Senior AI Platform Engineer

Responsibilities The Senior AI Platform Engineer will stand up and operate a bare-metal container platform, support a feasibility assessment of all platform technologies, and drive the transition towards infrastructure-as-code managed provisioning using Terraform and Ansible. This individual will work in a bare-metal-first environment while actively reducing reliance on manual installs over time, and will support core platform services and OCONUS bootstrap activities.

This role is flexible for occasional telework however, candidates must be within 50 miles to one of the following work locations:  Oklahoma City, OK, Montgomery, AL, Ogden, UT, San Antonio, TX, Mechanicsburg, PA, Chambersburg, PA, Arlington, VA, Ft. Meade, MD, Columbus, OH.Other

Responsibilities Include:

Deploy, configure, and operate large language models (LLMs), and integrate approved frontier AI models and services into enterprise environments

Optimize model inference and deployment configurations to improve response times, throughput, and GPU/memory utilization while maintaining output quality

Monitor, troubleshoot, and maintain model-serving environments, including model updates, API connectivity, and supporting infrastructure

Transition platform provisioning from manual/bare-metal installs toward a fully IaC-managed model

Install, configure, and operate bare-metal Open Shift (or equivalent enterprise Kubernetes distribution) clusters

Design and implement infrastructure-as-code provisioning using Terraform and Ansible for platform and VM orchestration

Support the objective feasibility assessment of Open Shift versus Spectro Cloud, documenting licensing tradeoffs, operability, and long-term sustainability considerations

Deploy and support core platform services including authoritative DNS (e.g., PowerDNS)
Implement and enforce STIGs and cybersecurity compliance requirements on platform infrastructure

Monitor platform health, performance, and capacity using observability tools; manage platform logging and alerting

Support OCONUS hardware bootstrap activities including physical hardware installation and configuration

Document platform architecture, configuration decisions, and operational procedures

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

Minimum of 12 years with BS/BA;
Minimum of 10 years with MS/MA;
Minimum of 7 years with Ph.D.

Experience with platform/systems/integration engineering Hands-on Kubernetes-based container platform experience US Citizenship Active DoD Secret clearance

DoD 8570/8140 compliant certification

Practical experience deploying and operating AI models, with a foundational understanding of inference and performance tuning

Hands-on experience deploying and administering Open Shift (or another enterprise Kubernetes distribution) on bare metal

Infrastructure-as-code proficiency, specifically Terraform and Ansible, for provisioning and configuration management

Working knowledge of virtualization/cloud orchestration platforms (Spectro Cloud, VMware, or equivalent)
Understanding of container platform architecture: networking (CNI), storage (CSI), cluster security, and lifecycle management

Ability to document platform architecture, licensing tradeoffs, and operational considerations

Strong Linux administration skills (RHEL)
Must have regular/recurring physical access to a DISA SIPR-accredited facility

Working understanding of agentic platform modeling/hosting/services

Preferred Qualifications:

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Excellent writing and grammatical skills

Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
Hashi Corp Certified:
Terraform Associate

Experience with Git Ops workflows (e.g., ArgoCD, Flux) for platform configuration management

Experience bootstrapping platforms in disconnected or OCONUS environments including physical hardware installation

Peraton Overview Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world’s leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace.

The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and…