Lead DevOps Engineer

Systemstechnologyresearch; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Systemstechnologyresearch is seeking a Lead DevOps Engineer to guide Agile software teams in designing, developing, and maintaining infrastructure and tooling for deployment in operational use. You will lead CI/CD pipelines, coordinate across environments, and ensure reliability, security, and DoD-compliant practices.

The role requires U.S. citizenship with active clearance eligibility, a BS in CS or related field, and 5+ years of experience.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizen with active security clearance (SCI eligibility).
• BS in Computer Science or related field; 5+ years industry experience.
• Experience with GitLab CI/CD and pipeline automation.
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) and provisioning tools (Ansible or Chef).
• Containerization with Docker/Podman; Kubernetes (EKS/Rancher); deploying and monitoring clusters.
• Linux system administration; Python and Linux shell scripting.
• Knowledge of Cyber Security fundamentals; strong communication skills.
• Willingness to relocate or being located in listed U.S. cities.

Responsibilities

• Lead software teams to design, develop, and maintain infra and tooling for deployment in operational use.
• Own CI/CD pipelines across environments in Agile teams; drive automation and reliability.
• Liaise with DoD-compliant infrastructure and corporate IT to ensure security and compliance.
• Mentor team members on DevOps best practices and process improvements.

Skills

Communication

Team collaboration

Organized

Detail-oriented

Independent

Education

BS in Computer Science or related field

Tools

GitLab

Docker

Podman

EKS

Rancher

Ansible

Chef

Terraform

ArgoCD

Flux

Nexus/Artifactory

Jira

Job description

LeadDevOpsEngineer

The Team:

Information processing and sense‑making systems are the lifeblood of national security efforts, facilitating an understanding of the global situation, strategic planning, and tactical execution. The reliability, accessibility, and sophistication of these systems can determine the outcomes of conflicts before they begin. STR’s Analytics and Command & Control (AC2) Division focuses on developing actionable, advanced technology solutions to provide asymmetric advantages within the information domain. The Mission Applications (MA) Group within the AC2 Division creates outsized mission impact with our customers through specialized application and deployment of STR technology. Staff within the MA group have a deep understanding of missions and technology needs for national security with skills targeting transition of technology to operational use, including product management, UX product implementation, software integration & mission engineering, platform engineering, DevOps, and program management. MA staff combine with other engineering staff from the various STR research and development groups to form dedicated product teams focused on accelerating the operational transition of cutting‑edge software technologies.

The Role:

As a DevOps Engineer in the Mission Applications Group you will work as a leader of software teams to design, develop, and maintain infrastructure and tooling to deploy software in operational use. You have experience managing relationships with customer environments while simultaneously leading engineering teams to ensure the delivered product meets the highest standards of quality, reliability, and performance. You will work as part of tightly knit Agile software teams to design and implement Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for various unique deployment environments.

This role includes:

• Supporting cloud (e.g., AWS) toolsets in unclassified environments
• Configuring and maintaining multiple CI/CD environments at different classification levels, focusing on developer productivity, application performance, security monitoring, and alerting
• Liaising with corporate IT to ensure team infrastructure toolsets are configured, maintained, reliable, and in compliance with Department of Defense standards
• Coaching team members on DevOps best practices while continuously helping to improve processes

This role will take advantage of STR’s flexible, hybrid environment – when the work does not require use of STR’s facilities, you are welcome to work remotely. You should expect to spend some portion of time each week (2‑3 days) in STR’s or US Government facilities. You can expect to support software applications deployed on classified operational networks that can only be accessed at STR or government facilities.

Who You Are:

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Active U.S. Security Clearance with SCI Eligibility
• BS in Computer Science or related field with at least 5 years of work experience
• Experience with all relevant technologies including CI/CD tools (GitLab) and pipeline automation
• Cloud platforms (such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud), and automated provisioning tools (such as Ansible or Chef)
• Containerization technologies such as Docker and Podman
• Kubernetes management solutions such as EKS and Rancher
• Experience deploying and monitoring Kubernetes clusters and pod configurations
• Basic knowledge of Linux System Administration
• Knowledge of Python and Linux Shell
• Knowledge of Cyber Security fundamentals
• Organized, detail‑oriented, and ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Demonstrated experience as an effective communicator to both technical and non‑technical audiences
• Located in San Diego, CA, Denver, CO, Arlington, VA, or Boston, MA, or willing to relocate

Even Better:

• Active Security Clearance at the Top Secret level
• Advanced Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field
• Experience in full web‑service stack, including databases, logging, and monitoring
• Project tracking tools such as Jira
• Designing, deploying, and monitoring Kubernetes clusters
• GitOps tools like ArgoCD or Flux
• Deploying and maintaining artifact repositories (such as Nexus, Artifactory)
• Deploying and configuring static and dynamic code analysis tools (such as SonarQube, Coverity)
• Platforms such as ArgoCD, Flux or Terraform
• Leading teams in an Agile/SCRUM software development process
• Current Security+ Certification

Pay Information

Full‑Time Salary Range: $175,000 - $240,000

The salary range listed is based on external market data. Offers are based on factors such as but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, training, key skills/critical skills, security clearances, and prevailing market and business conditions.

Equal Opportunity Statement

STR is an equal opportunity employer. We are fully dedicated to hiring the most qualified candidate regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any portion of the employment process, email us at [e-mail] and provide your contact info.

Pursuant to applicable federal law and regulations, positions at STR require employees to obtain national security clearances and satisfy the requirements for compliance with export control and other applicable laws.