Principal Platform Engineer

Be among the first 25 applicants

Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) delivers high-impact, technical solutions to complex national security issues. With over 50 years of business expertise and consistent growth, we are known for continuous innovation for our government customers, in both the US and abroad. Our exceptionally talented team is highly collaborative in spirit and practice, producing Results that Matter. Come work with the best!

We offer opportunity, unique challenges, and clear‑sighted commitment to the mission. SPA:
Objective. Responsive. Trusted.

The Space and Intelligence Division provides professional services to the US Space Force, Combatant Commands, Intelligence Community, and NASA. Our work includes enterprise architectural assessments, systems engineering and integration, test, planning and execution, cost estimating and analysis, acquisition support, and cybersecurity. We are trusted partners developing approaches and concepts to meet emerging high priority needs, assessing cutting‑edge technologies, and supporting capabilities for our National Defense.

Come join the fastest growing Division at Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc.! The Space Systems Group (SSG), part of SPA’s Space and Intelligence Division, provides timely and objective assessments and recommendations integrating technical, operational, programmatic, policy and business analysis. We focus on our key clients in the Space community including the US Space Force’s Space Systems Command (USSF/SSC), one of the three designated Field Commands under USSF.

We work tirelessly to provide integrated solutions based on information and communications throughout the chain of command. We provide clear and consistent analysis and recommendations which are aligned to strategic and leadership goals while balancing the ability to execute on time and on budget within the technical communities. Come join an organization responsible for being a key enabler of Space power!

SPA has an immediate need for a Principal Platform Engineer
.

SPA is seeking a Principal Platform Engineer to build, deploy, operate, sustain, and continuously enhance a secure, mission‑ready Azure‑based cloud environment within our Platform as a Service solution that supports software development, deployment, and operational execution across multiple environments, including classified. Our Platform includes development, staging, and production environments in IL4, IL5, IL6, and SCI.

This is a hands‑on engineering role with responsibility for technical outcomes. You will be responsible for implementing and optimizing a new SCI cloud‑native production environment within an established architecture, while ensuring adherence to best practices for reliability, security, and compliance. While this is a non‑supervisory role, you will own the success of the SCI environment. In this role you are both hands‑on‑keyboard performing platform engineering, while also optimizing the performance of a lean engineering team that supports you in the delivery of this environment.

You will organize work, align team priorities with platform objectives, and enable the productivity of a high‑performing engineering team committed to mission delivery.

• Platform Implementation & Integration:
  Execute platform builds and deployments in alignment with approved reference architectures, patterns, and standards. Integrate core platform services such as AKS, Git Lab, ArgoCD, Keycloak, and Azure Arc into the environment with precision and compliance rigor.
• Operational Execution & Sustainment:
  Maintain and optimize day‑to‑day operations, including monitoring, scaling, patching, and securing workloads to ensure platform stability and compliance. Implement observability and monitoring solutions (Grafana, Loki, ELK, Azure Metrics Advisor) to achieve proactive, data‑driven operations.
• Technical Leadership & Team Enablement:
  Serve as the senior technical lead for implementation details and operational best practices for the SCI environment. Drive disciplined execution, coach team members, and ensure consistency across automation, configuration, and security baselines.
• Security…