Lead Platform Engineer

E&M Technologies, Inc.; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

401(k) match

Flexible spending accounts

Flexible work schedules

Parental leave

Paid time off

Holidays

Job summary

E&M Technologies, Inc. in Chantilly, VA, seeks a Lead Platform Engineer to design and operate Linux systems, Kubernetes clusters, and storage for NGA missions.

You will bootstrap HA control planes, implement CSI drivers, apply security hardening, and automate with Ansible and GitOps. DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance is required and travel up to 10% may be necessary.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in STEM and 6+ years of relevant experience, or Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of experience.
• Minimum 2 years deploying and managing production Kubernetes clusters on‑premises.
• Experience bootstrapping Kubernetes clusters with Kubespray or kubeadm.

Responsibilities

• Bootstrap production Kubernetes clusters from scratch in on‑premises data centers.
• Design and implement HA control planes with multi‑master nodes.
• Configure and manage storage strategies, CSI drivers, and etcd backups.
• Automate infrastructure provisioning with Ansible and GitOps tooling.
• Perform security hardening and continuous vulnerability remediation.

Skills

Advanced Linux administration

Kubernetes cluster management

Kubespray or kubeadm

Ansible automation

Security hardening (AppArmor, SELinux)

Education

Master’s degree in STEM

8+ years of experience in related field

Tools

Kubespray

Ansible

Kubernetes tooling (kubectl, k9s)

CI/CD (GitOps, ArgoCD)

Job description

Description

POSITION: Lead Platform Engineer

WORK LOCATION: Chantilly, VA

JOB CATEGORY: Information Technology

JOB TYPE: Temporary

REQUISITION ID: EM07-059

CITIZENSHIP: United States Citizen

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret/SCI

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS: Up to 10%

E&M Technologies, Inc. is dedicated to recruiting and developing diverse, high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a shared dedication to our customers’ mission and quest for professional growth. E&M provides an inclusive, engaging environment designed to empower employees and promote work-life success. Fundamental to our culture is an unwavering focus on values, dedication to our communities, and commitment to excellence in everything we do.

E&M Technologies, Inc. is currently seeking a Lead Platform Engineer to join our team in Chantilly, VA in support of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The NGA delivers world-class geospatial intelligence that provides a decisive advantage to policymakers, military service members, intelligence professionals, and first responders.

Job Responsibilities:

• Perform advanced Linux administration
• Configure and optimize systemd service management, kernel tuning parameters, and SSH key architecture
• Manually install and configure container runtimes including containerd and CRI-O
• Manage cgroups v2, namespaces, and container isolation mechanisms at the OS level
• Implement OS-level security hardening using AppArmor, SELinux, and security profiles
• Design and implement software defined storage solutions to translate physical storage into dynamic persistent volumes
• Build resilient, distributed storage clusters from raw local drives
• Implement Container Storage Interface (CSI) drivers for dynamic volume provisioning
• Monitor storage performance, capacity planning, and data replication strategies
• Cluster Lifecycle Management & High Availability
• Bootstrap production Kubernetes clusters from scratch in on-premises data centers without managed services
• Design and implement high‑availability (HA) control plane architectures with multi‑master nodes
• Configure internal load balancers for control plane API server redundancy
• Manage etcd cluster operations including backups, snapshots, restoration, and defragmentation
• Deploy clusters using kubeadm or Kubespray (Ansible-based)
• Perform cluster upgrades, node maintenance, and disaster recovery procedures
• Implement cluster monitoring, logging, and observability solutions
• Implement Kubernetes security best practices including API server auditing, RBAC policies, and network policies
• Configure pod security standards, admission controllers, and runtime security controls
• Manage certificate lifecycle for cluster components and service mesh implementations
• Conduct security assessments and vulnerability remediation for cluster infrastructure
• Develop automation scripts and playbooks using Ansible, Bash, or Python for cluster provisioning
• Implement GitOps workflows for declarative infrastructure management
• Create and maintain infrastructure‑as‑code repositories for repeatable deployments
• Build CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure testing and validation
• Manage Kaniko‑based container image builds in air‑gapped environments
• Configure environment‑specific inventories and Helm values across multiple deployment tiers
• Analyze ArgoCD application logs, pod events, and container logs for root cause analysis
• Perform cluster administration using k9s, kubectl, and crictl for pod and container debugging
• Troubleshoot static pods (etcd, kube‑apiserver, kube‑controller‑manager, kube‑scheduler) on controller nodes

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field and 6+ years of relevant experience, or Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of experience.
• Minimum 2 years of hands‑on experience deploying and managing production Kubernetes clusters in on‑premises or non‑cloud environments
• Demonstrated experience bootstrapping Kubernetes clusters using Kubespray, kubeadm, or similar tools
• Proven track record managing enterprise Linux systems in production environments
• Experience with Ansible automation and Playbook Development for infrastructure provisioning
• Experience in designing and implementing high‑availability infrastructure architectures
• Experience with GitOps methodologies and ArgoCD or similar continuous deployment tools
• Experience with air‑gapped or offline deployment strategies
• All candidates must be US CITIZENS to be considered for the position.
• Must have and be capable of maintaining a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Top Secret/SCI security clearance upon hire and must be willing and able to obtain a polygraph within the customer’s timeline after hire. Applicants selected will be subject to a U.S. Government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information

Preferred Qualifications:

• Expertise with identity and authorization standards (X.509, SAML, OAuth2, OIDC, LDAP).
• Experience architecting ICAM solutions using Oracle or other enterprise‑grade identity platforms.
• Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist

The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels. E&M considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short‑term disability, long‑term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective‑bargaining agreement.

This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.

E&M anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require E&M to shorten or extend the application window.

E&M is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. E&M provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.

As part of the federal government’s transition to the Trusted Workforce 2.0 Continuous Vetting framework, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is expanding enrollment in the FBI Rap Back program for cleared industry personnel beginning April 1, 2026.

Rap Back (Record of Arrest and Prosecution Back) is a service provided by the FBI that allows authorized agencies to receive notifications if there are updates to an individual’s criminal history record while they hold a security clearance. This supports continuous vetting of cleared personnel.

Per DCSA guidance, we are required to provide the following FBI privacy advisements to all cleared employees:

• FBI Privacy Act Notice https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/compact-council/privacy-act-statement
• Noncriminal Justice Applicant’s Privacy Rights https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/compact-council/guiding-principles-noncriminal-justice-applicants-privacy-rights