Platform Engineer
Defense Unicornsabout 2 hours ago
Remote, United StatesSenior
Base Salary
$123k - $167k/yr
Responsibilities
- Build, maintain, and improve Kubernetes clusters and containerized deployments across AWS, EKS, and RKE2 environments.
- Develop and manage infrastructure as code for consistent and repeatable platform provisioning and configuration.
- Own and improve GitLab CI pipelines, runner deployments, and automated build and deployment workflows.
- Support identity and access management, including user onboarding, role configuration, and troubleshooting through Keycloak.
- Implement and maintain monitoring, alerting, and logging for platform health and incident investigation.
- Manage public certificate renewals and related certificate lifecycle automation.
- Improve platform security through container security practices, Iron Bank image compliance, and support for ATO processes.
- Troubleshoot deployment issues, broken pipelines, and platform integration problems with application teams.
- Write and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, ADRs, architecture standards, and operational standards.
- Contribute to strategic planning aligned with technological advancements and mission objectives.
- Participate in tier 2 on-call rotations and platform incident response.
- 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, Pulumi, or similar.
- 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, 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.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently in a remote, asynchronous environment.
- U.S. citizenship and eligibility for CUI access are required.
- Possess or be able to obtain a DoD 8570 IAT II certification, such as Security+ CE.
- Preferred qualifications include a security clearance or eligibility, experience with UDS Core, Iron Bank, C-ATO processes, Keycloak, Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Go, Python, Bash, DevSecOps, GitOps tools such as Flux or ArgoCD, DoD production ATO’d systems, distributed architectures, AWS certifications, ADRs, runbooks, or engineering standards.
Benefits
- Remote in the USA.
- 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 training and subscriptions, plus conference travel, lodging, and fees.
- Travel expectation is 5–10%.
Tech Stack
Argo CDAWSAzureBashDockerGitLab 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