Senior DevOps Engineer/Technical Services Manager

FTI Defense - Frontier Technology Inc.; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 130,000 - 205,000; Full time

Job summary

FTI Defense - Frontier Technology Inc. seeks a Senior DevOps Engineer with leadership interest to join a collaborative engineering team.

The role blends hands-on DevOps execution (~90%) with people leadership (~10%), focusing on automation, security, and continuous improvement across cloud infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines. The ideal candidate has extensive DevOps experience, strong Ansible and Linux skills, and is eligible for a TS/SCI clearance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field.
• Six or more years of DevOps engineering experience.
• Previous leadership experience with team development and cross-functional collaboration.
• Hands-on automation development using Ansible.
• Strong Red Hat Enterprise Linux administration, engineering, troubleshooting, or automation experience.
• Experience with Git-based repositories and GitLab workflows.
• Practical AWS experience; GovCloud is helpful.
• Experience with Terraform for infrastructure as code.
• Experience building DevOps/DevSecOps automation for builds, tests, monitoring, and releases.
• Experience with observability tools like Kibana, Elastic, or Splunk.
• CI/CD pipeline troubleshooting and optimization.
• Scripting with Bash and Python.
• DevOps toolchain: Jenkins, Terraform, Helm, Kubernetes.
• Security certifications aligned with 8140 requirements.
• U.S. citizenship with TS/SCI clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead DevOps efforts with direct hands-on engineering work (~90%).
• Automate cloud infrastructure, streamline SDLC, and enhance security posture.
• Develop automation using Ansible and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• Improve GitLab security reporting and overall CI/CD reliability.
• Manage repositories and support cloud environments (AWS GovCloud, etc.).
• Support coordination, coaching, and culture within a unified engineering organization.
• Identify and resolve security, technical, and process issues in development environments.

Skills

Leadership

Automation

Python

Ansible

AWS

GitLab

Terraform

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Security

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Six+ years of DevOps experience

Leadership/mentorship experience

Security+ CE / CCNA-Security / GSEC

Tools

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Git/GitLab

AWS GovCloud

Terraform

Kubernetes

Jenkins

Ansible Automation Platform

Elastic / Kibana

Splunk

Job description

Overview

FTI is seeking a Senior DevOps Engineer with an interest in leadership to join a highly collaborative, cross-functional engineering environment. In this role, the candidate will work closely with Engineering Managers, Technical Services Managers, and teammates across the broader space portfolio. This position is not an isolated or siloed role, success here comes from teamwork, communication, and active engagement across multiple technical disciplines.

FTI provides mission-tailored, technology-enabled services that enhance decision-making for the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and Federal Government. We support those who safeguard our nation by delivering advanced technology, expert services, and a culture grounded in our 4Cs: Core Values (ethics, morals, integrity, honesty, sincerity), Commitment, Compassion, and Charity. Candidates must be in, or willing to relocate to, Colorado Springs, CO.

This position blends both technical execution and people leadership. Approximately 90% of the role focuses on hands-on DevOps engineering activities. The remaining 10% supports team coordination, coaching, culture, and collaboration across a unified engineering organization.

Responsibilities

DevOps Responsibilities: Approximately 90%

• Identify opportunities to improve process automation, automate existing and new processes, maintain and deploy cloud infrastructure, and support the Agile software development lifecycle build process.
• Apply Python and Ansible experience to networking technologies, including routing and switching, and manage heterogeneous environments.
• Support the full lifecycle of software systems, including development, testing, and deployment.
• Develop automation solutions using Ansible Automation Platform and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• Use automation tools to reduce security compliance errors and vulnerabilities and improve GitLab security reporting.
• Integrate automation solutions with internal back-end infrastructure systems.
• Perform root cause analysis for security-related issues in development environments.
• Investigate and resolve security, technical, and other potential CI/CD issues.
• Identify technical problems and develop software updates and fixes.
• Assist with establishing, maintaining, and enforcing container standards.
• Apply industry best practices to incorporate security within a Software Factory.
• Analyze GitLab security scans and work with development teams to resolve identified issues.
• Manage repositories and maintain collaborative version control.
• Support cloud computing environments, including AWS, GovCloud, or similar platforms.

Technical Services Manager Responsibilities: Approximately 10%

• Coordinate staffing across the space portfolio to match engineers with project needs and relevant technical skills.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings focused on coaching, career development, well-being, and role clarity.
• Provide timely, constructive feedback to support employee growth and address challenges early.
• Promote a unified team culture built on trust, inclusion, accountability, transparency, and psychological safety.
• Monitor team workload, morale, and team objectives.
• Collaborate with Engineering Managers, Program Leads, and other Technical Services Managers to support shared priorities and upcoming staffing demands.
• Reinforce cross-team communication to ensure engineers have support, connection, and visibility across the broader organization.

Education/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in computer science or a similar field of study.
• Six or more years of DevOps engineering experience.
• Previous leadership experience, including team leadership, technical leadership, mentorship, or management responsibilities, with demonstrated ability to support team development, coordination, or cross-functional collaboration.
• Hands-on experience developing or maintaining automation using Ansible.
• Strong Red Hat Enterprise Linux administration, engineering, troubleshooting, or automation experience.
• Experience with Git-based source-code repositories, version control, branching, and collaborative development workflows. GitLab experience is preferred.
• Practical experience supporting or deploying resources in AWS. GovCloud experience is helpful but not required.
• Experience using Terraform for infrastructure as code. Candidates with limited Terraform experience may be considered if they demonstrate strong experience with Ansible, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Git or GitLab, and AWS. Terraform training may be completed before onboarding.
• Experience developing tools and processes that advance DevOps or DevSecOps capabilities through automated builds, regression testing, monitoring, and releases across environments.
• Experience developing and deploying automation services for continuous monitoring and observability tools, including Kibana, Elastic, or Splunk.
• Experience troubleshooting, triaging, and resolving CI/CD pipeline failures or performance issues.
• Experience with scripting languages, including Bash and Python.
• Experience with DevOps pipeline tools and technologies, including Jenkins, Terraform, Helm, and Kubernetes.
• Security+ CE, SSCP, CCNA-Security, or GSEC certification that satisfies 8140 requirements.
• Must be a U.S. citizen and possess an active TS/SCI security clearance.

For this role, the compensation range for candidates in Colorado is $130-$205K. Note: Starting pay will be based on a number of factors and commensurate with qualifications & experience. FTI has a location-based compensation structure; there may be a different range for candidates in other locations.