C5I Principal Platform Engineer

About the role

The Principal Platform Engineer supports the C5I (Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Cyber, and Intelligence) product line within the Missile Defense Sensors (MDS) Software Department. The MDS mission involves providing world-class Radar and Command and Control (C2) software across various surveillance and warning systems. The role involves designing, optimizing, and maintaining secure, scalable, and mission-critical software infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Own the platform architecture and define modernization strategies for C5I mission systems, including automation, container orchestration, and secure platform design.
• Lead the development of resilient, scalable, and secure platform environments using Linux, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, Ansible, Artifactory, and related technologies.
• Influence program-level decisions involving hardware/software trade-offs, COTS selection, platform reuse, and requirements synthesis.
• Architect end-to-end DevSecOps workflows to support high-frequency, high-quality deployments across MDS programs.
• Oversee CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD) to ensure secure, automated build, test, and release processes at scale.
• Drive initiatives that raise DevSecOps maturity, expand Infrastructure-as-Code adoption, and increase automation coverage.
• Lead cross-program integration efforts spanning Software, Systems Engineering, Cybersecurity, Platform, and Integration & Test teams.
• Conduct advanced debugging and performance optimization across distributed and containerized environments.
• Establish platform engineering standards and best practices across multiple MDS and C5I product lines.
• Represent the platform engineering discipline in major design reviews, customer meetings, and technical boards.
• Mentor and guide Platform Engineers, providing technical direction and fostering a culture of learning and collaboration.
• Provide leadership in Agile Scrum/Kanban environments, supporting planning, estimation, and technical execution.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a Bachelor’s in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and a minimum of 8 years of prior relevant experience unless prohibited by local laws/regulations.
• Expert-level experience in Linux platform engineering and administration.
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, and virtualization tools such as VMware/KVM.
• Experience with scripting and automation tools such as Python, Bash, and PowerShell.
• Experience with CI/CD systems (Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD) and secure build/deployment architectures.
• Experience architecting or leading mission-critical platform or DevSecOps environments for distributed or real-time systems.
• Technical leadership experience, including task delegation, decision-making, and cross-team collaboration.
• Ability to obtain U.S. government issued Secret security clearance is required after start date. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.

What You Will Learn

You will learn advanced real-time radar and C2 system behavior, multi-sensor data processing, and secure distributed system design. You will also gain expertise in leading DevSecOps transformation efforts across classified environments, strategies for scaling platform engineering capabilities across multiple mission programs, and how to influence architecture across multiple programs simultaneously.

What We Offer

• Relocation eligibility.
• Competitive salary range of $107,500 - $204,500.
• Benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays.
• Annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs.
• Equal opportunity employer.