Infrastructure Engineer - Bare Metal Kubernetes
$149k - $201k USD
* An Active Secret Clearance is required for this position.
Role Description:
We seek a talented and experienced Infrastructure Engineer to join our team in a remote capacity. The ideal candidate will have experience with deploying and operating Kubernetes on bare metal systems, using Infrastructure-as-Code to configure on-prem hardware, and demonstrate a strong understanding of system architecture, problem-finding and problem-solving skills. Bonus points for experience in the Navy domain, as this role will be part of a team modernizing afloat and ashore networks.
You will join a team of dedicated unicorns who are focused on making software a strategic deterrent to advance freedom and independence globally. Our teams are working on architecting, building, and deploying mission critical software capabilities for the United States.
Responsibilities:
In this role, you will work in a small, dedicated team architecting US Navy enterprise systems. As the team’s Infrastructure Engineer, you will work in a cross-functional engineering team to understand Navy network problems and real-world mission limitations; help recommend solutions; and develop and test those solutions to enable naval operations.
- Conceptualize, architect, prototype, and test Kubernetes on bare metal infrastructure
- Collaborate with other teams to integrate applications with Defense Unicorns’ software delivery platform
- Help build pipelines that automate testing, building, packaging, and deploying platform components
- Leverage Infrastructure-as-Code to create standardized, reusable modules that automate provisioning across diverse hypervisors and cloud platforms, improving scalability, consistency, and security posture
- Provide grounded time and effort estimates for tasks. Assist in project planning and resource allocation based on estimated timelines.
- Validate Solutions/Implementations: Ensure that solutions and implementations align with the outlined tasks and business requirements. Conduct thorough validations to maintain the integrity and efficiency of the platform.
- Rapidly understand customer mission requirements, conceptualize and prototype solutions, and rapidly iterate to deliver impact.
- Author and maintain technical design documents, architecture decision records (ADRs), and test plans to ensure Infrastructure-as-Code modules and platform solutions are well-documented, validated, and aligned with business and security requirements
Travel Expectations/Requirements: 10-15%
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.
Preferred Experience and Qualifications:
- Strong proficiency with bare-metal Kubernetes (RKE2, K3D / K3S, EKS-D).
- Familiarity with continuous delivery, everything-as-code, containerization, and cloud services.
- Proficiency in at least one language (Python, Go) and Linux/Unix (Ubuntu, RHEL).
- Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform/HCL, YAML, Bash) and automated CI/CD pipelines.
- Knowledge of Kubernetes networking, service meshes (Istio), ingress/egress controllers (metallb, nginx).
- Experience with observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, Promtail).
- Security and compliance practices: runtime security (Neuvector), policy enforcement (Kyverno, Pepr).
- Ability to produce technical design docs, ADRs, and test plans.
- Excellent communication skills and cross-team collaboration.
- Proficiency with GitHub and GitLab.
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
$148,750—$201,250 USD
Who We Are
Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.
What We Do
We create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.
Who We Serve
Defense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.
What We Work On
- Kubernetes
- Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
- Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)
- Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
- GitOps
- Containers
- CNCF projects and open source products and packages
- Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping
- Building and improving security delivery
- Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications
Benefits Our Unicorns Enjoy
Health:
- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Premiums are 100% Company Paid
- Health Reimbursement 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! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.