Site Reliability Engineer III

Job Requirements

The Site Reliability Engineer III ensures mission-critical systems remain available, secure, scalable, and performant across our federal digital services portfolio. They are a senior technical leader who designs and implements automated infrastructure, supports CI/CD pipelines, leads incident response efforts, and collaborates with delivery teams to embed reliability engineering into every stage of the software lifecycle. The ideal candidate brings strong experience operating in FedRAMP or FISMA-compliant environments, building and managing infrastructure-as-code, and leading the operational stability strategy for modern, cloud-native applications.

The Impact You Will Create:

This project supports the modernization of a large-scale federal disclosure and data management platform. The work involves designing, developing, and maintaining a secure, cloud-based system that improves how information is submitted, processed, and accessed by the public. The team will leverage Agile, DevSecOps, and user-centered design practices to deliver scalable, high-impact digital services that enhance transparency, compliance, and accessibility. Efforts include building modern APIs and web interfaces, implementing Zero Trust security, automating testing and deployments, and driving continuous improvement through cloud-native and AI-enabled solutions.

Your Responsibilities in This Role:

• Lead the design, implementation, and operation of resilient, secure infrastructure for applications hosted on AWS or other FedRAMP-authorized platforms.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines with automated testing, scanning, and deployment gates.
• Champion observability best practices, including infrastructure and application monitoring, logging, and alerting.
• Drive incident response and postmortem culture, triaging critical issues and leading root cause analysis with delivery teams.
• Author and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Git or another tool prescribed by the customer to manage cloud resources reproducibly.
• Integrate security controls into the DevSecOps lifecycle, including static code analysis (SAST), vulnerability scans, container hardening, and compliance automation.
• Support Authority to Operate (ATO) documentation, security audits, and control implementation (NIST 800-53, 800-63, etc.).
• Mentor junior SREs and developers on operational excellence, cloud reliability patterns, and secure infrastructure practices.
• Partner with cross-functional teams (product, design, development, compliance) to ensure infrastructure meets functional and regulatory requirements.
• Lead cost optimization efforts for infrastructure and platform services.

Work Experience

Skills and Qualifications We Require at Fearless:

At Fearless, we seek candidates who blend technical know-how with sharp problem-solving and advisory skills to drive real impact in the communities we serve. Here are the key qualifications for this role.

• Must possess or have the ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance
• 7+ years of relevant experience in DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering, or Cloud Infrastructure roles.
• Must have a Bachelor's Degree
• Deep knowledge of Linux-based systems administration and scripting (Bash, Python, etc.).
• Strong experience with configuration management tools.
• Expertise in monitoring/alerting tools.
• CI/CD pipeline automation experience using GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CircleCI, or similar.
• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration.
• Experience supporting systems in compliance with FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST 800-53, and/or Zero Trust architecture.
• Ability to write and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, and operational SOPs.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, including working with remote teams.

Project Specific Qualifications:

• Experience supporting High Value Assets (HVA) or mission-critical federal systems.
• Certifications: AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, Terraform Associate, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), or equivalent.
• Prior experience supporting security operations or delivering services within ATO boundaries.
• Familiarity with GitOps workflows and secrets management tools.
• Exposure to performance testing and load simulation tools.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to sit for extended periods while working on a computer or during meetings.
• Must be able to travel occasionally to client sites or company meetings, which may involve driving or flying.
• Ability to communicate effectively via phone, email, and in person.
• Ability to move within an office environment and perform occasional light lifting (up to 10 pounds).
• The role will require working primarily on-site in Washington, D.C. for at least the first six months of the project.

Benefits

Life at Fearless

We're a digital integration consultancy on a mission to build a better tomorrow. At Fearless, we combine technology, people, and organizational development to solve meaningful problems. Through iterative development, we deliver smart, user-friendly solutions that make tech work better-for everyone.

But great tech is just part of the story. What really makes us Fearless is our Purple Culture.

What Makes Us Purple?

Being Purple means you:

• Are valued as a whole person-not just a job title
• Get matched with work that plays to your strengths and passions
• Are supported by coaches, not micromanagers
• Have the autonomy and clarity to make decisions and drive impact
• Join a community that celebrates equity, curiosity, and innovation
• Do work that matters-every day

We believe in flexibility, growth, and balance. Our benefits and culture are designed to support you in doing your best work-while making space for what matters to you outside of it.

We're proud to be an equal opportunity employer. At Fearless, we're building a workplace that welcomes and respects everyone-across race, gender, age, religion, identity, background, and ability.

Compensation at Fearless

Fearless is committed to providing a competitive compensation package that will meet your current and future needs. Our philosophy is aimed at rewarding team member contributions, supporting long-term financial growth and security, and overall well-being.

We believe in paying people fairly, so we've established a compensation model aimed to ensure everyone at Fearless - regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, nationality, or willingness/ability to negotiate - is consistently paid fairly based on alignment to the needs and requirements of the role.

The salary range for this position is:

Minimum Salary: $ 102,540

Salary Midpoint: $ 133,302

Maximum Salary: $ 164,064

Hiring Range for Role: $102,540 - $133,301

*For part-time roles, the salary will be pro-rated based on the full-time equivalent salary ranges listed above.

Benefits at Fearless

At Fearless, we take care of our team-because when you're supported, you can do your best work. We offer a flexible, family-friendly environment with benefits designed to support your health, growth, and life outside of work.

For Full-Time Team Members (Starting Day One):

• Flexible, life-friendly schedules
• 100% coverage for our medical HSA plan + HSA contributions
• Dental & vision covered 100% for you and your dependents
• Competitive premiums for HMO/PPO and dependent coverage
• 401(k) with 4% match & immediate vesting
• Paid Parental Leave and 12 weeks paid FMLA
• Generous PTO, 11 Federal Holidays, a Birthday Holiday, and Sick Leave
• Up to 15 days for Jury Duty and Bereavement Leave
• Education, wellness, and tech allowances
• Referral bonus: $6K-$12K for each successful referral
• Pet insurance & discount plans
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Legal support, life insurance, disability coverage

Part-Time & Interns:

• 8.75 days of safe & sick leave annually
• Eligible for our 401(k) plan with employer contributions

Reasonable Accommodations

Fearless is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for applicants and candidates with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Human Resources Department at hr@fearless.tech .

So, What's Next?

We've refined our hiring approach to make sure every team member is a great fit for Fearless-and that we're a great fit for you, too. If there's alignment, we'll reach out to kick off the interview process. Depending on the role or project, your experience may vary slightly, but it typically includes:

Introductory Interview

You'll connect with a recruiter to:

• Build rapport and get to know each other
• Review your experience and skills
• Talk through salary expectations and role details
• Set expectations for the rest of the process

Skills + Business Fit Interview

This is where we dig deeper to:

• Review findings from any technical assessments
• Walk through situational and values-based questions
• Explore how your approach aligns with Fearless culture and project needs

Some roles may also include customer interviews based on specific project requirements in addition to background check and security clearance requirements.