Senior Platform Engineer (FedD144)

Defense Unicorns

111d

About The Position

Defense Unicorns is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer to design, build, and own the runtime production environment connecting applications—including custom development, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), and open-source software—to the underlying platform. The role drives platform architecture decisions, sets engineering standards, and serves as a technical anchor between application and platform teams. This is a hands-on technical leadership role with end-to-end ownership of platform strategy and implementation. The engineer will define technical roadmaps, solve complex problems across multiple domains, improve cross-team delivery efficiency, and mentor engineers. The position focuses on building and owning platforms rather than operating within infrastructure designed by others. The employer is a U.S. government contractor, and an active Secret clearance is required to apply. Travel is required 25% of the time.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain a Secret security clearance; the posting also states an active Secret clearance is required to apply.
Expertise solving highly technical problems spanning multiple knowledge domains.
Deep knowledge in one or two key technologies such as pipelines, GitOps, Kubernetes, or Go.
Demonstrated experience with Kubernetes and container-based systems.
Expertise with YAML.
Proficiency in security automation and familiarity with API security, container security, and cloud security.
Proficiency in architecture security design, monitoring, and performance instrumentation in complex enterprise environments.
Experience with continuous delivery, distributed architectures, everything-as-code, containerization, and cloud services.
Proficiency in identifying and articulating process gaps and iterating toward better ways of working.
A proven track record of evaluating and selecting effective methods for solving complex business problems.
Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently in ambiguous environments.
Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams.
Experience working on a team using an Agile framework in a remote environment.

Nice To Haves

DoD 8570 IAT II certification or ability to obtain it.
Experience in Department of Defense work, specifically on a production ATO system.
Experience with Big Bang, Iron Bank, and/or C-ATO processes.
Expertise in DevSecOps/DevOps and CI/CD theory and implementation.

Responsibilities

Architect and maintain scalable runtime production environments across cloud-native and containerized systems, including transforming applications into Kubernetes-friendly formats for bare-metal deployment.
Own the technical roadmap for the platform vertical, identify gaps, plan initiatives, and align engineering effort with mission objectives.
Mentor engineers across the team, support professional development, and raise the technical bar.
Identify technical overlap across projects and guide teams in leveraging shared work for efficient delivery.
Work with Mission Managers to provide insights on engineering competency, capacity, velocity, and alignment with mission objectives.
Collaborate with product teams by providing feedback on product fit and contributing to product direction based on production usage.
Work with customers to define technical roadmaps aligned with mission objectives.
Advocate for and enforce DevSecOps practices across the platform layer, including security automation, container security, and compliance.
Evaluate and select methods for solving complex business problems, assessing new products and their potential impact on mission objectives.
Continuously improve CI/CD pipelines, deployment patterns, and operational tooling.
Travel as required; travel is 25%.
Take on additional responsibilities as assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization.