Innovation and Automation Lead

Accenture Federal Services; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 108,400 - 203,400; Full time

Job summary

Accenture Federal Services is seeking an Automation Lead in Arlington, Virginia, to enhance efficiency and innovation across its data platform. You will lead a specialized team to design CI/CD pipelines and automation frameworks.

The ideal candidate will have over 5 years in DevOps/automation and at least 2 years in a leadership role. Experience with Terraform and CI/CD tools is essential. This position offers competitive compensation ranging from $108,400 to $203,400.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or automation-focused software/data engineering.
• At least 2 years in a technical leadership, team lead, or mentorship position.
• Expert-level experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tools, particularly Terraform.
• Deep expertise in designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines using tools like GitLab CI, Jenkins, or GitHub Actions.
• Strong scripting and programming skills, with proficiency in Python.
• Experience working in a cloud environment (AWS, Azure).
• US Citizenship (No Dual Citizenship).

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of automation engineers.
• Design, build, and maintain CI/CD pipelines for data engineering.
• Develop and own the IaC strategy, managing a library of reusable Terraform modules.
• Architect automated solutions for testing and reliability.
• Champion automation best practices across engineering teams.
• Collaborate with Data Engineering and AI/ML teams to deliver automation solutions.
• Evaluate and recommend new automation technologies.
• Script and automate complex tasks to improve efficiency.

Skills

DevOps

Site Reliability Engineering

Automation

Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC)

Terraform

CI/CD pipelines

Scripting in Python

Cloud Environment (AWS, Azure)

Tools

GitLab CI

Jenkins

GitHub Actions

Databricks

Snowflake

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

At Accenture Federal Services, nothing matters more than helping the US federal government make the nation stronger and safer and life better for people. Our 13,000+ people are united in a shared purpose to pursue the limitless potential of technology and ingenuity for clients across defense, national security, public safety, civilian, and military health organizations.

Join Accenture Federal Services, a technology company within global Accenture. Recognized as a Glassdoor Top 100 Best Place to Work, we offer a collaborative and caring community where you feel like you belong and are empowered to grow, learn and thrive through hands‑on experience, certifications, industry training and more.

Join us to drive positive, lasting change that moves missions and the government forward!

As the Automation Lead, you will be at the heart of driving efficiency and innovation across a data platform. You will lead a specialized team responsible for building the core automation frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and reusable patterns that all other engineering teams will leverage. This is a hands‑on leadership role where you will not only set the technical strategy for automation but also contribute directly to the development of foundational tools. Your mission is to eliminate manual toil, enforce quality, and accelerate the delivery of mission‑critical data capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of automation engineers, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.
• Design, build, and maintain robust, scalable CI/CD pipelines for data engineering, software, and MLOps workflows.
• Develop and own the strategy for Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), creating and managing a library of reusable Terraform modules for consistent environment provisioning.
• Architect and implement automated solutions for testing, monitoring, and alerting to ensure the reliability of our data platforms and pipelines.
• Champion automation best practices across all engineering teams, providing guidance and developing templates to ensure adoption.
• Collaborate closely with Data Engineering, Data Products, and AI/ML teams to understand their needs and deliver automation solutions that accelerate their work.
• Evaluate, prototype, and recommend new automation technologies and tools to continuously improve our development and operational capabilities.
• Script and automate complex, repetitive tasks to improve team efficiency and reduce the potential for human error.

Must have

• 5+ years of experience in DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or automation-focused software/data engineering.
• At least 2 years of experience in a technical leadership, team lead, or mentorship capacity.
• Expert-level, hands‑on experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tools, particularly Terraform.
• Deep expertise in designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines using tools like GitLab CI, Jenkins, or GitHub Actions.
• Strong scripting and programming skills, with expert proficiency in Python.
• Proven experience working in a cloud environment (AWS, Azure).
• US Citizenship (No Dual Citizenship).

Nice to have

• Experience building automation specifically for data platforms like Databricks or Snowflake.
• Familiarity with MLOps principles and tools (e.g., MLflow, Kubeflow).
• Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience working in a high‑security DoD or Intelligence Community environment.

Security Clearance

• Active TS or TS/SCI clearance.

As required by local law, Accenture Federal Services provides reasonable ranges of compensation for hired roles based on labor costs in the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and the city of Cleveland. The base pay range for this position in these locations is $108,400-$203,400 USD.

What We Believe

As a company wholly dedicated to serving the US federal government, we bring together the best talent to help reinvent how federal agencies operate and deliver greater value for their mission and the American people. We have an unwavering commitment to creating a culture in which all our people are respected, feel a sense of belonging, and have equal opportunity. As a business imperative, every person at Accenture Federal Services has the responsibility to create and sustain a culture where everyone feels welcomed and included. This is grounded in our core values and our experience that hiring and developing great people who reflect different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds is key to driving innovation and delivering the results that our clients and the country count on.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, and local law. Our rich diversity makes us more innovative, more competitive, and more creative, which helps us better serve our clients and our communities. For details, view a copy of the Accenture Federal Services Equal Opportunity Policy Statement.

Requesting An Accommodation

Accenture Federal Services is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for persons with disabilities or religious observances, including reasonable accommodation when needed. If you are hired by Accenture Federal Services and require accommodation to perform the essential functions of your role, you will be asked to participate in our reasonable accommodation process. Accommodations made to facilitate the recruiting process are not a guarantee of future or continued accommodations once hired. If you are being considered for employment opportunities with Accenture Federal Services and need an accommodation for a disability or religious observance during the interview process or for the job you are interviewing for, please speak with your recruiter.

Other Employment Statements

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States. Candidates who are currently employed by a client of Accenture Federal Services or an affiliated Accenture business may not be eligible for consideration. Job candidates will not be obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of conviction or arrest as part of the hiring process. The Company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. Additionally, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the Company's legal duty to furnish information.

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