Platform Engineer Defense Unicorns · $123k – $167k Middle 4h ago

Remote Genie; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 123,000 - 167,000; Full time

Job summary

Defense Unicorns seeks a Platform Engineer to deploy and maintain a Kubernetes-based platform in a secure, bare-metal environment. You will bridge application teams and platform disciplines, emphasizing reliability, security, and scalability.

Ideal candidates possess hands-on Kubernetes, on-prem infrastructure, IaC experience, and YAML fluency; U.S. citizenship and security clearance eligibility are required for this government-facing role.

Qualifications

• Must hold or be eligible for a security clearance.
• Experience deploying Kubernetes on bare-metal or on-prem environments.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform or Pulumi.
• Proficient with CI/CD tooling, especially GitLab CI.
• Linux/Unix administration knowledge.
• Experience with AWS (EC2, EKS, IAM, S3, VPC).
• Ability to read/write YAML for Kubernetes manifests and Helm charts.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• DoD 8570 IAT II certification (e.g., Security+ CE).

Responsibilities

• Support architecture, deployment, configuration, and testing of bare-metal infrastructure, including GPU compute, storage, and networking.
• Deploy, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot UDS and Kubernetes-based platform services.
• Develop and manage infrastructure as code (IaC) and configuration to enable consistent, repeatable deployments.
• Support secure software delivery, including container images, registries, packages, and deployment artifacts.
• Collaborate with mission stakeholders, partner organizations, and Defense Unicorns engineering teams to identify technical requirements and resolve deployment challenges.
• Collaborate with mission stakeholders, partner organizations, and Defense Unicorns engineering teams to identify technical requirements and resolve platform challenges.

Skills

Kubernetes

Bare-metal

Security clearance

IaC (Terraform/Pulumi)

CI/CD (GitLab CI)

Linux/Unix

AWS

YAML

Communication

DoD 8570 IAT II cert

Tools

Terraform

Pulumi

GitLab CI

Kubernetes

AWS

Job description

About this role

EMPLOYER IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THIS POSITION REQUIRES U.S. CITIZENSHIP.

Role Description:

Defense Unicorns is seeking a Platform Engineer to support the deployment and maintenance of UDS within a secure, bare-metal environment. You will serve as a bridge between application teams and the platform, advocating best practices and helping ensure that the platform is reliable, secure, and scalable. The ideal candidate is a strong problem-solver with hands-on experience in Kubernetes, bare-metal or on-premises infrastructure, and deploying applications onto Kubernetes-based platforms.

Responsibilities:

The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.

• Support the architecture, deployment, configuration, and testing of bare-metal infrastructure, including GPU compute, storage, and networking
• Deploy, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot UDS and Kubernetes-based platform services
• Develop and manage infrastructure as code (IaC) and configuration to enable consistent, repeatable deployments
• Support secure software delivery, including container images, registries, packages, and deployment artifacts
• Collaborate with mission stakeholders, partner organizations, and Defense Unicorns engineering teams to identify technical requirements and resolve deployment challenges
• Collaborate with mission stakeholders, partner organizations, and Defense Unicorns engineering teams to identify technical requirements and resolve platform challenges

Preferred Experience and Qualifications:

• Hold or be eligible for a security clearance
• Experience deploying and operating Kubernetes or containerized platforms in bare-metal or on-premises environments (deploying, managing, and troubleshooting clusters and workloads)
• Experience with infrastructure as code tools (e.g., Terraform, Pulumi, or similar)
• Proficiency with CI/CD tooling, particularly GitLab CI or equivalent pipeline platforms
• Working knowledge of Linux/Unix operating systems and command-line administration
• Experience with cloud platforms, preferably AWS (EC2, EKS, IAM, S3, VPC)
• Experience supporting GPU-enabled infrastructure or workloads
• Ability to read and write YAML fluently for Kubernetes manifests, CRDs, Helm charts, and pipeline configurations
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to work effectively with partner engineering teams
• Possess or ability to obtain a DoD 8570 IAT II certification (e.g., Security+ CE)

Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience. Compensation ranges are established using national benchmarking data and apply across all geographic locations within the United States.

Remote - USA

$123,250—$166,750 USD

Who We Are

Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.

What We Do

We create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.

Who We Serve

Defense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.

What We Work On

• Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
• Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
• GitOps
• Containers
• CNCF projects and open source products and packages
• Building and improving security delivery
• Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications

Benefits Our Unicorns Enjoy

Health:

• Premiums are 100% Company Paid
• Health Savings Account
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• 401k Retirement Plan
• Company Stock Options
• Home Office Budget

Leave:

• We offer all full-time Unicorns Flexible Time Off (FTO) plus all Federal Holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s

Learning:

• Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
• Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)

Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don’t meet every requirement listed.

At Defense Unicorns, we’re committed to diversity. If you’re enthusiastic about the role but don’t match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

CCPA DISCLOSURE