Platform Engineer - Secret/Top Secret at Defense Unicorns

<h1><strong>EMPLOYER IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THIS POSITION WILL REQUIRES AN ACTIVE SECRET OR TOP SECRET SECURITY CLEARANCE.&nbsp;<br></strong></h1> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Role Description</strong></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Defense Unicorns is seeking talented and versatile Platform Engineers to join a team of dedicated unicorns advancing freedom and independence globally. In this role, you will help build and sustain a self-managed production environment — serving as the crucial link between application developers and the platform that supports them — while contributing to the growth of Defense Unicorns' capabilities and open source products.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Our teams work across varied technical baselines depending on engagement, with a focus on the Platform layer. To deliver for our Mission Heroes, we also work across IaC automation, security hardening, and implementation. Depending on your level, you'll either be executing with excellence on that platform or helping shape its long-term direction.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><em>All Platform Engineers are expected to:</em></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Operate and maintain Production UDS Cloud Environments (Kubernetes and the UDS baseline of tools we deliver to Mission Heroes/Customers), supporting teams operating within that environment</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Develop and maintain a secure, scalable, and observable environment based on Infrastructure-as-Code, leveraging Terraform/OpenTofu across various Kubernetes distributions (EKS, RKE2, and others)</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines supporting the full software development lifecycle — compiling, scanning, containerizing, testing, linting, deploying, monitoring, and releasing</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Leverage a diverse set of cloud and on-prem IaaS providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, vSphere, Proxmox, LXD) to build robust, scalable systems for cloud, on-prem, and hybrid architectures</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Design and implement observability tooling — particularly stacks built on Prometheus, Loki, and Grafana — to help teams diagnose and resolve production-impacting incidents</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Participate in on-call rotation to address production-impacting incidents (business hours only for now)</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Identify and articulate gaps in existing processes, contributing insights to the product backlog</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Work within an Agile framework in a remote environment</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><em>Senior Platform Engineers are additionally expected to:</em></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Solve highly technical problems spanning 2–3 knowledge domains and contribute expertise across Defense Unicorns' open source projects and product repositories</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Demonstrate expert knowledge in 2–3 key technologies (CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes, Go, or others) and serve as a technical resource for the broader team</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Bring deep Linux/Unix systems administration skills: automate the process of securing, configuring, deploying, and distributing machines to support services including DHCP, DNS, NTP, PXE, IPSec, and others</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Lead security hardening automation efforts (STIGs, FIPS, CIS Benchmarks) across the platform</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Work with Mission Heroes to define a technical roadmap aligned to mission objectives</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Envision and articulate the long-term vision for our products, contributing to strategic planning that aligns technological advancement with mission goals</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><em>The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive; additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization.</em></p> <hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5"> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Preferred Experience and Qualifications</strong></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><em>For all candidates:</em></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">3+ years of experience operating production cloud-native systems within the Kubernetes ecosystem</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Proficiency in IaC, particularly Terraform or OpenTofu</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with automation in Go, Python, Bash, or similar languages</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with CI/CD methodologies and systems such as GitLab Runners or GitHub Actions</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience designing, deploying, and maintaining cloud infrastructure in AWS, Azure, or GCP environments</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience building and operating observability platforms, particularly those built on OpenSearch/ELK, Prometheus, Loki, and Grafana</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Understanding of NIST 800-171/800-53 and FedRAMP requirements</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience in an on-call capacity for platform reliability; ability to monitor, improve, and restore operations within a DevSecOps team</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work both independently and collaboratively</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Active DoD Security Clearance (Secret minimum, Top Secret preferred)</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">CompTIA Security+, comparable certification, or ability to obtain within 3 months of hire</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><em>Additional qualifications expected at the Senior level:</em></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Demonstrated ability to solve highly technical problems spanning multiple knowledge domains</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Expert-level knowledge in 2–3 key technologies such as Kubernetes (operations, customization, integrations, troubleshooting, operators, webhooks, security), CI/CD, Go, or others</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Deep familiarity with Linux/Unix operating systems and systems administration at scale</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Proficiency with security hardening automation (STIGs, FIPS, CIS Benchmarks)</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience architecting and implementing platforms across an array of IaaS providers</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience working with customers or stakeholders to define a technical roadmap aligned to mission objectives</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">DoD 8570 IAT II certification (or ability to obtain)</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Travel expectations: 10%</p> <hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5"> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Nice to Haves</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Fluency in authentication workflows and constructs such as SAML, OIDC, OAuth, JWTs, and zero-trust identity patterns</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Understanding of policy-as-code engines such as Kyverno, or OPA</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with software supply chain tooling including SBOM, Sigstore, and SLSA</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with or understanding of UDS/Zarf and its applications</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with DoD platform tooling such as PlatformOne (Big Bang, Iron Bank, Party Bus)</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience in air-gapped environments</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience building, testing, and exercising Backup, Disaster Recovery, and Business Continuity Plans</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience on a production Authority to Operate (ATO'd) system, including Big Bang, Iron Bank, and/or C-ATO processes</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">A passion for continuous improvement through retrospectives, post-incident reviews, and iterating to better ways of working</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="description"><p>Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience. Compensation ranges are established using national benchmarking data and apply across all geographic locations within the United States.&nbsp;</p></div><div class="title">Remote - USA</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$123,250</span><span class="divider">&mdash;</span><span>$201,250 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><h3>Who We Are</h3> <p>Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.</p> <h3>What We Do</h3> <p>We create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.</p> <h3>Who We Serve</h3> <p>Defense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.</p> <h3><strong>What We Work On</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Kubernetes</li> <li>Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)</li> <li>Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)</li> <li>Continuous Delivery and automation tooling</li> <li>GitOps</li> <li>Containers</li> <li>CNCF projects and open source products and packages</li> <li>Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping</li> <li>Building and improving security delivery</li> <li>Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications</li> </ul> <h3><strong>Benefits Our Unicorns Enjoy</strong></h3> <h4>Health:</h4> <ul> <li>Medical/Dental/Vision</li> <li>Premiums are 100% Company Paid</li> <li>Health Savings Account</li> <li>Life Insurance</li> <li>Disability Insurance</li> </ul> <h4>Financial:</h4> <ul> <li>401k Retirement Plan</li> <li>Company Stock Options</li> <li>Home Office Budget</li> </ul> <h4>Leave:</h4> <ul> <li>We offer all full-time Unicorns Flexible Time Off (FTO) plus all Federal Holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s</li> <li>Paid Parental Leave</li> </ul> <h4>Learning:</h4> <ul> <li>Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions</li> <li>Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)</li> </ul> <p><em>Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed.&nbsp;</em></p> <p><em>At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.</em></p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DzT00w2uadYw9TfdorHuEsvPccZvn_g4/view?usp=drive_link" target="_blank"><strong>CCPA DISCLOSURE</strong></a></p></div>