Role Description: Defense Unicorns is seeking a Platform Engineer to support the deployment and maintenance of UDS within a secure, bare-metal environment. You will serve as a bridge between application teams and the platform, advocating best practices and helping ensure that the platform is reliable, secure, and scalable. The ideal candidate is a strong problem-solver with hands-on experience in Kubernetes, bare-metal or on-premises infrastructure, and deploying applications onto Kubernetes-based platforms.
Responsibilities: The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.- Support the architecture, deployment, configuration, and testing of bare-metal infrastructure, including GPU compute, storage, and networking
- Deploy, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot UDS and Kubernetes-based platform services
- Develop and manage infrastructure as code (IaC) and configuration to enable consistent, repeatable deployments
- Support secure software delivery, including container images, registries, packages, and deployment artifacts
- Collaborate with mission stakeholders, partner organizations, and Defense Unicorns engineering teams to identify technical requirements and resolve deployment challenges
- Collaborate with mission stakeholders, partner organizations, and Defense Unicorns engineering teams to identify technical requirements and resolve platform challenges
Travel Expectations/Requirements: 10%-15%
Preferred Experience and Qualifications:- Active Secret/Top Secret Security Clearance
- Experience deploying and operating Kubernetes or containerized platforms in bare-metal or on-premises environments (deploying, managing, and troubleshooting clusters and workloads)
- Experience with infrastructure as code tools (e.g., 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 (EC2, EKS, IAM, S3, VPC)
- Experience supporting GPU-enabled infrastructure or workloads
- Ability to read and write YAML fluently for Kubernetes manifests, CRDs, Helm charts, and pipeline configurations
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to work effectively with partner engineering teams
- Possess or ability to obtain a DoD 8570 IAT II certification (e.g., Security+ CE)
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.
Remote - USA
$123,250-$166,750 USD
Benefits Our Unicorns EnjoyHealth:- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Premiums are 100% Company Paid
- Health Savings Account
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
Financial:- 401k Retirement Plan
- Company Stock Options
- Home Office Budget
Leave:- 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
- Paid Parental Leave
Learning:- Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
- Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)
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.
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!
