Platform Engineer (Defense)

ASI; Virginia; Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ASI is seeking a Platform Engineer to design, build, and operate Kubernetes clusters on bare metal, owning hardware bring-up, cluster lifecycle, and security hardening. You will collaborate with development and product teams to deliver mission software in a demanding defense environment.

The role requires an active TS/SCI clearance, a bachelor’s degree with 5+ years in platform engineering, and DoD 8140 certification. On-site in Virginia 50% of the time and on-call surge coverage are expected.

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance required.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent with 5+ years in platform engineering or related field.
• DoD 8140 Cyber Workforce certification for privileged users (e.g., Security+ CE) required.
• Willing to work onsite in Virginia 50% of the time and provide on-call support during surge events.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and run Kubernetes clusters on bare metal from the ground up.
• Own platform end to end: hardware bring-up, cluster lifecycle, day-2 operations, security hardening, accreditation support.
• Collaborate with development and product teams to deliver mission software.

Skills

Active TS/SCI clearance

Linux systems

Networking

Security

On-call readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Kubernetes

Ansible

Terraform/OpenTofu

Argo CD

Jenkins

GitLab CI

Job description

About ASI

ASI’s mission-critical technology powers decision-making across aviation, defense, energy, and other critical infrastructure domains. Backed by top-tier investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, and Renegade Partners, ASI delivers operational decision superiority—compressing days of analysis into seconds of action. ASI is leading the way and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

What You Will Do:

As a Platform Engineer on the defense engineering team you will design, build and run Kubernetes clusters on bare metal from the ground up. You will own the platform end to end: hardware bring-up, cluster lifecycle, day-2 operations, security hardening and accreditation support. You will work closely with our development and product teams to get mission software delivered.

What We Value:

• Bringing up bare-metal hardware from the rack up, including out-of-band management (BMC, IPMI, Redfish) and automated OS provisioning.
• Building and running production Kubernetes on bare metal from scratch, including cluster lifecycle, upgrades, operators, networking, storage and ingress.
• Automating infrastructure as code with Ansible and Terraform/OpenTofu.
• Building CI/CD pipelines (Argo CD, Jenkins, GitLab CI) that deliver software into disconnected environments.
• Running platforms in production, including monitoring, alerting, incident response, capacity planning and runbooks.
• Working with network and security teams to bring external data sources onto the platform, including firewall rules, cross-domain transfers, and data feed connectivity.
• Strong grounding in Linux systems administration, networking and security.
• Hardening and accrediting systems to NIST and RMF standards in restricted, disconnected or classified environments.
• Explaining technical and mission concepts clearly to partners and customers.
• Working well with operations and development teams in different locations.

Requirements:

• An active TS/SCI clearance.
• A bachelor’s degree and 5+ years in platform engineering, DevOps, systems administration, infrastructure or a related field.
• A DoD 8140 Cyber Workforce certification for privileged users (such as Security+ CE).
• Willing to work onsite in Virginia 50% of the time and to provide on-call support during designated surge events.

How We Hire:

We look at the interview process not as a screening or test, but rather as an opportunity to simulate what it would look like working together. We build the interview process around you.

ASI works with export controlled technology and restricted U.S. Government data, including on contracts mandating U.S. immigration status and location restrictions for performing personnel. Employment offers are contingent on ability to timely obtain all required authorizations for contemplated job duties.