Senior Platform Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

540 is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer to support a high-impact Department of War (DoW) initiative focused on accelerating the secure adoption, deployment, and operationalization of advanced AI capabilities across mission-critical environments.

In this role, you will design, build, secure, and modernize cloud infrastructure and DevSecOps platforms that enable the delivery of emerging technologies at scale. You'll work at the intersection of cloud engineering, cybersecurity, and AI infrastructure, helping government stakeholders establish reliable, compliant, and repeatable technical environments.

As a Senior Platform Engineer at 540, you'll bring deep hands-on engineering expertise alongside the technical leadership needed to influence architecture decisions, guide delivery teams, and establish reusable platform standards. You'll serve as a trusted technical advisor and help shape secure, scalable engineering practices that extend beyond a single engagement.

Location : Primarily remote (DC metro area preferred), with occasional onsite meetings as needed
Citizenship & Clearance Requirement : per client requirements, candidates must be U.S. Citizens with an active DoW Secret (or higher) clearance
Education Requirement: Bachelor's Degree
540 Internal Thrive Level: Senior Platform Engineer

WHY 540?

540 is a forward-thinking company that the government turns to in order to #getshitdone. We don't just talk about innovation – we deliver it. We break down barriers, build impactful technology, and solve mission-critical problems.

HOW YOU'LL DRIVE IMPACT

• Design, secure, and maintain scalable cloud infrastructure and platform services supporting advanced AI capabilities across mission-critical DoD environments, including IL2 through IL5/IL6
• Architect and continuously improve secure CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, GitLab, Artifactory, and related DevSecOps technologies, integrating automated testing, vulnerability scanning, artifact signing, provenance, attestation, and policy-as-code
• Establish container orchestration and runtime standards using Docker, Kubernetes, and related technologies to ensure consistent, secure deployment across environments
• Develop and maintain infrastructure-as-code (IaC) and configuration management solutions using Terraform and related technologies to automate provisioning and ensure reproducible environments
• Design, modernize, and manage cloud infrastructure, including networking, virtual machines, application gateways, API management platforms, and containerized services
• Implement security and identity controls across platform environments, including RMF, STIG compliance, vulnerability management, ADFS/SAML integration, and least-privilege access
• Establish observability, monitoring, logging, incident response, and reliability practices to maintain platform security, performance, and operational stability
• Support secure infrastructure for AI-native workloads and LLM foundation model testing, incorporating platform-level security controls, auditability, and data protection
• Develop reusable platform architectures, infrastructure accelerators, and engineering standards that can be adopted across teams and client engagements
• Advise government stakeholders and delivery teams on technical architecture, risks, implementation decisions, and trade-offs while balancing security, scalability, operational costs, and delivery timelines
• Mentor engineers, guide technical decisions, and champion engineering practices that improve delivery consistency, efficiency, and team capabilities

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• 10+ years of relevant professional experience in platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, DevSecOps, systems engineering, or related technical disciplines
• Deep hands-on experience designing and improving secure CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, GitLab, Artifactory, and related technologies, with demonstrated success increasing deployment frequency, automation, and delivery reliability across teams or engagements
• Strong expertise in secure software delivery and supply-chain security, including automated vulnerability scanning, artifact signing, provenance, attestation, and policy-as-code
• Proven experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and container orchestration, including establishing secure deployment and runtime standards across environments
• Advanced experience with Terraform, infrastructure as code, and configuration management to provision, maintain, and reliably recreate cloud infrastructure
• Experience designing, securing, modernizing, and troubleshooting complex cloud infrastructure, including networking, application gateways, API management services, and microservices architectures
• Working knowledge of RMF, STIG compliance, vulnerability management, and secure DevOps practices within DoD IL2 through IL5/IL6 environments
• Experience implementing identity and access management solutions, including ADFS/SAML, least-privilege principles, and secure authentication and authorization
• Experience implementing infrastructure monitoring, logging, alerting, incident response, and reliability practices in complex environments
• Experience supporting AI-enabled workloads or LLM foundation model testing, with an understanding of relevant infrastructure, security, and operational considerations
• Demonstrated technical leadership, including architectural decision-making, establishing reusable engineering standards, and translating security and mission requirements into scalable solutions
• Strong client-facing communication and advisory skills, with the ability to explain technical trade-offs, set realistic timelines, collaborate across teams, and mentor engineers
• Must currently possess or be able to obtain CompTIA Security+ CE or another DoD-approved IAT Level II certification within 30 days of hire
• Must currently possess or have the ability to obtain an Associate- or Professional-level cloud certification from Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Amazon Web Services (AWS) within 30 days of hire

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience designing AI platform security and enforcement architectures, including mediation and control-plane patterns, prompt-injection defenses, workload identity federation for AI agents, bi-directional data loss prevention (DLP), and output governance and provenance
• Experience integrating automated testing, static code analysis, software quality gates, and security scanning into CI/CD workflows using tools such as SonarQube, Trivy, Cosign, or related technologies
• Familiarity with AI development and platform tooling, including PyTorch, artifact and corpora registries, secure software packaging, and dependency management
• Experience modernizing legacy platforms, rearchitecting systems for cloud-native services, and optimizing infrastructure provisioning, scalability, and operational costs
• Familiarity with Zero Trust architecture, secure distributed systems, hybrid cloud connectivity, and cloud identity federation
• Experience establishing service-level objectives, infrastructure reliability standards, and operational improvement strategies
• Prior experience sustaining mission-critical platforms in federal or DoD environments, particularly those subject to DoD 8000-series information security requirements

BENEFITS & PERKS

• Flexible PTO + all Federal holidays off
• Health, dental and vision insurance plans
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• 401k with employer match
• Company-sponsored life insurance, short- and long-term disability 
• Professional development (training, certifications, conferences)
• Paid cloud developer accounts
• Referral bonuses
• HQ office perks (parking / metro reimbursement, nitro coffee & lunches) 
• Annual social events (540 Week, hackathon, charity golf tournament, etc.)
• Access to 540's Washington Capitals & Nationals tickets

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO)

540's policy is to provide equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.