DevOps Engineer

Position Summary 

Effectual DevOps Engineers are members of the Public Sector Program Management team responsible for ensuring that customer-facing projects are delivered with exceptional customer satisfaction and technical excellence. Effectual DevOps Engineers are “Brand Ambassadors” and are expected to stay current on leading practices to deliver high-quality, well-conceived solutions to customers.  

A Glimpse into the Daily Routine of a DevOps Engineers 

DevOps Engineers are skilled, experienced technologists who stay current on leading practices, act in the interests of our customers to deliver fit-for-purpose solutions to their needs, and balance competing priorities between multiple parallel project delivery to achieve defined business outcomes on behalf of our customers. DevOps Engineers are problem solvers who see blockers and challenges as opportunities to find a new path to success; the words “good enough” and “impossible” aren’t in their vocabulary. DevOps Engineers are knowledgeable and experienced in AWS Cloud technologies, possess a strong desire to continue to learn about emerging technologies, and a passion for supporting the high-quality delivery of technical projects.  

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

• Enabling customers’ use of AWS to achieve their business objectives through: 

• Kubernetes ecosystem 

• Designing, deploying, maintaining, and troubleshooting large microservices estates in production on Kubernetes 

• Service mesh deployment and integration such as ISTIO, Linkerd, Consul, etc. 

• Using Helm Charts, Custom Resource Definitions 

• Creating cloud-native CI/CD workflows for containers with tools such as Jenkins, CodeDeploy, CodePipeline, Gitlab, etc. 

• Hands-on experience with microservices and distributed application architecture in a multi-tier environment (Dev, Test, Prod, etc.) 

• Automating cloud infrastructure with scripting and code, including but not limited to: 

• Extensive experience in a scripting language (Bash, Python, JavaScript, etc) 

• Hands on experience in a language such as Python, Ruby, Go, Swift, Java, .Net, C++ or similar object-oriented language. 

• Composing and leveraging code to define and automate cloud infrastructure (e.g.: AWS CloudFormation templates, Terraform, AWS CDK, etc.) to ensure repeatable, sustainable AWS infrastructure 

• Automating infrastructure and application deployment and testing in development, pre-production, and production environments 

• Experience with the full software development lifecycle and delivery using Agile practices in a team environment. 

• Supporting developers in efficiently working within AWS through: 

• Architecting, coding, deploying, and troubleshooting Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines 

• Providing input and guidance to developers on overall AWS Architecture and design tenets 

• Extensive experience with git version control, git branching, and CI/CD practices 

• Establishing visibility into cloud operations through: 

• Leveraging resource tagging to allocate costs and optimize resource planning 

• Assisting in preparing cost analysis based on expected usage 

• Configuring AWS cloud infrastructure for maximum technical and budgetary efficiency 

• Supporting the migration of customers from on-premises environments to AWS through: 

• Assisting in the development of migration plans 

• Executing migration plans, which may include: 

• Migrating applications using microservices architectures 

• Confirming the migration of resources into AWS and decommissioning on-premises resources 

• Supporting rigorous project governance and execution achieved through: 

• Meeting with team members daily to review progress 

• Holding team members accountable for and challenging team members on technical solution implementation approaches to achieve optimal outcomes 

• Submitting time on assigned projects, daily 

• Supporting project delivery team members by: 

• Always operating with transparency 

• Being responsive to requests from team members for information 

• Communicating working preferences and understanding the working preferences of others to help develop a high-performing team that operates with respect, effectiveness, and efficiency 

• Additional responsibilities as requested  

Qualifications 

• Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in related discipline AND 

• Minimum Experience: 10 years of experience, including cloud professional and/or project management certification OR 

• Substitution/Alternative to Minimum Education and Experience: Must have at least 10 years of on-the-job experience 

• Available during customer working hours, as needed—both for scheduled and impromptu support 

• Be able to work remotely but, be able to go on-site as requested and/or occasionally on-site in Washington DC 

• AWS Solutions Architect and/or Developer and/or SysOps Engineer – Professional and/or AWS DevOps Engineer Professional 

• Must be a US Citizen 

• 10+ years of DevOps / SRE experience working in AWS environment(s) and / or supporting software development team(s) 

• Strong understanding of AWS cloud platforms, including core services and infrastructure components 

• Experience developing CI/CD pipelines using tools like GitLab or Jenkins 

• Experience with Kubernetes running microservices in production 

• Container development and orchestration in Kubernetes, AWS EKS, Helm, CRD’s, etc. 

• Strong working knowledge of leading AWS cloud security practices 

• Hands on experience and solid understanding of both Linux and Docker 

• Proficient in developing Infrastructure-as-Code (e.g.: Terraform / AWS CloudFormation) 

• Proficient in coding configuration management tooling (e.g.: Ansible, Chef, Puppet, etc.) 

• Proficient in at least one or more programming / scripting languages (e.g.: Python, Ruby, Go, Swift, Java, .Net, C++) 

• Demonstrable knowledge of Agile methodologies 

• Attention to detail 

• Exceptional communication and time management 

• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills, with the ability to diagnose and resolve cloud infrastructure and data-related issues 

• Continuous learning mindset to stay updated with emerging cloud technologies and industry trends 

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders 

• Ability to work with multiple clients, in parallel 

• Ability to work Eastern Standard Time Zone schedule 

Nice-to-Have Skills and Experience 

• Active Clearance or Public Trust (DOJ Preferred) 

• Certifications (e.g.: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (strongly preferred), AWS Solution Architect - Professional, AWS DevOps Engineer - Professional, AWS Data Analytics - Specialty, etc.) 

• Implementing static and dynamic code analysis tools and testing tools within CI/CD pipelines (SonarQube, Selenium, etc.) 

• Hands on experience in a production stack with GitOps workflows using Git, ArgoCD, and app of apps patterns, Prometheus, Grafana, etc. 

• Experience with Kubernetes service mesh architectures such as ISTIO 

• Advanced-level knowledge in networking and routing within AWS 

• Master’s degree or higher in engineering or information systems study 
• Contributor to Open-Source community 

Physical Demands and Work Environment  

The work is generally performed in an office environment.  Physical demands include sitting, keyboarding, verbal communication, written communication.  Employees are occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. 

This job description may not be inclusive of all assigned duties, responsibilities, or aspects of the job described, and may be amended anytime at the sole discretion of the Employer. Duties and responsibilities are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship. Effectual Inc. is an EEO employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected classification in its hiring, promoting, or any other job-related opportunity.