Sr. Principal Platform Engineer

Clarity Innovations; Fort Meade (MD); On-site; USD 150,000 - 330,000; Full time

Job summary

Clarity Innovations in the United States seeks a Senior Principal Platform Engineer to bridge compliance strategy and system execution across AWS, Azure, on‑prem, and air‑gapped environments. You will implement Go and Python security controls, build automated pipelines, and translate NIST/DoD requirements into developer-friendly platform abstractions.

This role combines deep cybersecurity expertise with hands‑on automation to sustain a continuously authorized, zero‑trust architecture across

Qualifications

• 5+ years hands-on platform engineering in cloud environments.
• Direct experience with NIST SP 800-53, RMF, or FedRAMP translation to software configurations.
• Proficiency in Go or Python and CI/CD automation (GitLab CI).
• Experience with SBOM generation, artifact signing, vulnerability scanning, and provenance tracking.
• Experience with IAM, secrets management, and zero-trust tooling.

Responsibilities

• Policy-as-Code: translate NIST 800-53 controls into automated admission policies and cross-cloud guardrails.
• Automated Evidence: build pipelines to collect compliance evidence and stream real-time reporting.
• Secure Supply Chain: implement end-to-end supply chain controls in CI/CD pipelines.
• Zero-Trust Infrastructure: configure IAM, secrets management, service mesh, and network segmentation.
• Cross-Team Alignment: translate security requirements into actionable backlog items.

Skills

Platform Security

Zero-Trust

CI/CD Automation

SBOM Management

Policy-as-Code

Tools

GitLab CI

HashiCorp Vault

eMASS/XACTA

Job description

Clarity Innovations is a trusted national security partner, dedicated to safeguarding our nation’s interests and delivering innovative solutions that empower the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) to transform data into actionable intelligence, ensuring mission success in an evolving world.

Our mission-first software and data engineering platform modernizes data operations, utilizing advanced workflows, CI/CD, and secure DevSecOps practices. We focus on challenges in Information Warfare, Cyber Operations, Operational Security, and Data Structuring, enabling end-to-end solutions that drive operational impact.

We are committed to delivering cutting-edge tools and capabilities that address the most complex national security challenges, empowering our partners to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensuring the success of their critical missions. At Clarity, we are people-focused and set on being a destination employer for top talent, offering an environment where innovation thrives, careers grow, and individuals are valued. Join us as we continue to lead innovation and tackle the most pressing challenges in national security.

Position Summary

The position is part of a team of software and platform engineers building a unified, multi-tenant control plane driven by Kubernetes, Crossplane, and Cluster API (CAPI), that abstracts infrastructure differences across AWS, Azure, on-premises, and air-gapped environments.
As a Senior Principal Platform Engineer, you will act as the critical technical bridge between compliance strategy and system execution. You will collaborate closely with the Information System Security Officer (ISSO) to ingest traditional security policy, governance frameworks (e.g., NIST SP 800-37/53, DoDI 8510.01), and control requirements, translating them into actionable solutions, code, automated pipelines, and continuous platform guardrails in concert with the engineering team. Utilizing Go, Python, and cloud-native security tools, you will implement technical security controls, ranging from admission control and secrets management to zero-trust networking, ensuring the underlying infrastructure and control plane remain in an automated, continuously authorized state.
The ideal candidate is a seasoned platform engineer with deep cybersecurity domain knowledge who excels at automating compliance, streamlining secure software supply chains, and turning complex regulatory expectations into developer-friendly platform abstractions.

Key Responsibilities

• Policy-as-Code & Control Enforcement: Translate NIST 800-53 controls and ISSO policy into automated admission policies, cross-cloud guardrails, and real-time compliance checks using Policy-as-Code frameworks.
• Automated Evidence & ConMon: Build pipelines and telemetry dashboards to collect compliance evidence automatically and stream real-time reporting to tools like eMASS/XACTA to support the Authorization to Operate (ATO) lifecycle.
• Secure Supply Chain: Implement end-to-end supply chain controls within CI/CD pipelines, including automated SBOM generation, artifact signing, vulnerability scanning, and provenance tracking.
• Zero-Trust Infrastructure: Package and configure core security capabilities across IAM, secrets management, service mesh, and network segmentation to ensure robust zero-trust architecture.
• Cross-Team Alignment: Partner with software and platform engineers to turn security requirements into actionable backlog items and guide teams on implementing technical controls.

Qualifications

• Platform Security & Infrastructure: 5+ years of hands-on platform engineering experience, with deep technical expertise in cloud infrastructure and zero-trust architectures.
• Compliance Frameworks: Direct experience working with NIST SP 800-53, RMF (NIST SP 800-37), or FedRAMP, with a proven ability to translate control statements into software configurations.
• Software Automation & CI/CD: Proficiency in Go or Python, along with CI/CD pipeline automation (e.g., GitLab CI) and GitOps workflows.
• Supply Chain Security: Hands-on experience with vulnerability scanning, image signing, dependency management, and SBOM validation across cloud and air-gapped systems.
• Security Tooling: Experience with enterprise IAM, secrets management platforms (e.g., HashiCorp Vault), and automated policy engines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active security or cloud certifications (e.g., CISSP, CCSP).
• Experience automating Continuous ATO (cATO) in air-gapped or heavily regulated environments.

Salary Range: $150,000 - $330,000

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.