Raft is a customer-obsessed non-traditional defense tech company dedicated to empowering U.S. military and government agencies with cutting-edge AI/ML and data solutions. As an Associate DevOps Engineer, you will help secure, deploy, and operate platforms, gaining exposure to various technologies while working alongside experienced engineers.
Responsibilities
- Implement, maintain, and troubleshoot Kubernetes-based platform infrastructure under the guidance of senior engineers
- Build and maintain CI/CD and GitOps workflows using tools such as GitLab CI, Argo CD, Flux, Helm, and repository-managed deployment configuration
- Support secure software delivery practices including container hardening, vulnerability scanning, image provenance checks, secrets hygiene, and policy-driven deployment gates
- Help operate cloud, on-premises, and disconnected deployments across AWS, Azure, data center, and tactical environments
- Deploy and debug services, Helm charts, service mesh configuration, Kubernetes networking, storage, and runtime behavior
- Support observability across Prometheus, Grafana, Fluent Bit, Loki, Kibana, OpenTelemetry, or similar tooling so issues can be detected and resolved quickly
- Work with software and data engineers to understand service dependencies, data flows, and operational failure modes
- Support data and MLOps workloads that may include Kafka, Flink, Pinot, KServe, Kubeflow, Ray, GPU-enabled workloads, and model-serving workflows
- Write maintainable automation and small tools in Go, Java, Python, Bash, or similar languages to reduce manual effort and improve repeatability
- Contribute to compliance-driven delivery practices aligned with RMF, STIGs, NIST 800-53, IL4/IL5/IL6, and customer-specific security requirements
- Document operational procedures, deployment notes, troubleshooting steps, and lessons learned in a way other engineers can reuse
Skills
- U.S. citizenship required to be eligible for employment
- 1 to 3 years of hands-on experience in DevSecOps, DevOps, platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, systems administration, cybersecurity engineering, or a closely related role
- Working familiarity with Linux, containers, Docker, and Kubernetes concepts, including pods, services, deployments, config maps, secrets, ingress, and basic troubleshooting
- Experience building, running, or supporting CI/CD pipelines; exposure to GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Argo CD, Flux, or similar tools
- Exposure to Infrastructure as Code or configuration management with Terraform, Ansible, Helm, Kustomize, or similar tooling
- Understanding of foundational security practices such as least privilege, vulnerability management, container image scanning, secrets handling, secure configuration, and auditability
- Ability to read application logs, inspect runtime configuration, use command-line tooling, and follow evidence to root cause
- Basic scripting or programming ability in Go, Java, Python, Bash, or a comparable language
- Interest in data platforms, streaming systems, MLOps, and operational AI/ML workloads; prior exposure to Kafka, Flink, KServe, Kubeflow, or Ray is a plus
- Strong written communication and willingness to document work clearly for teammates, customers, and future operators
- Active Secret clearance required; must be eligible for and willing to obtain a Top Secret/SCI clearance
- Ability to obtain Security+ certification within the first 90 days of employment
- Ability to travel up to 30%
- Hands-on experience deploying applications with Helm or Kustomize in a Kubernetes environment
- Exposure to GitOps workflows and continuous delivery across multiple environments
- Familiarity with AWS or Azure fundamentals including IAM, networking, storage, compute, and managed Kubernetes services
- Exposure to service mesh technologies such as Istio, including mTLS, traffic routing, and observability concepts
- Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks used in government delivery, including RMF, STIGs, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, and IL4/IL5/IL6 controls
- Experience supporting air-gapped, disconnected, classified, or resource-constrained deployments
- Exposure to SBOMs, SCA, SAST, DAST, container scanning, admission control, OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno, Sigstore, or similar supply chain security tooling
- Existing TS/SCI clearance strongly preferred
Benefits
- Highly competitive salary
- Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
- 401(k) and company match
- Take as you need PTO + 11 paid holidays
- Education & training benefits
- Generous Referral Bonuses
Company Overview
A niche consulting organization focused on Cloud Native, DevSecOps, and Modern Application Development for mission focused enterprises It was founded in 2018, and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, USA, with a workforce of 201-500 employees. Its website is https://teamraft.com.