Platform Engineer - GitLab CI/CD

Defense Unicorns; United States; Remote; USD 147,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dynamic team dedicated to advancing freedom and independence globally. As a Platform Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in developing and maintaining a secure platform, working on cloud deployments and CI/CD automation. This innovative firm values collaboration and problem-solving, offering a unique opportunity to impact mission-driven projects. With a focus on security and efficiency, you will guide junior engineers and contribute to the growth of a robust ecosystem of cloud-native solutions. If you're looking for a challenging and rewarding role in a supportive environment, this is the perfect fit for you.

Benefits

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance

401k Retirement Plan

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Home Office Budget

Paid Parental Leave

Reimbursement for Training

Conferences (Travel, Lodging, Fees)

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Company Stock Options

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Platform Engineer with a focus on system architecture.
• Strong programming skills and familiarity with Linux/Unix operating systems.
• Experience with cloud-native technologies and security automation.

Responsibilities

• Automate and build a runtime Production Environment for applications.
• Mentor junior engineers and decompose complex issues into manageable tasks.
• Implement infrastructure as code and maintain Kubernetes clusters.

Skills

Problem Solving

Programming Language Proficiency

Cloud Deployments

CI/CD

Agile Framework

Security Automation

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

DoD 8570 IAT II certification

Tools

GitLab CI

Kubernetes

Docker

AWS

Terraform

Job description

EMPLOYER IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THIS POSITION WILL REQUIRE U.S. CITIZENSHIP.
Role Description:

We are seeking a talented and experienced Platform Engineer to join our team. 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:

• Decompose Issues for Junior Engineers: Break down complex technical issues into manageable tasks for junior engineers. Provide clear guidance and mentorship to support their professional growth.
• 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 and the Production Environment.
• Interject "best practices" to the application development team and facilitate collaboration between the application development and platform teams.
• Lead discussions on the benefits of using cyber-secure tools.
• Establish and facilitate automated Zarf builds as part of CI for multiple app dev teams.Collaborate with the Platform team on End-to-End (E2E) and Integration testing.
• Contribute to CI/CD and other automation experiences:
• Build and maintain automated pipeline functions, leading teams towards delivery and sustainment options.

• Implement infrastructure as code and contribute to the build/maintenance of kubernetes clusters on various distributions (i.e EKS & RKE2).
• Apply extensive experience with cloud deployments, emphasizing secure coding practices and vulnerability remediation.
• Exhibit strong programming skills and deep familiarity with Linux/Unix operating systems.
• Create and maintain operational runbooks and alerts, ensuring API orchestration and cyber-secure approaches.

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.
• Proficient with Gitlab CI with a preferred experience using Gitlab’s CI/CD Component
• Experience managing GitLab Runners.
• 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 AWS 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.

• Hold a security clearance/Eligible to apply for a security clearance.
• 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.

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

$147,175—$190,000 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

• 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 EnjoyHealth:

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

Financial:

• 401k Retirement Plan
• Company Stock Options
• Home Office Budget

Leave:

• Unlimited paid time off, with a mandatory 10 days off on top of 11 federal government holidays, week of Thanksgiving, last two weeks of December (including New Year’s Day)
• 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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