Platform Operations Engineer

Base-2 Solutions; Bethesda (MD); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company matching

Paid time off

Job summary

Base-2 Solutions is seeking a Platform Operations Engineer to join a high-impact team supporting the DOMEX Technology Platform (DTP). You will ensure uptime, reliability, and performance of a containerized microservices stack and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams in Bethesda, MD.

The role involves operating in a DoD-focused environment with AWS and on-premise components, handling large data throughput and incident responses, and contributing to continuous improvement of SLIs/SLOs.

Qualifications

• BS in Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or related field with 8+ years of relevant experience.
• DoD 8570.01 IAT Level II+ certification (e.g., Security+ CE, CySA+, CCNA Security, SSCP, CISSP or Associate) required.
• Experience with Kubernetes, Linux, GitLab pipelines, and containerized environments.
• Experience with cloud services (preferably AWS) and enterprise-scale production systems.

Responsibilities

• Ensure uptime, performance, and capacity for a large-scale big data platform with microservices on Kubernetes.
• Lead triage, troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and post-incident reviews.
• Define and track reliability metrics (SLIs/SLOs) and participate in SAFe Agile release planning.
• Collaborate across teams to ensure secure, scalable architecture and efficient incident response.

Skills

Kubernetes

GitLab pipelines

Linux

Containerized environments

AWS cloud services

Big data platform experience

Education

BS in Engineering/CS/Systems Engineering

Master's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience

Tools

Elasticsearch

PostgreSQL

Logstash

Kibana

Keycloak

Appian

Terraform

Job description

• Required Security Clearance: Top Secret/SCI
• Location: Bethesda, MD
• Work Type: On-Site
• Shift: First

• Requisition ID: 4216
• Standard Title:
• Required Security Clearance: Top Secret/SCI
• Location: Bethesda, MD
• Work Type: On-Site
• Shift: First
• Referral Eligibility: Eligible
• U.S. Citizenship Required? Yes

Position Summary

Base-2 Solutions is seeking a Platform Operations Engineer to join a high-impact team supporting the design, development, and deployment of a modern technology stack for the DOMEX Technology Platform (DTP). This role supports the mission to centralize and standardize the Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination (TCPED) of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) across the Defense Intelligence Enterprise. The position involves ensuring availability, reliability, and performance of a full stack, containerized microservices platform and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Ensure uptime, performance, and capacity planning for a large scale big data production platform with a microservice architecture running on Kubernetes, Elasticsearch, PostgreSQL, Kafka, and technologies such as Java, Python, React, and low code tools like Appian.
• Leverage monitoring tools to proactively detect and resolve issues.
• Lead triage, troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and post incident reviews.
• Define and track reliability metrics such as SLIs and SLOs.
• Participate in SAFe Agile release planning, scrums, design sessions, bug triage, and cross team coordination.

Required Qualifications

• BS in Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience) with 8+ years of relevant experience; 6+ years with a Master's; additional experience may substitute for a degree.
• At least one DoD 8570.01 M IAT Level II+ certification (e.g., Security+ CE, CySA+, CCNA Security, SSCP, CISSP (or Associate)).
• Ability to obtain Privileged User Account (PUA) certification.
• Experience with Kubernetes, GitLab pipelines, Linux, and containerized environments.
• Experience supporting enterprise scale production systems.
• Experience with cloud services (preferably AWS) and cloud infrastructure.
• Familiarity with Elasticsearch, PostgreSQL, Logstash, Kibana, and Keycloak.
• Demonstrated success in cross functional coordination and execution.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to perform under pressure during incidents.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Agile methodologies.
• Experience with creating customized dashboards to track SLIs and other key performance indicators.
• Development experience (Bash, PowerShell, SALT, Python, Groovy, Java, etc.).
• Experience with Appian or other low-code platforms.
• Experience with technologies such as Kafka, AMQP/JMS, Prometheus/Grafana, GPU-based Kubernetes, SALT automation, Nexus, or GraphQL.
• Knowledge of security best practices (authN/Z, secrets management, data protection).
• Infrastructure-as-code experience (CloudFormation, Terraform, Pulumi).
• AWS cloud certifications.

Required Education and Experience Equivalency

• BS in Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience) with 8+ years of relevant experience.
• Master's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience.

Required Certifications

• At least one DoD 8570.01 M IAT Level II+ certification (e.g., Security+ CE, CySA+, CCNA Security, SSCP, CISSP (or Associate)).
• Ability to obtain Privileged User Account (PUA) certification.

Required Security Clearance

• Active Top Secret/SCI

Pay & Benefit Highlights

Compensation

• Competitive fixed salary or hourly pay (based on experience, skills, location, and internal equity).
• Employee referral bonuses up to $10,000 per hired referral.
• Additional bonus opportunities for exceptional performance and contributions to business development and company growth (role-dependent).

Health

• 100% company-paid medical premiums for employees and eligible dependents.
• Choose from multiple plan options with CareFirst, Kaiser, and UnitedHealthcare, including PPO, POS, HMO, and HSA-compatible plans.
• 100% company-paid dental premiums for employees and eligible dependents.
• 100% company-paid vision premiums for employees and eligible dependents.

Income Protection

• 100% company-paid premiums for short-term disability.
• 100% company-paid premiums for long-term disability.
• 100% company-paid premiums for accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D).
• 100% company-paid premiums for life insurance up to $200,000.

Retirement

• 401(k) with immediate vesting: 4% company match plus a 4% non-elective company contribution (8% total).
• 401(k) pre-tax and Roth options.

Leave

• Up to 20 days of flexible paid time off (PTO).
• 11 paid floating holidays.

Work-Life Balance

• Flexible work schedules, including flex time and compressed work periods (contract and project-dependent).