Location: Hybrid in St Louis, MO ideal. Possible remote if not local to St Louis,
Job Type: 3-6 month contract-to-hire
Company: The name of our partner organization will be disclosed during the interview process. This is not a direct role with LaunchCode; it is a position through LaunchCode, working with one of our partner companies.
Disclaimer: We are unable to provide work sponsorship for this role. We are unable to consider candidates for this role who have a current or future work sponsorship need (this includes those holding extended OPT Visas).
Our company partner is building next-generation diagnostic software, and the DevOps team is at the heart of making it reliable, scalable, and secure. As a Senior DevOps Engineer, you will take ownership of our cloud-native infrastructure and delivery pipelines, enabling engineering teams to ship fast and safely. You'll work hands-on across the stack from infrastructure and Kubernetes to CI/CD and GitOps, while helping shape DevOps best practices as we scale. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a startup environment, enjoys solving complex problems, and wants to have a direct impact on product delivery and system reliability.
Responsibilities:
Design, build, and operate cloud infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code to rapidly spin up and manage environments (dev, test, staging, production).
Own and evolve our Kubernetes platform (AWS EKS) with a focus on reliability, scalability, and cost efficiency.
Use Helm to package, version, and deploy Kubernetes applications consistently.
Implement and manage Karpenter for dynamic cluster autoscaling and efficient node provisioning.
Build and maintain Docker-based container images, optimizing for security, performance, and reproducibility.
Manage container image storage and promotion using Amazon ECR.
Drive GitOps workflows with FluxCD or equivalent to automate deployments and maintain environment parity.
Define and enforce Git workflows and branching strategies that support fast iteration without sacrificing stability.
Build and maintain GitLab CI/CD pipelines for continuous integration, testing, and delivery.
Create automated deployment pipelines that support seamless promotion across environments.
Partner closely with software engineers to remove friction from the development process and improve developer experience.
Anticipate scaling and reliability needs by reviewing application architecture and usage patterns early.
Troubleshoot infrastructure and application issues, jumping in where needed to unblock teams.
Improve security, observability, monitoring, backups, and disaster recovery as the platform grows.
Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, laboratory, and IT teams to continuously improve systems and processes.
Take ownership of complex problems, make pragmatic decisions, and help set the technical direction of DevOps.
Exemplify expert knowledge of the subject matter.
Provide coaching and/or mentoring to other engineers as the team scales.
Other duties as assigned.
Requirements:
Knowledge, Skills, and Experience
Possess 6+ years of DevOps, SRE, or platform engineering experience, ideally in fast-moving environments.
Possess strong hands-on experience with AWS.
Azure/GCP Cloud experience is a plus.
Exemplify production experience running Kubernetes, preferably EKS.
Possess practical hands-on experience with Helm, Karpenter or equivalent, and Kubernetes autoscaling strategies.
Exemplify a strong background in Docker and containerization, including image creation and lifecycle management.
Demonstrate experience with container registries such as Amazon ECR.
Demonstrate hands-on experience implementing GitOps using FluxCD or similar tools.
Possess a solid understanding of Git, branching strategies, and repository hygiene.
Exemplify experience building and maintaining GitLab CI/CD pipelines.
Demonstrate strong experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, AWS CDK or similar).
Possess working knowledge of AWS account management, cloud security, IAM, and secure CI/CD practices.
Possess strong networking fundamentals in cloud and hybrid environments.
Exemplify the ability to communicate clearly, move quickly, and ability to make technical decisions with limited information.
Possess a builder's mindset: proactive, collaborative, and comfortable wearing multiple hats.
Demonstrate high integrity, accountability, and a desire to help shape both the technology and the team.
Exemplify the ability to multitask and thrive in an agile, fast-paced, deadline-driven environment while remaining flexible, proactive, resourceful, and efficient.
Possess proficient verbal and written communication skills while willing to share and receive information and ideas from all levels of the organization to achieve the desired results.
Possess high ethics and conduct business in the most professional manner.
Seek inclusiveness and collaboration but step up to responsibility, make tough decisions, and be accountable for those decisions.
Act as a results-oriented team player with strong interpersonal and communication skills, capable of working collaboratively with colleagues.
Education, Certification/Licensure
High School Diploma required.
Bachelor's Degree preferred.
Physical Demands
Employees may be required to lift routine office supplies and use standard office equipment.
Must be able to sit and/or stand for long periods.
Must possess the ability to perform repetitive motion.
Work Environment
May have exposure to fumes and bio-hazardous material in the laboratory environment.
May be required to handle blood-borne pathogens and general laboratory reagents.
Core Values
Ability to embody the company's beliefs, philosophies, and principles:
Integrity - act with honesty and transparency.
Agility - embrace ideas with speed and flexibility.
Passion - commit to excellence to transform GI health.
Curiosity - take the initiative to ask questions and challenge the status quo.
Diversity - act with positive intent through strong collaboration and teamwork.
#LI-HYBRID