Senior Platform Engineer - Army (FedD169/FedD170)

About this role

<p><strong>Senior Platform Engineer</strong></p> <p>Defense Unicorns is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer to join our Army team, focused on building and operating product-aligned platform capabilities that enable how our software is developed, validated, and experienced.</p> <p>This role is responsible for creating and owning persistent, always-on environments and integration layers across the UDS platform, including Fleet Management, Edge Management, and system-level components. These environments power internal dogfooding, UX validation, and customer demos, reducing reliance on ad-hoc local setups and enabling scalable, repeatable, and delightful product experiences.</p> <p>Today, engineers are frequently pulled into demo setup and environment management, creating context switching and slowing product delivery. This role exists to solve that problem by establishing reliable, self-service environments and tighter system integration, allowing engineering teams to focus on building while improving overall product quality and usability.</p> <p>You will operate at the intersection of platform engineering and product development, ensuring that the systems we build can be continuously exercised, validated, and experienced in real-world conditions. You will be responsible for advocating for a delightful customer product experience as the integrator of the product portfolio.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal"><strong>Key Responsibilities</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Design and operate always-on product environments for customer demos, internal use, and stakeholder access</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Build feature branch and preview environments to support UX and rapid feedback loops</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Enable internal dogfooding through real, long-running deployments of UDS products</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Integrate core system components across Fleet Management, Edge Management, OS, and related services</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Reduce reliance on local environments by creating shared, reproducible infrastructure</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Support pathways toward self-service demo and trial environments</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Improve system reliability by enabling continuous, real-world usage and validation</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Partner with engineering, product, and UX to ensure environments reflect real user scenarios</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Contribute to platform and product architecture decisions where environments and integration are concerned</li> </ul> <p>Travel required: Up to 25%</p> <p><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></p> <ul> <li>US citizenship and eligibility to obtain a clearance</li> <li>Strong experience in platform engineering, DevOps, or infrastructure-focused software engineering</li> <li>Hands-on experience with cloud environments, specifically Azure</li> <li>Deep familiarity with Kubernetes and container-based systems</li> <li>Experience with Helm, GitOps workflows, and Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, Pulumi)</li> <li>Experience building and operating shared or multi-tenant environments</li> <li>Strong understanding of CI/CD and deployment pipelines</li> <li>Experience integrating distributed systems across multiple services</li> <li>Comfortable working across system boundaries (application, infrastructure, networking)</li> <li>Proficiency with Linux/Unix systems</li> <li>Strong problem-solving skills and ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments</li> <li>Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across engineering, product, and UX</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Qualifications</strong></p> <ul> <li>Active Secret clearance</li> <li>System image/architecture and deployment experience</li> <li>Familiarity with the Army, Army Software Factory, or similar DoD software organizations</li> <li>Experience with Zarf or UDS</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>Compensation: $148,750 to $201,250 (full compensation packages are based on candidate experience; ranges are established using national benchmarking data and apply across all geographic locations within the United States)</p> <p>The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization.</p><div class="content-conclusion"><h3>Who We Are</h3> <p>Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a…