Senior Cloud DevOps Engineer

Valar Atomics; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

Free daily lunch onsite

PPE stipend

Job summary

Valar Atomics is seeking a seasoned Cloud DevOps Engineer to design, build, and maintain scalable, secure infrastructure primarily in AWS, with Azure support. You will implement Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, GitHub Enterprise, and Terraform to enable rapid, reliable deployments.

You will collaborate with software, security, and platform teams to improve observability and drive infrastructure-as-code practices. This on-site role is based in Torrance, CA, with relocation assistance not available.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or Cloud Infrastructure Engineering role
• AWS: Strong hands-on experience with core services (EC2, VPC, IAM, S3, RDS, EKS, Lambda, CloudFormation)
• Kubernetes: Solid experience administering and troubleshooting clusters in production environments
• CI/CD: Proven experience building and maintaining pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, or similar)
• GitHub Enterprise: Hands-on experience including repository management, branch protection, and access controls
• Terraform: Strong proficiency for infrastructure-as-code, including module design and state management
• Scripting: Bash, Python, or Go
• Networking: DNS, load balancing, VPNs, firewalls
• Docker: Containerization experience
• Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch, Datadog
• Security: IAM, secrets management, least privilege access

Responsibilities

• AWS: Design, implement, and maintain cloud infrastructure (EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS, Lambda, EKS)
• Kubernetes: Build, manage, and optimize clusters (EKS/AKS) for containerized workloads
• CI/CD: Design and maintain pipelines to automate build, test, and deployment
• GitHub Enterprise: Manage source control workflows and access controls
• Terraform: Write and review Terraform modules to provision infrastructure
• Monitoring: Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting (CloudWatch, Prometheus, Grafana)
• Collaboration: Work with development teams to improve deployment velocity and reduce lead time
• Security: Enforce cloud security best practices (IAM, secrets management)
• On-call: Participate in rotation and incident response
• Documentation: Document architecture, runbooks and procedures
• Tooling: Continuously evaluate new tools to improve reliability and developer experience

Skills

AWS

Kubernetes

CI/CD

GitHub Enterprise

Scripting (Bash/Python/Go)

Networking basics

Docker

Monitoring & Observability

Security best practices

Incident response

Tools

Terraform

GitHub Actions

Jenkins

GitLab CI

CloudWatch

Prometheus

Grafana

Job description

At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world. Our first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate how advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication can power the future. Joining Valar Atomics means becoming part of a company where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level.

The Team

As part of the Business organization, IT & Enterprise Software delivers the technology infrastructure, enterprise applications, and digital tools that power Valar's operations. The team ensures secure, reliable, and scalable technology solutions that support every function across the company.

The Role

Valar Atomics is looking for an experienced Cloud DevOps Engineer to design, build, and maintain scalable, secure, and highly available infrastructure primarily in AWS , withadditionalsupport for workloads in Azure . The ideal candidate has hands-onexpertisewith Kubernetes , CI/CD pipeline design , GitHub Enterprise , and Terraform , and thrives in a fast-paced environment where automation and reliability are top priorities.

You'llwork closely with software engineering, security, and platform teams to streamline deployments, improve system observability, and drive infrastructure-as-code best practices across the organization.

This position is fully on-site at our Torrance, CA location. Relocation assistance is not available.

Key Responsibilities

• AWS : Design, implement, andmaintaincloud infrastructure primarily on AWS (EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS, Lambda, EKS, etc.), with secondary support for Azure services
• Kubernetes : Build, manage, andoptimizeKubernetes clusters (EKS and/or AKS) for containerized workloads, including scaling, networking, and security configurations
• CI/CD : Design andmaintainCI/CD pipelines to automate build, test, and deployment processes across multiple environments
• GitHub Enterprise : Manage source control workflows, branch policies, and repository administration
• Terraform : Write,maintain, and review Terraform modules to provision and manage infrastructure as code across cloud providers
• Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions to ensure system reliability and rapid incident response (e.g., CloudWatch, Prometheus, Grafana, Azure Monitor)
• Collaborate with development teams to improve deployment velocity, reduce lead time, and supportGitOpspractices
• Enforce and improve cloud security best practices, including IAM policies, secrets management, and compliance standards
• Troubleshoot production issues across cloud infrastructure, container orchestration, and CI/CD pipelines
• Participate in on-call rotation and incident response as needed
• Document infrastructure architecture, runbooks, and operational procedures
• Continuously evaluate and recommend new tools, technologies, and processes to improve system reliability and developer experience

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or Cloud Infrastructure Engineering role
• AWS : Strong hands‑on experience with core services (EC2, VPC, IAM, S3, RDS, EKS, Lambda, CloudFormation, etc.)
• Kubernetes : Solid experience administering and troubleshooting clusters in production environments
• CI/CD : Proven experience building andmaintainingpipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, or similar)
• GitHub Enterprise : Hands‑on experience including repository management, branch protection, and access controls
• Terraform : Strongproficiencyfor infrastructure-as-code, including module design and state management
• Proficiencyin scripting languages such as Bash, Python, or Go
• Solid understanding of networking concepts (DNS, load balancing, VPNs, firewalls)
• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker) and container registries
• Familiarity with monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch, Datadog, or similar)
• Strong understanding of security best practices in cloud environments (IAM, secrets management, least privilege access)

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Relevant certifications (AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Azure Administrator/DevOps Engineer Expert)
• Prior military service in US Air Force or Navy, particularly in communications, networking, cybersecurity, IT, or other technical fields, is highly valued. Relevant military training and operational experience will be considered alongside civilian industry experience.
• Experience withGitOpstools (ArgoCD, Flux)
• Experience with service mesh technologies (Istio,Linkerd)
• Familiarity with policy-as-code tools (OPA, Sentinel)
• Experience working in regulated or compliance-driven environments (SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS)
• Background in software development or systems engineering

What We Offer

• Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company
• Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite
• Generous PPE stipend
• High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy
• Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement
• Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders
• The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Valar Atomics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and will provide reasonable accommodation as required by law.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder).