Senior DevOps IT Engineer (Contract)

This position can be located at multiple sites across the United States. Work locations: Arlington VA or Merritt Island, FL. Airbus U.S. is seeking a highly motivated and experienced DevOps Engineer to help us design, implement, and maintain our cloud infrastructure, with a strong focus on GitLab CI/CD and AWS services. A key player in ensuring smooth, automated, and secure delivery of our applications, working closely with our development and operations teams to streamline workflows and improve system reliability and scalability. Key Responsibilities Pipeline Development & Optimization: Design, develop, and maintain robust CI/CD pipelines in GitLab, using GitLab YAML configuration files to automate the build, test, and deployment processes. Cloud Infrastructure Management: Engineer solutions and manage infrastructure using a wide variety of AWS services (e.g., EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, Lambda, RDS, ECS/EKS). Automation & Scripting: Develop automation scripts using languages such as Python, Bash, or PowerShell to reduce manual intervention, automate repetitive tasks, and improve overall efficiency. Infrastructure Scripting experience, such as CloudFormation and/or Terraform. Security & Compliance: Ensure security best practices are integrated into the development lifecycle (DevSecOps), performing vulnerability assessments and adhering to security protocols. Experience with Cyber Security Frameworks (CMMC or NIST 800-171 controls). Collaboration & Mentorship: Collaborate with cross‑functional engineering teams to evangelize high engineering standards and best practices and participate in on‑call rotations to provide timely support. Bridge between Software and IT teams. Docker & Runners: Experience with Docker containers, their usage within pipelines, and managing multiple runners/resources. Qualifications & Skills Proven experience as a DevOps Engineer with a strong focus on GitLab CI/CD. Extensive experience working within AWS and with its managed products. Proficiency in writing deployment scripts and YAML files for automation and configuration management. Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and orchestration with Kubernetes (K8s) or AWS ECS/EKS. Strong scripting skills in Python, Bash, or a similar language. Familiarity with configuration management tools like Git. Strong understanding of networking concepts, DNS, firewalls, and security best practices. Excellent communication and problem‑solving skills, with a drive towards continuous improvement. Ability to recommend and design new solution designs and infrastructure components (IaaS or PaaS). Education Bachelor's degree in STEM (Science, Technical, Engineering, Math) or related scientific areas. Preferred: Master's in STEM (Science, Technical, Engineering, Math) or related scientific areas. Experience A minimum of 9 years with a Bachelor's degree, 7 years with a Master's degree; or equivalent experience. Proven track‑record of working with aerospace hardware and/or software systems, starting from conceptual designs and tradeoffs through detailed design, development, manufacture, integration, test, deployment, and operations. Travel Required Periodic travel (less than 20%) to Airbus U.S. facilities or partner companies. Occasional international travel to collaborate with European Airbus counterparts. Eligibility U.S. Citizenship required. Clearance Ability to obtain and maintain a Government security clearance. Active DoD security clearance at Secret or above highly desirable. Physical Requirements Vision: able to see and read computer screen and other electronic equipment with screens, able to read documents. Hearing: able to hear to participate in conversations in person and via teleconference or phone and to hear sounds including safety warnings or alarms. Equipment Operation: able to operate most office and personal electronic equipment. Carrying: able to carry documents, electronic equipment and/or supplies up to 40lbs/9kg. Lifting: able to lift documents, electronic equipment and/or supplies up to 40lbs/9kg. Sitting: able to sit for long periods of time in meetings, working on computer. Squatting / Kneeling: able to occasionally squat or kneel to retrieve or replace items shelved on bottom shelves. Standing: able to stand for long periods of time. Walking: able to walk through office and outside areas including uneven surfaces. Equal Opportunity Airbus provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetics, pregnancy, marital status, veteran status, or other legally protected status. In addition to federal law requirements, Airbus complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, demotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. Airbus expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetics, pregnancy, marital status, veteran status or other legally protected status. #J-18808-Ljbffr