Senior/Staff DevOps Engineer (U.S. Air Force)

Skylight

8h • $150,000 - $203,000 • Remote

About The Position

Skylight is hiring a Senior/Staff DevOps Engineer to support a U.S. Air Force program office that manages a portfolio of civil engineering systems used by civil engineering, security forces, and services personnel. The program currently has slow releases, manual regression testing, security reviews that occur after development, and lengthy production delays. The role will help move the office toward outcome-driven delivery by building automated, secure release practices and migrating the first application to a DoD software factory.

The engineer will work with Skylight staff, government personnel, government engineers, other contractors, and incoming military developers. The initial 30 days will focus on understanding existing delivery processes and identifying testing and security bottlenecks. This is new work replacing a traditional support model, and the engineer will coach government partners so they can sustain modern practices after the engagement. Tools and processes may change as work progresses. The position is contingent on Skylight being awarded the underlying contract.

This is a full-time, exempt, fully remote position. Work must be conducted within the U.S., excluding U.S. territories. The contract requires U.S. citizenship, the ability to obtain a Common Access Card (CAC) and any required special access, and successful completion of a company background check. Occasional travel to Montgomery, Alabama, and other U.S. Air Force bases is included. The targeted start date is November 30, 2026, pending contract award.

Salary is determined based on interview results and seniority. The listed ranges are $150,000–$185,000 for Senior DevOps Engineer and $170,000–$203,000 for Staff DevOps Engineer.

Requirements

• Understand general concepts of modern software development and be able to work closely with software engineers.
• Be able to work in a cloud-centric environment, managing disparate, interconnected systems and ensuring their availability, reliability, and resiliency.
• Enable teams to deliver value continuously through CI/CD pipelines, including integrated security scanning.
• Know how to build secure, compliant applications and defend against common vulnerabilities.
• Be able to work with software engineers to instrument applications and configure infrastructure for monitoring, metrics, alerting, logging, auditability, and compliance.
• Know how to create and maintain infrastructure as code and standardize deployment processes.
• Have experience working in a government or regulated environment with formal security authorization (ATO).
• Have experience working on cross-functional teams involving product, design, engineering, and operations in iterative delivery.
• Have a track record of staying aligned and accountable on remote teams.
• Have a mindset and work approach aligned with Skylight’s core values.
• Be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain a CAC and any special access required for the contract.
• Successfully complete a company background check.
• Conduct all work within the U.S., excluding U.S. territories.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with a DoD software factory such as Cloud One, MDaaS, or Platform One, including migrating applications onto one.
• Experience operating on-premises systems and/or migrating from on-premises systems to the cloud.
• Experience with GitLab CI, Checkmarx or other static code scanning, and SBOM generation.
• Experience with continuous ATO, RMF, eMASS, and inherited controls.
• Experience delivering technology in government, regulated industries, or other public-benefit settings.

Responsibilities

• Build and operate CI/CD pipelines that include security scanning, SBOM generation, and automated testing.
• Help migrate the first application to a DoD software factory and assess pipeline options for the rest of the portfolio.
• Advocate for and follow lean-agile engineering practices, including simple design and automated testing.
• Protect sensitive data by applying security and privacy best practices.
• Work with security engineers to produce evidence needed for continuous authorization.
• Pair with and coach government engineers and incoming military developers so modern engineering practices continue after the engagement.
• Learn how the program office currently delivers changes to users and identify testing and security bottlenecks.
• Work closely with software engineers to instrument applications and configure infrastructure for monitoring, metrics, alerting, logging, auditability, and compliance.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Life and AD&D insurance
• Dependent care FSA, healthcare FSA, and health savings account
• Dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of salary with no vesting period
• Flexible paid-time-off policy, generally around 25 days per year
• 11 paid federal holidays
• Up to 12 weeks of paid time off for eligible new birth, adoption, or foster parents
• Annual salary increases
• Annual performance bonus
• Spot bonuses
• Stock options
• Business development and sales bonuses
• Referral bonuses
• Annual $2,000 professional development allowance
• Annual $750 allowance for tech-related purchases
• Annual $100 swag budget
• Flexible, remote-friendly work environment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed