Lead Systems Engineer

Bitwise; Maryland; On-site; USD 267,000 - 314,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top salaries

Flexible PTO 3–5 weeks

11 federal holidays paid

Education assistance $5,250 annually

Spot bonuses for certifications

Job summary

Bitwise seeks a Lead DevOps Engineer in Maryland to oversee a small team and keep critical mission systems running securely. You will manage bare-metal and AWS deployments, Kubernetes, and data‑transformation workflows, partnering with 25+ software engineers to ensure uptime and reliability.

You will mentor two admins, drive automation, and champion observability, security, and SSP compliance on a mature, high‑impact project with real-world outcomes.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in DevOps or systems administration, or a technical BS plus 8+ years
• Strong Linux administration, especially RHEL9
• Hands-on containerization with Podman and Kubernetes for deployment and ops
• Proficiency with AWS services (EC2, S3, VPC, IAM)
• Expertise in automation and scripting: Ansible, Terraform, Packer, Bash, Python
• Knowledge of SSP compliance and processes
• Experience with observability tools (Kibana, Grafana, Prometheus)
• DB administration for Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, and graph DBs
• Elastic stack experience (Logstash, Filebeat)
• Experience with AWS tools like EKS, ECS, Lambdas, Secrets Manager
• GitLab CI/CD and general automation
• CNO experience
• Experience supporting multi-environment development and deployment

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor two system administrators and collaborate with 25+ software engineers
• Guide system design and setup with software teams and ensure robust architecture
• Maintain systems across EC2, bare metal, and cloud with AWS-based distributions
• Oversee migrations from on-prem to AWS cloud architecture and ensure SSP compliance
• Design observability strategies including monitoring, alerting, backups, and disaster recovery
• Maintain deployment automation and CI/CD pipelines in GitLab
• Perform database administration across Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, and graph DBs
• Maintain Linux kickstart images for RHEL9 environments

Skills

DevOps leadership

Linux administration

Kubernetes

Podman

AWS

CI/CD

GitLab

Scripting: Python/Bash

Ansible

Terraform/Packer

Observability: Prometheus/Grafana/Kiba

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline

Tools

Podman

Kubernetes

AWS

EC2

S3

VPC

IAM

GitLab

Ansible

Terraform

Packer

Bash

Python

Elasticsearch

MongoDB

Redis

DGraph

Logstash/Filebeat

Kibana/Grafana/Prometheus

Job description

An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role

Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We're a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You'll be more than a contract performer for us — you'll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you'll contribute to our team culture. We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you'll like it here!

Remember, Bitwise is not a cult.

What We Look For

Bitwise hires talented engineers who are driven by purpose and who value a culture of technical excellence, growth, and overall wellness. We deliver new and innovative intelligence solutions to our customers at the very forefront of our country's national security missions. And we do it every single day. Our work matters, and so will you.

We ask that every new hire be able to:

• Contribute meaningful thought leadership — if not right away, over time
• Interact with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities
• Be detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right
• Contribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company
• Allow us to invest in their education so we both grow together

You’ll lead a small, agile DevOps and systems administration team that keeps critical mission systems running smoothly and securely. As Lead DevOps Engineer, you’ll be the technical backbone of a high-impact operation, managing everything from bare-metal servers and AWS cloud infrastructure to Kubernetes deployments that power complex data transformation workflows and a widely‑used web‑based user interface.

You’ll mentor two system administrators, collaborating closely with a broader engineering organization of 25+ developers to architect robust systems, support development processes, and maintain the metrics and observability that track uptime and performance. Your focus will be on automation, modernization, and continuous improvement—guiding your team through challenges while building a culture of technical excellence. This is a mature, mission‑critical project known for its stability, team cohesion, and real‑world impact.

In this role, you will:

• Lead, mentor, and direct the daily tasks of two system administrators
• Collaborate with and support a larger team of 25+ software engineers
• Provide guidance and advice for overall system design and setup in conjunction with software engineering teams
• Maintain system platforms and health across all servers (EC2, MASH, bare metal), production systems, and development environments
• Facilitate migration of Apache Nifi installations and other services from on‑premise MASH environments to AWS cloud‑based architecture
• Oversee system maintenance, security, and SSP accreditations
• Design and implement observability strategies including automation, monitoring, alerting, backup, and disaster recovery for development, staging, and production environments
• Maintain and optimize deployment automation processes, including CI/CD pipelines in GitLab
• Perform database administration across Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, graph databases (e.g., DGraph), and other mission‑critical data stores
• Ensure system documentation stays current and conduct regular technical reviews and post‑mortems to drive continuous improvement
• Maintain base Linux kickstart images for RHEL9 environments

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in DevOps, systems administration, or related field, OR a B.S. in a technical discipline plus 8+ additional years of experience
• Strong Linux system administration experience, particularly with RHEL9
• Hands‑on experience with containerization using Podman and Kubernetes for deploying and managing applications
• Proficiency with Amazon AWS, including EC2 instances, S3 buckets, VPCs, and IAM
• Expert‑level knowledge of system automation and scripting tools including Ansible (including Semaphore), Terraform, Packer, Bash, and Python
• Knowledge of SSP compliance and processes, including STE/STN
• Demonstrated expertise with metrics and observability tools such as Kibana, Grafana, and Prometheus
• Database administration experience with Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, or graph databases (e.g., DGraph)
• Elastic stack experience (Logstash, Filebeat, etc.)
• Experience with additional AWS tools such as EKS, ECS, Lambdas, and Secrets Manager
• CI/CD experience with GitLab
• CNO experience
• Experience facilitating low‑to‑high development environments

Benefits at Bitwise

• Top salaries because we’re top performers
• Pick your PTO — Everyone values time and money differently, so we give you the flexibility to choose between 3 and 5 weeks of PTO with a corresponding adjustment to your pay. Your choice, your balance.
• All 11 federal holidays, paid!
• Up to 2 snow days, paid!
• We’ll quadruple (4x!) the first 6% you contribute to your 401(k), giving you up to a 24% company match. Contributing less than 6%? Unclaimed matches come right back to you as extra income, giving you a guaranteed 24% that goes to your retirement, to your paycheck, or both. C’mon now!
• 100% employer‑paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances. That’s a lot. Already covered on health insurance? No problem — we’ll trade you this benefit for a boost to your salary instead.
• $5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments.
• Spot bonuses for obtained certifications, customer recognition, and just about anything else that makes us go "Hot damn!" We hope to say that many times about you.

Salary Range

$266,500 – $313,500

This range includes our flex income and depends upon your annual work hours.

Salary is determined on an individual basis following the interview process and considering various factors such as years of experience, skills, education, and certifications.

Bitwise is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs.

Compensation for this position, including all compensation options, will be determined on an individual basis following the interview process.

If you require accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please reach out to us.