Principal DevOps Engineer - Seattle, WA or Arlington, VA; remote

Principal Dev Ops Engineer – Seattle, WA or Arlington, VA (50% remote)

Design, develop, troubleshoot, and debug software programs for databases, applications, tools, and networks.

As a member of the software engineering division, you will take an active role in the definition and evolution of standard practices and procedures. You will be responsible for defining and developing software for tasks associated with the developing, designing and debugging of software applications or operating systems. Work is non‑routine and very complex, involving the application of advanced technical/business skills in areas of specialization.

You will be a leading contributor individually and as a team member, providing direction and mentoring to others. BS or MS degree or equivalent experience relevant to your functional area. 7 years of software engineering or related experience.

• Lead IaC initiatives to provision and manage infrastructure using Terraform for multi‑cloud and hybrid environments.
• Design and deploy Kubernetes clusters, including writing custom operators to extend functionality and automate security workflows.
• Manage large‑scale Linux fleets, including provisioning, patching, monitoring, and optimization for performance, security, and compliance.
• Automate build, test, and deployment processes using Python scripting and CI/CD tools.
• Integrate monitoring and logging solutions (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack) to maintain system health, detect anomalies, and support incident response.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to teams on container technologies, microservices design, and cloud‑native security best practices.
• Establish configuration management for software revisions, security patches, and compliance (e.g., FIPS‑compliant images).
• Develop and maintain documentation, dashboards, and automation scripts to streamline repetitive tasks and ensure team continuity.
• Evaluate and recommend CNCF tools for enhancing infrastructure efficiency, resilience, and security.

• 7+ years in software engineering or Dev Ops roles, with at least 5+ years managing large Linux fleets (e.g., CentOS, Ubuntu, Oracle Linux).
• Demonstrated expertise in Kubernetes, including hands‑on experience writing and deploying custom operators using the Operator Framework or SDK.
• Strong proficiency in Python for scripting, automation, and building tools.
• Extensive experience with Terraform for IaC, including module development and state management.
• Proven track record with container technologies (Docker, containerd) and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Git Lab, Jenkins).
• Familiarity with monitoring tools (Prometheus, Grafana) and storage solutions (e.g., Ceph, OpenEBS) for backup/restore.
• Experience in agile environments with rapidly evolving requirements.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.
• U.S. citizenship and active TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph (or ability to obtain/maintain).

• Experience with additional scripting languages (e.g., Bash, Go) and building custom Helm charts or Git Ops tools like ArgoCD/Flux.
• Knowledge of microservices architecture, enterprise authentication integration, and on‑prem/data center deployments.
• Background in developing Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) or APIs.
• Certifications such as CKA/CKAD (Certified Kubernetes Administrator/Developer) or Terraform Associate.
• Exposure to metrics platforms (e.g., Elastic) and security hardening for container images (e.g., UBI‑based).

US:
Hiring range in USD from: $96,800 – $223,400 per year. May be eligible for bonus and equity.

Benefits include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion
• Short term disability and long term disability
• Life insurance and AD&D
• Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
• Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Pre‑tax commuter and parking benefits
• 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
• Paid time off:
  Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non‑overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is…