Lead Cloud Platform Engineer

Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI); St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI) seeks a Lead Cloud Platform Engineer to drive the Cloud Native Platform across Springfield, VA or St. Louis, MO. You will lead architecture, security, multi-cloud operations and DevSecOps for NGA’s Digital Twin initiatives.

You will mentor a small team, implement Zero Trust, IaC/CaC pipelines, and ensure compliant, scalable platform services across AWS, Azure, on-prem, and enclaves.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; 8+ years in cloud/platform engineering.
• DoD 8140/8570 IAM Level III compliance (CISSP or equivalent) desired.
• 5+ years leading cloud native platform development and operations.
• Deep experience with Kubernetes orchestration, service mesh, GitOps, and multi-cloud operations.
• Hands-on IaC/CaC (Terraform, Helm, Dockerfiles), CI/CD (GitLab) and automation pipelines.
• Strong understanding of Zero Trust architectures, identity federation, secrets management, and policy-as-code.
• Experience operating secure cloud-native environments in classified or high-compliance settings.
• Experience working on Scrum or Agile development team.

Responsibilities

• Architect and deploy the Cloud Native Platform across AWS, Azure, on-prem and enclaves.
• Lead Kubernetes environments, service mesh, GitOps and OTEL stacks.
• Implement and enforce Zero Trust, identity federation, secrets management and PaC.
• Drive CI/CD, IaC/CaC pipelines and platform automation.
• Ensure high availability, observability, cost optimization and reliability.
• Collaborate with MBSE, data engineers, cyber, EA teams for enterprise workflows.
• Provide technical direction to vendors and ensure interoperability.

Skills

Cloud platform engineering

Kubernetes

GitOps

Multi-cloud

Zero Trust

IaC/CaC

CI/CD

Automation

Platform governance

Security

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Terraform

Helm

Docker

Kubernetes

GitLab

OpenTelemetry

Job description

Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI) is hiring a Lead Cloud Platform Engineer to work in Springfield, VA or St. Louis, MO. Qualified candidates must be U.S. citizens with an active TS/SCI clearance and be eligible to obtain a CI Poly.

Responsibilities

• You will be instrumental in building NGA’s EA Digital Twin capability, modeling the future-state enterprise and delivering the unified Digital Engineering environment the IC and DoW have sought for years.
• You will operate at the strategic level while remaining deeply technical, becoming a critical force multiplier for the Chief Architect and for NGA’s Digital Transformation journey.
• Leads the architecture, deployment, and sustainment of the Cloud Native Platform (CNP) powering Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), enterprise data integration, Digital Threads, and future Digital Twin operations.
• Build and mature a secure, federated, multi-cloud platform that enables enterprise-scale Digital Engineering workflows, authoritative data synchronization and Zero Trust enforcement across multiple enclaves.
• Serves as the technical authority for NGA’s CNP, responsible for designing, hardening, deploying and operating the hybrid, multi-cloud platform foundational to the DEE.
• This role integrates cloud native infrastructure, Kubernetes orchestration, identity and access services, telemetry pipelines, DevSecOps automation and platform governance to support enterprise modeling, data fabric and Digital Thread execution.
• Lead a small but highly skilled team of cloud/platform engineers and collaborate tightly with MBSE leads, data engineers, cyber, enterprise architects and mission area stakeholders to deliver a secure, scalable and resilient DEE platform.
• Platform Architecture Leadership: Own the design, implementation, and evolution of the Cloud Native Platform (CNP), enabling secure, scalable, multi-cloud operations across AWS, Azure, on-prem, and classified enclaves.
• Kubernetes & Multi-Cloud Engineering: Deploy, harden, and operate Kubernetes environments, service mesh, GitOps and OTEL stacks to ensure reliable, governed platform execution.
• Identity, Access & Zero Trust Enforcement: Implement and manage identity federation, enforce Zero Trust policies, manage secrets, certificates, hardened containers (IronBank) and Policy as Code (PaC).
• DevSecOps & Automation: Lead CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and Configuration as Code (CaC) pipelines, platform automation, onboarding workflows and environment lifecycle management
• Platform Operations & Resilience: Deliver high availability, scalability, monitoring/observability, cost optimization, license management and environment reliability across multiple enclaves and mission threads
• Integration with Enterprise Architecture, Data & MBSE: Work closely with MBSE, data fabric and EA teams to ensure platform services support Digital Threads, automated data pipelines, authoritative data stores and model-driven execution
• Security & Accreditation: Partner with ISSO/cyber engineers to enforce JSIG PL3/PL4 compliance, CSfC guidance, enclave boundary controls, OTEL, security, patching and ongoing accreditation workflows.
• Stakeholder & Vendor Coordination: Collaborate with cross-agency stakeholders, provide technical direction to vendors, resolve integration issues and drive platform capabilities toward enterprise-level interoperability.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; and 8+ years in cloud/platform engineering.
• DoD Compliance:Desired to meet DoD 8140/8570 requirements for anIAM Level IIIposition (ISC2 CISSP or equivalent).
• 5+ years’ experience leading cloud native platform development and operations.
• Deep experience with Kubernetes orchestration and associated tech stack including service mesh, GitOps, and multi-cloud operations.
• Hands-on experience with IaC/CaC (Terraform, Helm, Dockerfiles), CI/CD (GitLab) and automation pipelines.
• Strong understanding of Zero Trust architectures, identity federation, secrets management, certificate services and policy-as-code.
• Experience operating secure cloud-native environments in classified or high-compliance settings.
• Experience working on Scrum or Agile development team.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with Azure Gov, AWS GovCloud, on-prem Kubernetes (Ex: RKE2, NKP) and air-gap management.
• Familiarity with observability stacks (Grafana, Prometheus, OpenTelemetry), hardened container repositories and license servers (FlexLM).
• Experience integrating platform capabilities with enterprise data fabrics, Digital Threads or MBSE environments.
• Experience collaborating with data engineers, MBSE teams, and enterprise architects and Agile/Scrum experience.
• Background supporting DevSecOps in DoD, IC or large-scale engineering ecosystems.
• Strong ability to guide roadmap development, platform governance and enterprise onboarding processes.

Clearance Requirements

• Must be U.S. citizen with an active TS/SCI clearance and be eligible to obtain a CI Poly.