identity integration (e.g., Active Directory/FreeIPA), security baselines, STIG‑aligned patching, and compliance controls.
• Monitor and optimize reliability and observability (logging, metrics, tracing) across networking, OS, containers, and cloud services; diagnose complex issues affecting performance, availability, or security in classified environments.
• Develop and maintain engineering artifacts and configuration management to ensure repeatable, well‑documented operations aligned to the integrated master schedule (IMS).

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• A Bachelor's degree with 5+ years of relevant experience. Additional four (4) years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• This position requires the candidate possess a minimum of TS clearance with SCI eligibility and the ability to pass a polygraph within 30 days of employment or at customers request – contract requires TS/SCI with poly. The candidate must maintain the clearance.
• 4+ years of experience in cloud engineering, build/release automation, or orchestration.
• Current IAT Level II certification (examples include Security+ CE, SSCP, CCNA‑Security, or GSEC).
• Hands‑on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP), infrastructure‑as‑code, and automation tools (e.g., Ansible, Git/GitLab, Jenkins).
• Proficiency with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift, or Rancher.
• Experience developing or supporting CI/CD pipelines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active/current TS/SCI with poly.
• Scripting abilities in languages like Bash, PowerShell, or Python.
• Familiarity with protocols including JSON and XML.
• Cloud certification such as AWS Solutions Architect Associate, Google Cloud Architect, or Microsoft MCSE - Cloud Platform.
• Experience with Linux system administration (RHEL), PKI/certificates, and identity services such as Active Directory or FreeIPA.
• Familiarity with OWASP, STIGs, and security hardening in classified or highly regulated environments; experience with Atlassian tools (JIRA/Confluence).
• Strong problem‑solving skills and the ability to enhance automation processes.

Benefits

Peraton offers enhanced benefits to employees working on this critical National Security program, which include heavily subsidized employee benefits coverage for you and your dependents, 25 days of PTO accrued annually up to a generous PTO cap and eligibility to participate in an attractive bonus plan.

Target Salary Range

$112,000 - $179,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual's experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.

EEO

EEO: Equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veterans, or other characteristics protected by law.