DevOps Engineer

About the Company

Founded in 2007, Initiate Government Solutions (IGS) is a Woman-Owned Small Business and fully remote IT services provider supporting federal partners nationwide. IGS delivers Enterprise IT and Health Services solutions focused on data analytics, health informatics, cloud migration, AI, and the modernization of federal information systems.

The company's vision is to be a health IT trendsetter by developing creative, innovative, open-source solutions to address challenging healthcare IT issues. Its mission is to deliver tailored solutions that balance technical advancement with cost awareness while providing exceptional service.

About the Role

Initiate Government Solutions is seeking a remote DevOps Engineer to support a federal customer. This role leads the design and delivery of a secure, scalable, cloud-native self-service platform for automated deployment of containerized applications and enterprise APIs for federal data consumers.

The engineer will work closely with stakeholders to establish architectural direction and Kubernetes standards while delivering Platform as a Service (PaaS) and end-to-end software solutions that support faster development, compliance, and system reliability.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop self-service principles and automated processes for creating on-demand platforms to deploy containerized applications and expose API endpoints to federal data consumers.
• Shape and communicate the architectural blueprint, focusing on scalability, security, automation, and developer experience in a cloud-native environment.
• Collaborate with product owners, security teams, and stakeholders to define and prioritize features that support business needs and help program managers develop technical roadmaps.
• Ensure solutions and technical roadmaps align with customer, federal, and industry requirements.
• Define, document, and promote engineering best practices across the program, applying DevSecOps and Kubernetes expertise.
• Deliver PaaS solutions, including low-code/no-code development platforms and enterprise-grade API engineering, to accelerate application delivery and streamline integration.
• Support the full software development lifecycle by automating processes, improving operational efficiency, and strengthening system reliability.
• Design, implement, and maintain secure, automated CI/CD pipelines.
• Improve monitoring and platform-related business intelligence.
• Automate build, test, deployment, and infrastructure processes while promoting shift-left security practices.
• Continuously improve the platform and deliver reliable solutions that support the mission.
• Ensure solutions meet compliance requirements, including audit readiness and documentation.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience with AWS Cloud and/or DevOps at scale.
• Deep hands-on experience designing, implementing, troubleshooting, and scaling Kubernetes in production environments.
• Understanding of L4, L5, and L7 networking with AWS resources and Cilium, Istio, or equivalent operators.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and scripting languages.
• Experience leading engineering teams and establishing program-level standards.
• Experience defining and maintaining monitoring solutions that provide insight into platform issues.
• U.S. citizenship required due to clearance requirements.

Preferred Qualifications and Core Competencies

• 8+ years of experience in software or platform engineering, including technical leadership or architect responsibilities.
• Experience with Terraform or OpenTofu for infrastructure as code.
• Experience with configuration management tools such as Ansible, Puppet, or Chef.
• Proven success implementing secure, automated DevSecOps pipelines and containerization tools such as Kubernetes or Docker.
• Experience with Blue Green Deployment techniques using ArgoCD.
• Experience with end-to-end encryption techniques using managed mTLS.
• Familiarity with monitoring, security best practices, and regulatory compliance, including FedRAMP and FISMA.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills.
• Experience working with or within government or public sector environments.
• Ability to stay current with cloud and emerging technology trends.
• Active VA Public Trust.
• Previous experience supporting federal agencies.
• Certifications in AWS, Kubernetes, or DevOps-related disciplines.
• Successful experience working in a remote environment.

Work Arrangement and Travel

• Assignment: Remote access; the candidate will work remotely daily and access customer systems using approved customer-provided communications systems.
• Travel: Not required. Attendance at onsite client meetings may be requested.

Core Values

Successful IGS employees demonstrate the following values:

• Integrity, Honesty, and Ethics: Conduct business ethically, take accountability for mistakes, accept constructive feedback, and follow through on commitments to colleagues and customers.
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Treat peers, colleagues, stakeholders, and customers with respect. Take collective responsibility for an inclusive, collaborative environment and understand customer and end-user needs to deliver solutions that support their mission.
• Strong Work Ethic: Demonstrate reliability, dedication, productivity, accountability, and initiative while staying focused on results.
• Life-Long Learning: Continuously develop expertise, improve skills, stay curious, and seek solutions to challenging problems.

Compensation

Final compensation may depend on several factors, including geographic location, federal government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant work experience, skills and competencies, education, and certifications.

Benefits

Initiate Government Solutions offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Matching 401(k) and profit sharing
• Paid time off
• Training time for personal development
• Flexible spending accounts
• Employer-paid life insurance
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Education assistance, with potential merit increases for obtaining work-related certifications
• Employee recognition and referral programs
• Spot bonuses
• Additional benefits that support employees and their families

Employment Verification

Initiate Government Solutions participates in the Electronic Employment Verification Program.

Recruiting and Hiring Notice

IGS will never request money, payments, or fees from candidates during the recruiting or hiring process. Company representatives communicate through official company email accounts and do not conduct recruiting business through Gmail or other personal email addresses.

Candidates should not submit payments or provide financial information in response to requests for paid resume services, training, equipment, or other services from individuals claiming to represent IGS.

Suspected fraudulent activity can be reported to the IGS Human Resources department at humanresources@initiatesolutions.com.