DevOps Engineer

CDC Foundation; Remote; USD 103,000 - 144,000; Full time

Job summary

A public health nonprofit is seeking a DevOps Engineer to provide technical guidance and support the transition to modern deployment processes. This fully remote position requires a Bachelor’s degree and at least five years of experience with complex technology implementations. The ideal candidate will have expertise in containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes, proficiency in programming languages like Java or JavaScript, and strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Salary ranges from $103,500 to $143,500 per year, based on experience.

Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of experience in complex technology implementations.
• Experience with modern application deployment and orchestration technologies.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Java or JavaScript.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement an on-premise, containerized infrastructure.
• Provision and configure servers and networking for the containerized environment.
• Monitor system performance and address stability issues proactively.

Skills

Reliability

Automation

Analytical thinking

Problem-solving

Effective communication

Collaboration

Flexibility

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

SQL Server

Elasticsearch

Apache Kafka

Keycloak

Job description

Overview

The DevOps Engineer will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation’s mission by providing engineering and technical guidance for the design, planning, development, and delivery of critical applications in a public health organization. This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements.

Working within Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Bureau of Information Technology (IT) and the Office of Informatics & Data Analytics (OIDA), the DevOps Engineer will support ADPH’s transition from NBS6 to NBS7 by modernizing deployment, configuration, and maintenance processes. This includes implementing automated, repeatable deployment pipelines and improving system reliability within ADPH’s on-premise infrastructure environment.

The DevOps Engineer will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Bureau of Information Technology (IT) and the Office of Informatics & Data Analytics (OIDA). This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement an on-premise, containerized infrastructure to support deployment of NBS 7.
• Provision and configure servers, storage, and networking required for the containerized environment.
• Implement container orchestration, configuration management, and automated deployment pipelines.
• Assist application team in deploying code regularly and as automatically as possible.
• Conduct load tests to ensure the application is ready to handle projected user traffic.
• Automate build, test, deployment, and rollback processes to improve reliability and reduce downtime.
• Monitor system performance, availability, and resource utilization; address stability issues proactively.
• Lead postmortem discussions and drive continuous improvement to prevent similar outages when issues are encountered.
• Conduct technology evaluations and provide architectural guidance.
• Explain product or services to people who have varying levels of technical knowledge.
• Review code and consult with other developers on new features and the implications for application performance.
• Collaborate with surveillance, laboratory, and informatics staff to validate workflows and system behavior.
• Document architecture and deployment procedures for long‑term support.
• Support knowledge transfer to existing ADPH IT staff to ensure sustainability after project completion.
• Up to 10% domestic travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in complex technology implementations in a product‑centric environment.
• Experience with developing software, with emphasis on reliability, automation, testing, measuring, and scaling infrastructure.
• Knowledge and experience in deployment and network operations, or systems administration including scripting, coding and development that focuses on improving the planning, testing and deployment.
• Experience with modern application deployment and orchestration technologies, such as containerization and orchestration platforms including Docker and Kubernetes.
• Proficiency and experience in programming languages such as Java or JavaScript.
• Integration experience using and building APIs.
• Experience working with relational databases like SQL Server.
• Experience with search, indexing, and analytics platforms used to support high‑performance applications, such as Elasticsearch.
• Experience with distributed messaging and streaming technologies used for system integration and data flow, such as Apache Kafka.
• Experience with identity, access management, and authentication frameworks for secure application environments, such as Keycloak.
• Experience working with cloud‑native or hybrid infrastructure tools and services that support scalable, resilient system architectures.
• Ability to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and stakeholders to establish a shared vision and understanding of a project’s technical implementation, objectives, and goals.
• Understand engineering best practices such as source control, automated testing, continuous integration and deployment, and peer review.
• Health IT familiarity preferred (i.e. LOINC/SNOMED).
• Ability to analyze complex technical requirements and translate them into scalable software solutions.
• Familiarity with agile development methodologies, software design patterns, and best practices.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem‑solving abilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to be adept at conveying technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills; and the ability to develop productive working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, and partners.
• Collaborative, proactive problem solver.
• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams.

Job Highlights

• Location: Remote, must be based in the United States.
• Salary Range: $103,500 - $143,500 per year, plus benefits. Individual salary offers will be based on experience and qualifications unique to each candidate.
• Position Type: Grant funded, limited‑term opportunity.
• Position End Date: June 30, 2027.

Special Notes

This role is involved in a dynamic public health program. As such, roles and responsibilities are subject to change as situations evolve. Roles and responsibilities listed above may be expanded upon or updated to match priorities and needs, once written approval is received by the CDC Foundation in order to best support the public health programming.

The CDC Foundation is a smoke‑free environment.

Relocation expenses are not included.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disabilities, veteran status, and all other characteristics protected by law.

We comply with all applicable laws including E.O. 11246 and the Vietnam Era Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 governing employment practices and do not discriminate on the basis of any unlawful criteria in accordance with 41 C.F.R.

• 60‑300.5(a)(12) and 60‑741.5(a)(7). As a federal government contractor, we take affirmative action on behalf of protected veterans.

About The CDC Foundation

The CDC Foundation helps CDC save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go‑to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private‑sector resources to support CDC’s critical health protection mission. The CDC Foundation manages hundreds of programs each year impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. Visit www.cdcfoundation.org for more information.