Platform Engineer Practice Lead

Akima; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Systems Intelligence, an Akima company, seeks a Practice Lead for the Army Software Factory in Austin to enable scalable practice across teams and drive continuous improvement. You will establish core practices, coach engineers, curate resources, and coordinate with executives to standardize enablement across the organization.

The role requires 10+ years as a Platform Engineer, deep cloud (SaaS/IaaS/PaaS) and CI/CD expertise, AWS knowledge, and open source container platforms.

Qualifications

• 10 years of experience as a Platform Engineer.
• Ability to coach and train senior platform engineers in cloud models and CI/CD.
• Knowledge of SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS and CI/CD processes and pipeline tools.
• Knowledge of portable, extensible open source platform for managing containerized workloads in AWS.
• Familiarity with release to higher levels of integration testing and certification activities.
• Understanding of every stage in the software project lifecycle.
• Must hold a current IAT II or higher certification (Security+).
• Interim Secret clearance eligibility required to start.

Responsibilities

• Enable others in a one-to-many model and cultivate an environment for continuous practice improvement.
• Establish core practices, drive continuous learning, coach for professional growth, curate learning resources and coordinate with Executive Leadership to standardize enablement.

Skills

Platform engineering

Coaching senior engineers

CI/CD processes

Cloud computing (SaaS/IaaS/PaaS)

AWS

Containerized workloads management

Software lifecycle knowledge

Release management

Leadership / mentoring

Tools

CI/CD tooling

Container orchestration tools

Job description

About The Mission

The Army Software Factory (ASWF) in Austin is one of the most ambitious software initiatives in the federal government. We operate like a modern, high-growth technology startup embedded within the military, transforming active-duty Soldiers into software engineers through real-world, production-level development.

We don't just build software to support the mission; we build the people who build the software. We utilize modern methodologies like Extreme Programming (XP), Lean Product Development, and User-Centered Design (UCD) inside cross-functional, balanced teams.

Responsibilities

• For a DOD customer, the Software Factory Practice Lead enables others in a one-to-many model, focusing their efforts on activities that scale to many practitioners at once and cultivating an environment for continuous practice improvement.
• The Practice Lead establishes core practices, drives continuous learning, deliberately coaches for professional growth, curates learning resources and coordinates with Executive Leadership in standardizing enablement practices for the organization.

Qualifications

• 10 years of experience as a Platform Engineer.
• Ability to coach and train senior platform engineers in the following:
  • Knowledge of cloud computing service models Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS) and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes and pipeline tools.
  • Knowledge of portable, extensible, open source platform for managing containerized workloads and services in AWS.
  • Knowledge of the steps for release to higher levels of integration testing, certification activities, and/or operations using testbeds, modeling and simulation to synchronize software releases with the development of an operations environment(s) to ensure compatibility.
  • Knowledge of every stage in the software project lifecycle, from initial design and build to rollout and maintenance.
• Must hold a current and valid IAT II or higher certification (Security+).
• Clearance Note:
  • Interim Secret Clearance Required: Because of the mission context, candidates must be eligible to obtain an Interim Secret clearance to start. Don't let this deter you if you don't currently hold one—we support and guide qualified candidates entirely through the clearance process.

Job ID

2026-24600

Work Type

On-Site

Work Where it Matters

Systems Intelligence, an Akima company, is not just another federal IT contractor. As an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC), our mission and purpose extend beyond our exciting federal projects as we support our shareholder communities in Alaska.

At Systems Intelligence, the work you do every day makes a difference in the lives of our 15,000 Iñupiat shareholders, a group of Alaska natives from one of the most remote and harshest environments in the United States.

For our shareholders, Systems Intelligence provides support and employment opportunities and contributes to the survival of a culture that has thrived above the Arctic Circle for more than 10,000 years.

For our government customers, Systems Intelligence delivers innovative information technology solutions that evolve and modernize IT infrastructures.

As a Systems Intelligence employee, you will be surrounded by a challenging, yet supportive work environment that is committed to innovation and diversity, two of our most important values. You will also have access to our comprehensive benefits and competitive pay in addition to growth opportunities and excellent retirement options.

Job ID:24600-en-us