Why This Role ExistsIn defense manufacturing, system reliability and compliance are inseparable. Every deployment must uphold confidentiality, integrity, and availability under CMMC Level 2 and ITAR requirements. As a
DevOps Engineer, you will design, automate, and maintain secure, high-availability infrastructure that supports mission-critical applications both on-premises and in the cloud. You'll report to the
Director of IT and collaborate closely with software engineers, QA, and security teams to ensure that every build, deployment, and runtime environment meets the highest standards for security and compliance.
What You'll Do- Design, implement, and manage Kubernetes clusters (on-prem and cloud) for secure, containerized workloads.
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions to enable controlled, automated deployments across environments.
- Develop infrastructure-as-code solutions using Ansible, Helm, and other automation tools.
- Secure containers and clusters with hardened baselines (DoD STIG/FIPS) and continuous compliance scanning.
- Implement logging, monitoring, and alerting across infrastructure using open-source or commercial observability stacks.
- Automate image builds and vulnerability scanning in accordance with CMMC / ITAR controls.
- Manage configuration drift, access control, and audit trails in line with NIST 800-171 and CMMC Level 2.
- Collaborate with software, QA, and security teams to integrate DevSecOps principles throughout the SDLC.
- Optimize build and deployment workflows for reliability, reproducibility, and speed in regulated environments.
- Participate in on-call rotations and incident response to maintain uptime and security posture.
The Tools You'll Work With- Containerization & Orchestration: Kubernetes (on-prem and cloud), Docker, Helm, Kafka
- Automation & Configuration: Ansible, Bash/Python
- CI/CD & Version Control: GitHub Actions, GitHub Enterprise
- Monitoring & Logging: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, ELK / Graylog
- Security & Compliance: Vault, FIPS-validated cryptography, CIS Benchmarks, STIG checklists
- OS & Environments: Red Hat / Oracle Linux 9, Ubuntu 22.04, hardened images, Windows Server, Active Directory
- Networking & Storage: iSCSI/NFS, reverse proxy + TLS/mTLS
Required Qualifications- 4 + years of hands-on experience in DevOps, SRE, or infrastructure engineering.
- Proven expertise managing Kubernetes clusters and containerized applications in production.
- Strong knowledge of CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions or similar systems.
- Proficiency in Linux administration, Bash/Python scripting, and infrastructure automation (Ansible, Terraform).
- Experience securing and hardening Linux servers and container images (STIG, FIPS, CIS).
- Familiarity with CMMC Level 2, NIST 800-171, or ITAR compliance requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex build and deployment pipelines.
- Excellent documentation, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience managing hybrid or air-gapped Kubernetes environments.
- Background in DoD-aligned infrastructure or regulated manufacturing environments.
- Experience integrating security scanning tools (Trivy, Anchore, Grype) into CI/CD.
- Familiarity with service mesh / mTLS (Istio, Linkerd) and secret management (Vault).
- Working knowledge of Azure Government, AWS GovCloud, or equivalent environments.
- Understanding of GitOps patterns and declarative infrastructure management.
- Certifications such as CKA, CKAD, RHCE, or Security+ are a plus.
What Success Looks Like After 12 Months- All production and staging environments are fully automated and reproducible via CI/CD.
- Infrastructure baselines meet or exceed CMMC Level 2 and ITAR compliance requirements.
- Container and cluster vulnerabilities are remediated within SLA targets.
- Continuous monitoring and alerting provide proactive visibility into system health.
- DevOps practices are adopted across teams, enabling secure, predictable, and auditable software delivery.
