Platform Engineer

About the role

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 pr

Responsibilities

• Deploy & Operate: Stand up and manage UDS environments across AWS EKS, Azure AKS, and on-prem clusters for government-backed commercial vendors. You own uptime.
• Build & Ship: Create custom UDS packages and application-specific modules that streamline deployment. Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, OpenTofu) is your daily driver.
• Advise & Train: Serve as the primary technical interface for customers - run onboarding, develop training content, deliver remote and on-site sessions that make complex platforms feel approachable.
• Troubleshoot & Resolve: Dive into complex UDS issues, meet SLA commitments, and provide on-call support when the mission demands it.
• Listen & Improve: Gather customer and community feedback, translate it into actionable insights for product and engineering, and experiment with new tools and techniques to push deployment efficiency forward.
• Analyze & Optimize: Mine operational and usage data to spot trends, improve delivery strategies, and drive continuous process improvement.
• Share what comes next:
• Our Commercial Delivery Engineering practice is growing fast - and we're looking for engineers who want to help shape what it becomes. You won't just execute; you'll have real influence over the processes, tooling, delivery patterns, and customer engagement models as we scale.
• What that looks like in practice:
• Define the playbook: Establish how we onboard customers, structure deployments, and scale support - there's greenfield space to build the right way from day one.
• Influence the product: Your customer insights feed directly into product and engineering roadmaps. When you see a gap in UDS, you have a short path to getting it fixed or built.
• Grow the team: As the practice scales, early engineers set the technical bar, mentor new hires, and shape the culture of the group.
• Evolve the offerings: Help design new service packages, training programs, and delivery models that become part of how Defense Unicorns goes to market.
• If you've ever wanted to join a team early enough to leave your fingerprints on everything - how it operates, what it ships, and who it becomes - this is that opportunity.
• Travel Expectations/Requirements: Less than 25% expected
• 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:
• Proven experience as a Platform Engineer or similar role, with a focus on system architecture and development.
• Strong knowledge of hybrid cloud architectures, including networking, RBAC, and storage for cloud and on-prem clusters.
• Hands-on experience with Azure AKS, AWS EKS, or on-perm Kubernetes (e.g RKE2, K3s, OpenShift).
• Experience with Helm, GitOps, and Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, OpenTofu) for infrastructure, cluster provisioning and lifecycle management.
• Knowledgeable about DevSecOps/DevOps and CI/CD pipelines running on GitLab or GitHub.
• Comfortable serving as the primary technical interface for customers, providing architecture guidance, production support, and platform expertise.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret complex data for informed decision-making.
• Excellent communication skills and effectiveness in a remote team environment.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Willingness to travel as needed for on-site training and support.
• DoD IAT Level II certification (such as Security+).
• A DoD Secret or higher clearance is not required but preferred.
• 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.
• 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

Additional Information

EMPLOYER IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THIS POSITION WILL REQUIRE U.S. CITIZENSHIP. Role Description: We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Platform Engineer with strong Kubernetes proficiency to join our Customer Success team. This role involves managing Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS) deployments, generating training documentation, and training customers on our software tools. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in customer relationship management, technical expertise, demonstrating a strong understanding of system architecture, and a passion for helping customers achieve their goals with the UDS platform.

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