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: Bachelors 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 Masters 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