DevOps Engineering Support Team Lead

Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Oak Ridge (TN); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Dental plan

Vision plan

401(k) retirement plan

Relocation assistance

Educational assistance

Wellness programs

Job summary

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) invites applications for a DevOps Engineering Support Team Leader in the Research IT Infrastructure Group. This onsite leadership role guides DevOps for R&D projects, oversees a team, and collaborates with customers and relationship managers to balance workloads and set strategic direction.

You will drive automation, CI/CD, monitoring, and cloud/on-prem solutions using Kubernetes, GitLab, Harbor, Helm, Ansible, and other tools, while advancing best practices

Qualifications

• BS degree in a technical, scientific, business, or related field and 8+ years of experience.
• Experience with configuration management and automation tools (Git, Jenkins, Ansible, Puppet or similar).
• Proficiency in scripting languages (Bash, Python, Go, PowerShell).
• Proven leadership ability (projects, teams).
• Kubernetes certifications such as CKA and CKAD.
• Experience managing UNIX/Linux systems and production Kubernetes infra; cloud experience (AWS/Azure/GCP).

Responsibilities

• Lead staff, performance management, and development plans.
• Regularly meet with customers and relationship managers to align IT needs and workloads.
• Remove roadblocks and oversee time/attendance; manage training and staffing.
• Direct Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, on-prem and cloud deployments for efficiency and scalability.
• Provide project reports and evaluate new DevOps tools and trends.
• Develop business relationships with researchers and promote Kubernetes best practices.

Skills

DevOps leadership

Kubernetes

CI/CD pipelines

Git/Jenkins/Ansible

Scripting (Bash/Python/Go/PowerShell)

UNIX/Linux

Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Kubernetes certifications (CKA/CKAD)

Team management

Education

BS degree in technical/scientific/related field

Tools

Git

Jenkins

Ansible

Puppet

Kubernetes

Helm

Harbor

Prometheus

Grafana

Job description

Overview:

We are hiring a DevOps Engineering Support Team Leader in the Research IT Infrastructure Group of the Research Computing Support Division in the Information Technology Services Directorate! This leadership position resides onsite in Oak Ridge, TN.

This position leads and supports the facilitation of DevOps for R&D Projects with the DevOps team directly reporting to the Team Lead! You'll hold regular meetings with the customers (those providing funding) and the existing business relationship managers to ensure IT needs are being met, and to balance and manage project workloads as they ramp up and down. The Team Lead provides metrics, strategy, and stays ahead of existing DevOps trends in the industry.

We work as a team to provide deployment, automation, monitoring, and management tool infrastructure for researchers and their projects. DevOps also advocates and promotes best practices to researchers who develop code as a part of their project. We operate within an Agile Scrum workflow while working with researchers to provide automation solutions.

Our Stack and Workflow:

• Work planning and documentation - Jira/Confluence
• Code repository, CI/CD – Gitlab and Harbor
• Configuration and Package Management – Helm, Ansible
• Container Orchestration - Kubernetes, Rancher
• Monitoring, Analytics and Visualization - Prometheus, Grafana, Elasticsearch
• Other technologies utilized/supported include, but aren’t limited to Selenium, Nginx, Traefik, Trivy, Artifactory, and Checkmarx

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

Staff Management:

• Performance management, including creation of yearly performance and development plans, as well as mid-year and year-end assessments.
• Routine meetings with staff to understand current projects and roadblocks.
• Help with removal of roadblocks.
• Time and attendance oversight and approval.
• Develop and manage training plans and budget.
• Hire/contract for additional staff necessary to support DevOps projects.

Technical Engagement:

• Keep customers informed of major IT initiatives.
• Work with staff and customers to develop and/or review solutions.
• Troubleshoot and debug various Kubernetes workloads, CI/CD pipelines, and implement solutions to optimize performance and scalability both on-premise and in the cloud.
• Provide reports as requested, such as major accomplishments or staffing per project.
• Evaluate and document new tools/trends to set path forward for DevOps at ORNL.
• Maintain an eye toward improved service and delivery.

Customer Relationship:

• Develop business relationships with customers, understanding their business and where IT could provide services.
• Develop new services and manage existing services to meet the needs of research.
• Work with researchers and developers to encourage and facilitate Kubernetes best practices into applications, write Helm charts, configure sophisticated pipelines to streamline multiple code repositories for automated deployments/upgrades, and work with others across the organization to ensure delivery of secure solutions in compliance with Internal Operating Procedures.

Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service.

Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

Basic Qualifications:

• A BS degree in a technical, scientific, business, or related field of study and eight (8) or more years of experience is required for consideration. An equivalent combination of education and experience may also be considered.
• Working experience with configuration management and automation tools like Git, Jenkins, Ansible, Puppet, or other CI/CD pipeline tools.
• Proficiency in at least one scripting language like Bash, Python, Go, PowerShell, or equivalent.
• Proven leadership ability (projects, teams, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Kubernetes certifications such as CKA and CKAD.
• RHSA, VCP, AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
• 8+ years' demonstrated ability managing UNIX/Linux Systems. 2 or more years' experience building and managing Kubernetes infrastructure in a production environment.
• 1+ years' experience using Kubernetes for container orchestration.
• Experience managing virtual infrastructure on public clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc).
• Solid understanding of multiple operating systems.
• Experience with performance and diagnostic tools for benchmarking, analysis and tuning of systems, networking, and storage.
• Previous experience working in a government, scientific, or other highly technical environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills suitable for user support and ability to work well with peers.
• Demonstrated ability to balance complex research and security requirements.
• Technical documentation skills, including ability to prepare simple documentation web pages.

Special Requirements:

• Visa Sponsorship: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
• Q or L clearance: This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a clearance from the Department of Energy. As such, this position is a Workplace Substance Abuse (WSAP) testing designated position. WSAP positions require passing a pre-placement drug test and participation in an ongoing random drug testing program.
• To obtain this credential, new employees must successfully complete and pass a Federal Tier 1 background check investigation. This investigation includes a declaration of illegal drug activities, including use, supply, possession, or manufacture within the last year. This includes marijuana and cannabis derivatives, which are still considered illegal under federal law, regardless of state laws.

About ORNL:

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL is known as a top choice for employment. These principles are essential for supporting our broader mission to drive scientific breakthroughs and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security challenges facing the nation.

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain individuals who demonstrate exceptional work behaviors. The laboratory provides a range of employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to support the well‑being of you and your family. Employee amenities such as on‑site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also available for added convenience.

Other benefits include the following:

• Prescription Drug Plan
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Contributory Pension Plan
• Life Insurance
• Disability Benefits
• Generous Vacation and Holidays
• Parental Leave
• Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• Wellness Programs
• Educational Assistance
• Relocation Assistance
• Employee Discounts

If you have difficulty using the online application system or need an accommodation to apply due to a disability, please email: [e-mail].

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply. UT‑Battelle is an E-Verify employer.