Platform Engineer
Defense Unicornsabout 4 hours ago
Remote, United StatesMid Level
Base Salary
$123k - $167k/yr
Responsibilities
- Build, maintain, and improve Kubernetes clusters and containerized application deployments across AWS, EKS, and RKE2 environments.
- Develop and manage infrastructure as code to provision and configure platform resources consistently.
- Own and improve GitLab CI pipelines, runner deployments, and automated build and deployment workflows.
- Support identity and access management through Keycloak, including onboarding, role configuration, and troubleshooting.
- Implement and maintain monitoring, alerting, and logging for platform health and incident investigation.
- Manage public certificate renewal and related certificate lifecycle automation.
- Improve platform security through container security practices, Iron Bank image compliance, and ATO process support.
- Collaborate with application teams to troubleshoot deployment issues, broken pipelines, and platform integration problems.
- Write and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, architecture decision records, and operational standards.
- Contribute to strategic planning aligned with technological advancements and mission objectives.
- Participate in tier 2 on-call rotations and support platform incidents.
- Mentor junior engineers through pairing, code reviews, and knowledge sharing.
Requirements
- Hands-on experience deploying, managing, and troubleshooting Kubernetes clusters and workloads.
- Experience with infrastructure as code tools such as Terraform or Pulumi.
- Proficiency with CI/CD tooling, particularly GitLab CI or equivalent pipeline platforms.
- Working knowledge of Linux/Unix operating systems and command-line administration.
- Experience with cloud platforms, preferably AWS and services including EC2, EKS, IAM, S3, and VPC.
- Familiarity with Docker, container image builds, and registry management.
- Ability to read and write YAML for Kubernetes manifests, CRDs, Helm charts, and pipeline configurations.
- U.S. citizenship and eligibility for CUI access are required.
- Must possess or be able to obtain a DoD 8570 IAT II certification, such as Security+ CE.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently in a remote, asynchronous environment.
- Security clearance eligibility, UDS Core, Iron Bank, C-ATO or ATO'd production system experience, and DoD experience are preferred.
- Experience with Keycloak, Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Go, Python, Bash, Flux, ArgoCD, DevSecOps, distributed architectures, GitOps, ADRs, runbooks, and engineering standards is preferred.
- AWS certifications related to platform or solutions architecture are preferred.
Benefits
- Remote in the USA.
- 5-10% travel expected.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance with premiums 100% company paid.
- Health savings account, life insurance, and disability insurance.
- 401(k) retirement plan, company stock options, and home office budget.
- Flexible Time Off, federal holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year's.
- Paid parental leave.
- Reimbursement for approved trainings and subscriptions.
- Conference coverage including travel, lodging, and fees.
Tech Stack
AWSAzureBashDockerGitLab CI/CDGoGoogle Cloud PlatformGrafanaHelmKubernetesLinuxPrometheusPythonTerraform
About Defense Unicorns
Defense Unicorns specializes in platform technologies that enable rapid and reliable delivery of capabilities across a wide range of mission and technology areas. We support open architecture platforms for secure mission systems that provide optionality for the end user, promote scalability, and allow for continuous identification and integration of new products and services while avoiding vendor lock. Our open approach creates partnership opportunities across the software ecosystem. Our people are innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across DoW and the broader federal market. Let's drive change together. Get in touch at hello@defenseunicorns.com