Sr Platform Engineer

Position Title: Senior Platform Engineer
Position Type: Full-time, On-site
Location: Dayton, OH
Clearance: Active Top Secret with SCI eligibility

Job Summary

Waypoint’s client is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Platform Engineer to join our team. As a Platform Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and improving our Kubernetes platform using open-source and enterprise solutions. You will evaluate the current platform, identify areas for improvement, and make changes to ensure it remains efficient, scalable, and secure.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and Implement Innovative Solutions: Prototype, develop, and implement new solutions to enhance our Kubernetes platform capabilities, leveraging tools such as Helm, Argo CD, GitLab, and Harbor, following GitOps principles.
• Streamline Processes and Mitigate Technical Debt: Utilize automation, Infrastructure-as-Code, and CI/CD practices, create simplified and well-documented processes while working to reduce technical debt by automating day-to-day tasks where possible.
• Ensure Security, Scalability, and Reliability: Proactively ensure the platform's security, scalability, and reliability by implementing industry best practices and utilizing appropriate tools.
• Ensure Platform Health: Ensure high availability and performance of platform deployments by continually working to improve monitoring, alerting, and proactive maintenance. Leveraging tools such as Grafana and log aggregation.
• Optimize Platform Performance: Identify bottlenecks and optimize platform performance to ensure scalability and meet the growing demands of the organization.
• Collaborate for Continuous Improvement: Collaborate with development teams to gather requirements to drive platform innovation and to continually be looking for ways to improve existing offerings.
• Advise and Brief Government Personnel: Provide progress reports and technological guidance to NASIC leadership and product owners as needed.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field
• 10+ years of relevant work experience
• Active TS/SCI security clearance

Required Skills

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills
• Motivation to learn new things in a dynamic environment
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of segments of a project
• Basic understanding of software development practices

Preferred Qualifications

• Possess and maintain IAT Level II (CompTIA Security+, etc.) certification or higher as required by Air Force Manual (AFMAN) 17-1303, Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 8140.01, and DoD 8570.01-M.
• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) certification

Preferred Skills

• Proficiency in Kubernetes, Docker/Podman, and cloud-based application deployment
• Experience working in cloud-based environments, both internet-connected and air-gapped
• Experience with Linux-based operating systems, Helm, GitOps, and CI/CD
• Experience with software such as Argo, Backstage, Coder, Harbor, Grafana, Prometheus, Velero, and Victoria Metrics
• Experience with Terraform, or other Infrastructure-as-Code tools
• Strong understanding of security, auditing, identity, and access management principles