Staff Platform Engineer, Connectivity

Simplesense; Denver (NY); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage

401k matching

Job summary

Simplesense is seeking a Staff Platform Engineer, Connectivity, based in Denver, CO, San Antonio, TX, or Brooklyn, NY. The role encompasses end-to-end technical ownership, architecture design, and infrastructure automation for secure connectivity solutions.

Successful candidates will have over 7 years of experience in building and operating infrastructure automation, particularly in secure, scalable architectures. The position offers a hybrid work model with competitive compensation in the range of $190k-$260k per year, along with benefits like equity and medical coverage.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience building, designing, and operating infrastructure automation solutions.
• Strong experience designing secure, scalable architectures for systems.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation for infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical owner for Connectivity projects.
• Lead the design of secure, scalable Connectivity architecture.
• Define reusable automation patterns and implementation standards.

Skills

Infrastructure automation

Secure connectivity patterns

Linux systems

Networking fundamentals

Scripting (Python, Bash)

Job description

Simplesense builds, deploys, and sustains the Installation Resilience Platform that enables mission operators to rapidly adapt and respond. The Platform protects critical infrastructure from cyber attack while unlocking previously siloed information to monitor, diagnose, and improve response times to incidents. Our adversaries rapidly adopt the latest technology: we help defense users respond in kind.

Simplesense is a non-traditional defense contractor and prime on the Air Force's Installation Resilience Operations Command and Control (IROC) program, which is now expanding to five additional Air Force, Space Force, and Army installations from the one prototype installation, Tyndall Air Force Base.

Our team combines over 100 years of direct mission experience solving hard problems with 50 years technical expertise deploying DevSecOps, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure, giving us a deep appreciation for our customers’ mission and end users’ priorities. We build for scale, architecting and prioritizing technical work for long term sustainability.

Staff Platform Engineer, Connectivity

Location: Denver, CO (Hybrid), San Antonio, TX (Hybrid), Brooklyn, NY or Remote (US Based)

About the Role

As the Staff Platform Engineer, Connectivity, you will serve as the technical anchor for major Connectivity projects that enable secure, resilient access between customer OT environments and Simplesense’s cloud-hybrid services. You will define technical strategy across the Connectivity delivery system, architecture patterns, automation workflows, and operational workflows that allow the team to efficiently onboard and support customer environments. In this role, you will partner across engineering development and operations functions to translate product priorities into a cohesive technical plan, align implementation across teams, and raise the engineering bar for quality, standardization, and maintainability.

Work Model: We prioritize candidates in the Denver, CO, San Antonio, TX, and Brooklyn, NY area, but are open to remote talent.

Locals: 2 days/week onsite

Remote: Quarterly travel for team meetings

What Success Looks Like

30 Days: Become familiar with existing Connectivity architectures, workflows, and patterns; build relationships across Connectivity, Platform, Data Insights, and field/operations stakeholders.
60 Days: Gain a clear understanding of the Connectivity architecture; identify opportunities for standardization and automation; contribute to the technical direction of a Connectivity project initiative.
90 Days: Act as the technical owner for a Connectivity initiative project; drive architectural decisions across engineering teams; mentor Senior and Engineer-level teammates through reviews, planning, and technical guidance.

What You’ll Do

• End-to-End Technical Ownership: Serve as the technical owner for Connectivity projects, responsible for translating product goals into technical strategy, architecture, execution guidance, and long-term maintainability.
• Architecture & Design Leadership: Lead the design of secure, scalable Connectivity architecture patterns spanning facility-edge systems, Linux-based platforms, network appliances, secure channels, validation mechanisms, and operational handoff requirements.
• Delivery System Standardization: Define and evolve the reusable automation patterns, configuration models, validation routines, and implementation standards that allow Connectivity solutions to be delivered repeatedly and with high confidence to customer environments.
• Network Reliability: Shape the network observability and resilience measures to ensure Connectivity services meet performance, uptime, and supportability expectations.
• Technical Leadership: Collaborate across capability teams and functions to align architecture, sequencing, interfaces, and technical tradeoffs; translate cross-functional constraints into execution plans that multiple engineers and teams can follow.
• Security by Design: Embed Zero-Trust security practices into connectivity solutions. Ensure compliance with critical infrastructure security standards.
• Force Multiplier & Mentor: Raise the team’s overall effectiveness through design reviews, code reviews, coaching, standards-setting, and unblocking work across Engineer and Senior Engineer levels.

What You Bring

Required Qualifications:

• Experience: 7+ years of experience building, designing, and operating infrastructure automation solutions in distributed environments.
• Domain Knowledge: Strong experience designing secure, scalable architectures for systems that span Linux platforms, network infrastructure, automation workflows, and operational support requirements.
• Networking Expertise: Strong expertise in networking fundamentals, Linux-based systems, secure connectivity patterns, infrastructure automation, and observability or validation mechanisms.
• Technical Strategy: Proven ability to operate at a Staff level by defining technical direction, navigating ambiguity, and leading cross-functional initiatives from early problem framing through delivery.
• Infrastructure Automation Skills: Proficiency in scripting and automation for infrastructure. Experience using scripting languages (Python, Bash, etc.) to deploy and manage network resources in a repeatable way.
• Leadership: Demonstrated success mentoring engineers, establishing technical standards, improving team execution, and raising engineering quality beyond direct individual output.

Travel: Ability to travel quarterly for Program Management Reviews and team collaboration.

Clearance Requirements: Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain a DoD NIPR network account and Common Access Card (CAC). Must have, or be able to obtain, a Secret Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Based in Denver, CO, San Antonio, TX, or Brooklyn, NY area
• Experience in DoD, Air Force, or Federal contractor environments
• Certifications such as CCNP/CCIE, AWS Advanced Networking, or similar
• Experience with OT/ICS environments or critical infrastructure systems
• Familiarity with network automation tools (ex. Ansible, Cisco DevNet, open-source routing tools)

Our Culture

At Simplesense, we value high-trust autonomy. We look for people who can navigate ambiguity and are driven by the mission.

Safety & Innovation: You embed security and reliability practices into daily work to drive continuous improvement and mitigate risk.

People & Communication: You invite vigorous debate and offer "kindly blunt" feedback, always maintaining empathy and assuming noble intent.

Integrity & Ethics: You build trust by honoring commitments, acting ethically, and resolving conflict through direct, honest communication.

Strategic Problem Solving: You focus on high-priority issues to create documented, scalable solutions—avoiding shortcuts.

Agility: You move quickly to fix small problems, learn from the past, and pivot transparently when the mission requires it.

Compensation and Benefits

Pay Range: $190k-$260k per year. Compensation is determined based on experience, skill level, and location. We review ranges regularly to ensure market competitiveness.

• Equity
• Medical, Life, Short-Term Disability, and AD&D insurance
• Medical travel coverage
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage
• 401k matching

Simplesense is an equal opportunity employer committed to a policy of merit-based employment. All employment decisions—including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, training, and termination—are made based on individual qualifications, performance, and business needs. We strictly prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind on the basis of protected characteristics as recognized by federal, state, or local law. As a U.S. government contractor, Simplesense complies with all applicable equal employment opportunity laws, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA). If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete the application or take part in the interview process, please contact People Operations at [e-mail].