Platform Engineer (FedD029)

Defense Unicorns; Colorado Springs (CO); Hybrid; USD 123,250 - 166,750; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision

401k Retirement Plan

Company Stock Options

Home Office Budget

Job summary

Defense Unicorns is seeking a Platform Engineer to design, automate, and maintain a secure Production Environment across diverse engagements. You will bridge Application Development and platform teams, guiding best practices in IaC automation, security, and deployment pipelines.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, problem solving, and strong cloud-native skills with Kubernetes, CI/CD, and security automation in a DoD context. Travel 10–25% is possible.

Qualifications

• Must hold Active Secret Clearance.
• DoD 8570 IAT II certification is required.
• Experience with Kubernetes, cloud-native architectures, and security automation.
• Proficiency in at least one programming language and shell scripting.

Responsibilities

• Automate and build a runtime Production Environment and serve as a bridge between Applications and the Production Environment.
• Validate solutions and implementations against business requirements.
• Independently solve problems and develop small components without relying on full architecture diagrams.
• Estimate time and effort for medium-sized tasks and assist in planning.
• Demonstrate programming language proficiency and shell scripting knowledge.
• Own the handoff between Application Development teams and the Production Environment.

Skills

Kubernetes

Docker

YAML

CI/CD

Python

Go

Shell scripting

DevSecOps

Security automation

Programming languages

Education

Active Secret Clearance

DoD 8570 IAT II certification

Tools

Terraform

Pulumi

Helm

Kustomize

GitOps

Job description

EMPLOYER IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THIS POSITION WILL REQUIRE AN ACTIVE SECRET CLEARANCE TO APPLY.

Role Description

We are seeking a talented and experienced Platform Engineer to join our team. Possessing strong proficiency with Kubernetes, the ideal candidate will play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of our platform, demonstrating a strong understanding of system architecture, problem-solving skills, and the ability to guide junior engineers.

As a Platform Engineer within our organization, you will join a team of dedicated unicorns who are focused on advancing freedom and independence globally. Our teams work on various different technical baselines depending on specific engagements. We focus our Products on the Platform layer, but to deliver for our Heroes, we also work IaC automation, security, and implementation.

Responsibilities:

You will help us automate and build a runtime Production Environment and serve as a link between the Applications, either custom development, COTS, or OSS, and that environment, advocating best practices and facilitating communication between the application teams and platform teams.

In this position, you will be expected to:

• Validate Solutions/Implementations: Ensure that solutions and implementations align with the outlined tasks and business requirements. Conduct thorough validations to maintain the integrity and efficiency of the platform.
• Independently Problem Solve: Demonstrate the ability to identify and solve business problems independently. Develop small components to address specific challenges without relying on explicit architecture diagrams.
• Understand Medium-Level Tasking: Comprehend how medium-level tasks contribute to the achievement of overall goals. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate various components into a cohesive and functional platform.
• Estimate Time and Effort: Provide accurate time and effort estimates for medium-sized tasks. Assist in project planning and resource allocation based on estimated timelines.
• Demonstrate Programming Language Proficiency: Possess familiarity with at least one programming language. Exhibit a basic understanding of when to use a programming language versus a shell for efficient task execution.
• Own the bridge between the Application Development team(s) and the Production Environment

Travel Expectations: 10%-25%

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.

Preferred Experience and Qualifications:

• Proven experience as a Platform Engineer or similar role, with a focus on system architecture and development.
• Demonstrated experience with cloud-native technologies such as Kubernetes, Google Cloud, and Docker.
• Familiarity with continuous delivery, distributed architectures, systems, everything-as-code, containerization, and cloud services.
• Proficiency in at least one programming language (e.g., Python, Go, Ansible) and a basic understanding of shell scripting.
• Proficient with YAML.
• Experienced in working on a team following an Agile framework in a remote environment.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Experience with security automation and familiarity with API Security, Container Security, and Cloud Security.
• Familiar with architecture security design, monitoring, and performance instrumentation in a complex enterprise environment.
• Comfort with debugging systems and reading/writing code.
• Secret Clearance required.
• Possess a DoD 8570 IAT II certification.
• Experienced in Department of Defense work, specifically working on a production Authority to Operate (ATO'd) system.
• Knowledgeable about DevSecOps/DevOps and CI/CD theory.

Mid Platform Engineer: $123,250 - $166,750

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

• Kubernetes
• Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
• Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)
• Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
• GitOps
• Containers
• CNCF projects and open source products and packages
• Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping
• Building and improving security delivery
• Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications

Benefits Our Unicorns Enjoy

Health:

• Medical/Dental/Vision
• Premiums are 100% Company Paid
• Health Savings Account
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance

Financial:

• 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
• Paid Parental Leave

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.

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