Senior DevOps Engineer

Seeking an experienced Senior DevOps Engineer to design, deploy, and sustain a DevSecOps platform-as-a-service for a U.S. Government customer within a classified Azure environment. This role is responsible for building and optimizing CI/CD pipelines in air-gapped cloud settings, managing Azure infrastructure via Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and supporting automation of customer development desktops and enterprise workloads. The Senior DevOps Engineer will enforce security compliance, support customer onboarding, and provide Tier 1 operational support. This position requires an active TS/SCI clearance.

The Senior DevOps Engineer is a highly specialized technical role operating at the intersection of cloud infrastructure, DevSecOps automation, and government compliance. This position requires an engineer with deep hands-on experience deploying and maintaining complex Azure infrastructure in air-gapped, Top Secret/SCI environments where commercial tooling is unavailable and classified deployment practices are non-negotiable.

This engineer will own the full infrastructure automation lifecycle using Bicep and Terraform, build and maintain golden image pipelines, and ensure all environments adhere to DoD security standards including STIG/SCAP, WSUS patching, and vulnerability management via Nessus Security Center. Critically, this is a hands-on engineering role -- not an architecture or governance position. Candidates must be able to write and deploy production-grade IaC, build pipelines end-to-end, and operate confidently in restricted, offline environments.

The engineer will work under the technical direction of a Microsoft Architect and collaborate closely with onsite and remote teams to validate configurations, onboard customers, and ensure handoff readiness. Strong documentation practices in Confluence and comfort navigating government change management processes are essential.

Responsibilities include:

DevOps

• Design, deploy, and operate Azure infrastructure using IaC (Bicep/Terraform) for repeatable, scalable environments.
• Build and maintain Azure Pipelines to automate provisioning of VMs, Key Vault, networking, and platform services.
• Enforce GitOps-based baselines for versioned, traceable, consistent configuration across environments.
• Create and maintain golden image pipelines using Packer (images-as-code) to support enterprise workloads.
• Ensure security compliance (CMKs, encryption, approved baselines) and integrate IAM via AD/Entra ID (federation/SSO such as Keycloak).

Security & Compliance

• Operate and maintain secure enterprise environments in alignment with DoD security standards, utilizing vulnerability management tools such as Nessus Security Center.
• Ensure all virtual machines and platform resources are properly configured to send telemetry and logs to a centralized Azure Log Analytics workspace.
• Perform enterprise-scale patching and update management using WSUS or equivalent update management solutions.
• Participate in change management and review boards, supporting boundary changes and ensuring compliance with enterprise governance processes.

Customer Onboarding & Operations

• Tailor infrastructure parameter templates to customer workload and hardware requirements.
• Deploy Azure infrastructure via established CI/CD pipelines into enterprise environments.
• Document customer configurations and operational details in Confluence.
• Coordinate with onsite and remote teams to validate configurations and ensure handoff readiness.
• Provide Tier 1 operational support, including automated baseline desktop and software installs (DSC, Packer).

Automation & Container Enablement

• Develop and maintain automation solutions using Bicep and/or Terraform to minimize manual intervention and improve deployment reliability.
• Support container image movement and lifecycle management using tools such as Skopeo, Crane, and Podman, ensuring secure and repeatable container workflows.

• Architect, develop, automate, deploy, and manage AKS-based applications to support developers.
• Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

Why Work with us?

Applied Research Solutions (ARS) is respected as a world-class provider of technically integrated solutions as we deliver premier talent and technology across our focused markets for unparalleled, continuous mission support. Awarded a Best Places to Work nominee since 2020, ARS recognizes that without our career- driven, loyal professionals, we would not be able to deliver state-of-the-art results for our mission partners. We firmly believe that prioritizing our employees is of the upmost importance. We provide a culture where our employees are challenged to meet their career goals and aspirations, while still obtaining a work/life balance. ARS employees are motivated through our industry competitive benefits package, our awards and recognition program, and personalized attention from ARS Senior Managers.

Responsibilities include:

DevOps

• Design, deploy, and operate Azure infrastructure using IaC (Bicep/Terraform) for repeatable, scalable environments.
• Build and maintain Azure Pipelines to automate provisioning of VMs, Key Vault, networking, and platform services.
• Enforce GitOps-based baselines for versioned, traceable, consistent configuration across environments.
• Create and maintain golden image pipelines using Packer (images-as-code) to support enterprise workloads.
• Ensure security compliance (CMKs, encryption, approved baselines) and integrate IAM via AD/Entra ID (federation/SSO such as Keycloak).

Security & Compliance

• Operate and maintain secure enterprise environments in alignment with DoD security standards, utilizing vulnerability management tools such as Nessus Security Center.
• Ensure all virtual machines and platform resources are properly configured to send telemetry and logs to a centralized Azure Log Analytics workspace.
• Perform enterprise-scale patching and update management using WSUS or equivalent update management solutions.
• Participate in change management and review boards, supporting boundary changes and ensuring compliance with enterprise governance processes.

Customer Onboarding & Operations

• Tailor infrastructure parameter templates to customer workload and hardware requirements.
• Deploy Azure infrastructure via established CI/CD pipelines into enterprise environments.
• Document customer configurations and operational details in Confluence.
• Coordinate with onsite and remote teams to validate configurations and ensure handoff readiness.
• Provide Tier 1 operational support, including automated baseline desktop and software installs (DSC, Packer).

Automation & Container Enablement

• Develop and maintain automation solutions using Bicep and/or Terraform to minimize manual intervention and improve deployment reliability.
• Support container image movement and lifecycle management using tools such as Skopeo, Crane, and Podman, ensuring secure and repeatable container workflows.

• Architect, develop, automate, deploy, and manage AKS-based applications to support developers.
• Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Active Security+ Certification (or equivalent DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification)
• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility
• 8+ years of demonstrated performance in related technology
• Experience working in a classified Azure Region or delivering software into an air-gapped network
• Hands-on experience deploying Microsoft infrastructure using Terraform or Bicep
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years of technical leadership experience OR equivalent experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5+ years of leadership experience in a relevant technical area
• Technical certifications in Azure (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect, Azure DevOps Engineer Expert)
• Experience working in regulated, compliance-driven, or DoD government environments
• Familiarity with DoD Risk Management Framework (RMF) and ATO processes
• Experience with Kubernetes and AKS in production environments
• Experience with Packer, Skopeo, Crane, or Podman in enterprise container workflows
• Familiarity with Keycloak or Entra ID federation/SSO in classified environments

Key Differentiators for Success:

• Proven ability to personally write and deploy production-grade IaC, not just govern or review it
• Demonstrated experience operating in SCIFs or air-gapped environments where internet access is unavailable
• Comfort with the full CI/CD lifecycle from code commit through production deployment in classified settings
• Strong documentation discipline and ability to support government change management and ATO processes
• Adaptability to work within a technically diverse team under the direction of a Microsoft Architect