REQ 8872-OL DevOps Development Lead - DevOps Engineer - Level 4

Job Title: REQ 8872-OL DevOps Development Lead - DevOps Engineer - Level 4

Location (On-site, Remote, or Hybrid?): Fort Meade, MD (Onsite)

Contract Duration: Contract until 05/30/2031

Position Overview

The DevOps Engineer (Development Lead) provides a reliable, highly available platform that orchestrates the microservices of a modernized operational system using cutting-edge technologies. The contractor leads sprint planning and team tasking, drives infrastructure technical direction, and owns CI/CD pipeline management and cloud infrastructure cost optimization. This is a senior individual-contributor and team-lead role requiring strong Agile execution discipline, AWS architecture depth, and the ability to communicate and collaborate across engineering and program stakeholder communities.

Key Responsibilities

AWS Infrastructure Architecture and IaC

• Architect, build, and maintain AWS infrastructure including EC2, Lambda, S3, SNS, SQS, Event Bridge, Athena, and Step Functions using Terraform with auto-scaling
• Develop Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and scripting to automate tasks, provision managed services, and build internal tooling using Python, Ansible, and Terraform
• Apply AWS networking principles including VPCs, NAT gateways, and IP gateways to design secure, segmented environments
• Evaluate infrastructure costs iteratively; recommend and implement cost-savings measures to reduce AWS service spend and maintenance burden

Containerization and Orchestration

• Install, configure, performance-tune, and operate Kubernetes environments with focus on EKS, ECS, and/or Fargate
• Manage containerized workloads using Docker and Docker Compose across the microservices architecture
• Troubleshoot infrastructure issues and ensure system uptime and availability for mission-critical operational systems
• Collaborate with development teams to optimize application performance and reliability in containerized environments

CI/CD Pipeline Management

• Develop and manage GitLab CI/CD pipelines to automate build, test, and deployment processes
• Implement and maintain Argo CD for GitOps-based continuous delivery workflows
• Track ticket execution and drive technical direction of infrastructure to align with program and product needs
• Perform high-level functional systems analysis, design, integration, documentation, cost analysis, and complex issue resolution

Agile Team Leadership and Sprint Execution

• Decompose sprint priorities and generate tickets aligned with internal team priorities and program objectives
• Manage team tasking and sprint workloads; keep the team on task and executing in an orchestrated manner
• Participate in all Agile ceremonies: sprint planning, stand-ups, refinement, reviews, and retrospectives
• Communicate and collaborate with engineers, product owners, and program stakeholders across the program

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college in a related discipline, or equivalent combined education and experience (12 or more years of professional experience; or 10 years with a related Master's degree).

Must Have (Required):

• Active TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph (FSP) - must be active prior to start
• CI Polygraph within the last 7 years - must be active prior to start
• Current DoD 8140 (CWIP) certification - must be active prior to start
• Extensive experience architecting and managing AWS infrastructure using Terraform and IaC practices
• Strong background in containerization and orchestration: Kubernetes (EKS, ECS, Fargate), Docker, Docker Compose
• Experience developing and managing GitLab CI/CD pipelines and Argo CD GitOps workflows
• Proficiency in DevOps scripting languages: Python, Ansible, Terraform
• Experience performing high-level systems analysis, design, integration, documentation, and cost analysis
• Experience managing sprint workloads and driving team technical direction in an Agile environment
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with engineers, product owners, and program stakeholders

Nice to Have (2 or more of the following):

• AWS services depth: EC2, Lambda, S3, SNS, SQS, Event Bridge, Athena, Step Functions with auto-scaling
• AWS networking: VPCs, NAT gateways, IP gateways, and network segmentation design
• GitLab CI/CD pipeline design and deployment automation
• Application performance and reliability optimization in collaboration with development teams
• Infrastructure troubleshooting and system uptime management for mission-critical environments
• Kubernetes advanced operations with EKS, ECS, and/or Fargate focus
• Cloud infrastructure cost optimization and AWS spend reduction strategies