CANES Platform Architect

Zachery Piper Solutions is seeking a CANES Platform Architect to lead the design and implementation of the U.S. Navy's Next Generation CANES architecture. You will join a rapidly growing, Service‑Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business supporting both federal and commercial clients in a remote role with 15-25% travel to Alexandria, VA. The CANES Platform Architect will play a critical role in shaping the future of shipboard and shore‑based platform modernization by driving an OpenShift‑first, automation‑driven architecture that supports mission‑critical Navy operations.

This position requires an Active Secret Clearance to be considered for the role




Responsibilities of the CANES Platform Architect include:

• Lead the end‑to‑end technical architecture for Next Generation CANES across shipboard and shore environments.
• Ensure architectural consistency across Unit Level, Force Level, submarine, and small platform variants.
• Define reference architectures, design patterns, and constraints that support modularity, scalability, and repeatable pier‑side installation.
• Architect and govern the use of Red Hat OpenShift as the primary hosting platform, supporting both containers and virtual machines through OpenShift Virtualization.
• Define workload placement strategies, enclave‑specific cluster topologies, and migration paths for legacy CANES applications.
• Oversee the integration and migration of VMware‑based and bare‑metal workloads into OpenShift Virtualization, including lifecycle management, live migration, and backup/recovery alignment.
• Establish Infrastructure as Code and GitOps principles using Ansible Automation Platform to support installation, upgrades, compliance enforcement, rollback, and evidence capture.
• Architect day‑0, day‑1, and day‑2 automation aligned with shore‑to‑ship governance models.
• Define how modular hardware building blocks and CyKor Equipment Groups integrate into the platform architecture to enable rapid installation, replacement, and lifecycle refresh.
• Ensure all architectural decisions align with CANES tenets, PMW‑160 guidance, RMF requirements, and operational constraints across the fleet.

Qualifications for the CANES Platform Architect include:

• Deep expertise in Red Hat OpenShift and Kubernetes, including cluster architecture, operators, upgrades, lifecycle management, and multi‑cluster operations in constrained or disconnected environments.
• Hands‑on experience with OpenShift Virtualization and KubeVirt, including VM lifecycle management, live migration, backup/restore, and migration from VMware or other legacy hypervisors.
• Advanced experience with Ansible Automation Platform for orchestration, configuration management, and platform lifecycle automation.
• Strong background with RHEL and Red Hat CoreOS, platform hardening, secure configuration management, and enforcement of container and VM security controls.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in platform architecture, systems engineering, or infrastructure engineering roles supporting mission‑critical or regulated environments.
• Active Secret Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Navy CANES, ADNS, or other DoD tactical network programs.
• Familiarity with Cisco NSO and model‑driven network configuration management.
• Experience designing platforms for disconnected, intermittent, or bandwidth‑constrained environments.
• Strong background in DevSecOps pipelines and controlled software delivery environments.
• Ability to produce clear, high‑quality technical documentation for design reviews and government stakeholders.

Compensation for the CANES Platform Architect includes:

• Salary Range: $180,000 - $200,000
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid holidays, PTO, and sick leave (as required by law)

This position will start accepting applicants on 1/14/2026 and will remain open for 30 days.

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