DevOps Engineer

Job Overview:We’re looking for an infrastructure engineer who builds and ships. This is not a role for someone who hands off design documents or lives only in architecture diagrams. You’ll be writing Terraform, supporting production infrastructure, troubleshooting real issues, optimizing underperforming systems, and automating work so teams can move faster.What makes this role different is how we work. AI is part of your daily toolkit. We’re not looking for someone who is merely “interested in” AI tools—you already know how to use them to accelerate real work. You understand how tools like Claude Code can dramatically reduce the time it takes to build infrastructure, write scripts, or troubleshoot problems, and you’re motivated to apply that speed in a production environment.This is a hands-on engineering role. Expect to spend the majority of your time building and improving infrastructure, sometime designing and refining solutions with more senior engineers, and minimal time in meetings. If your goal is to move away from handson engineering or into a role focused primarily on diagramming and presentations, this likely isn’t the right fit.Responsibilities: Your day if you join us: What You'll BuildEmbedded product supportAct as the dedicated DevOps engineer for your assigned product team, taking part in their planning, stand-ups and release cyclesOwn the product's infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines and environments (dev, QA, staging, prod) from start to finishBe the first escalation point for the product's production issues, deployments and environment requestsBring central DevOps standards (Terraform modules, pipeline templates, security and compliance controls) into the product team, and feed the product team's needs back to DevOpsInfrastructure as Code at ScaleTerraform modules for Azure Government and Commercial deployments—networking, compute, storage, identity, databases, monitoringAI-assisted Terraform module generation with automated testing, documentation, and compliance validationState management patterns for multi-environment deployments (dev/QA/staging/prod) with proper isolationDrift detection and remediation automation—catch what changed and fix it before it becomes an incidentCI/CD with GitHub ActionsGitHub Actions workflows for infrastructure and application delivery: plan/apply gates, environment approvals and reusable workflowsOIDC federation from GitHub to Azure, so pipelines don't need stored secretsBranch protection and rulesets, with automated policy and security checks in the pipelineAzure Networking & Hybrid ConnectivityHub-and-spoke architectures with proper segmentation for FedRAMP boundariesPrivate Link configurations, DNS forwarding, and service endpoint strategiesExpressRoute and VPN connectivity for hybrid scenariosAzure Firewall and NSG policies with AI-assisted rule generation and auditIdentity and securityAzure RBAC, managed identities and PIM, with least-privilege accessKey Vault access models (RBAC and access policies) and secret rotationConditional Access and identity governance across multiple tenantsAutomation & ScriptingPowerShell modules for Azure resource management, database operations, reporting, and remediationBash scripts for Linux workloads and CI/CD pipeline integrationPython utilities for API integrations, data processing, and custom toolingAI-assisted script generation with proper error handling, logging, and testingDatabase supportAzure SQL and SQL Server operations: backups, maintenance automation and first-line performance troubleshootingZero- or minimal-downtime database migrations with automated rollbackOperational ExcellenceAzure Monitor, Log Analytics (KQL) and Application InsightsRunbooks and automation for common fixesCost optimization: reserved instances, right-sizing and cleaning up orphaned resourcesTaking part in the on-call rotationQualifications: You are a great fit for this role if you:Required: 6+ years of hands-on Azure infrastructure experience (Azure Government strongly preferred)Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Engineering, or equivalent experienceStrong Terraform: modules, workspaces, remote state, provider configuration, testing (Terratest or similar)Strong GitHub Actions: workflow authoring, reusable workflows, environments and approvals, OIDC to Azure, secrets managementStrong PowerShell (Azure modules, REST API calls, error handling, module development), plus working PythonIn-depth Azure networking: VNets, peering, Private Link, DNS, NSGs, Azure Firewall, ExpressRouteAzure identity: RBAC, managed identities, PIM and Key Vault access modelsObservability: Azure Monitor, Log Analytics / KQL, Application InsightsWorking knowledge of SQL Server / Azure SQL: backups, performance triage and migrationsExperience working directly with development teams in an embedded or product-aligned DevOps roleDaily use of AI coding tools (Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor)Git workflows: branching strategies, PR reviews, resolving merge conflictsExperience with FedRAMP, CMMC or similar compliance frameworksComfortable debugging production issues under pressure, and taking part in an on-call rotationDue to customer requirements, U.S. Citizenship is required. Ability to gain and maintain Trusted Role is required.Location: Herndon, VA- Hybrid (3x/week)Preferred Qualifications:You are exactly who we are looking for if you:Advanced SQL Server tuning: execution plans, index strategies, stored procedure optimization, Query StoreSchema version control (Flyway, Liquibase or similar) Bicep in addition to TerraformContainer platforms: AKS, Container Apps, DockerAzure Service Bus operations and troubleshootingBackground in defense, aerospace or other highly regulated industriesWhat Sets You ApartYou've already changed how you work because of AI tools. You don't just use autocomplete—you've figured out how to prompt for entire infrastructure patterns, optimize complex SQL queries, and iterate faster than you ever could manually. You have opinions about which AI tools work best for different tasks.You prefer automation over manual effort. When you see a team doing something repetitive, your instinct is to automate it. When you see documentation that's out of date, you think about how to generate it from the source of truth.You can context-switch. Monday might be debugging a DNS forwarding issue. Tuesday might be optimizing a slow stored procedure. Wednesday might be writing a Terraform module for a new service. Thursday might be helping a developer understand why their app can't reach a database. You're comfortable across the stack.The pay range for this position is $100,000k - 130,000k/yr; however, the final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, skills, qualifications, and location. Exostar also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance, EAP, Flexible Spending Accounts, 401(k) matching, flexible time off and sick leaveWhy ExostarWe build trust infrastructure for defense contractors. FedRAMP Moderate certified, CMMC compliant, serving aerospace and defense supply chains. The work matters—our platforms enable secure collaboration across thousands of organizations in the defense industrial base.The environment: Azure Government and Commercial, complex networking with hybrid connectivity, SQL Server databases that need to perform under load, real compliance requirements (not checkbox security), and a team that's actively adopting AI tools for development. We're rolling out Claude Code to 100+ developers. We're building with AI, not just talking about it.The challenges are real: Service Bus queues that need to handle thousands of messages without crashing, DNS forwarding that has to work across multiple tenants, database queries that auditors will scrutinize, stored procedures that need to run in milliseconds not seconds. If you want interesting problems, we have them.We believe in employee development: we promote internally and provide training and educational assistanceWe provide a fun, engaged workplace, with social and community-building eventsWe offer comprehensive benefits and flexible time off plansExostar is an Equal Employment Employer. The company provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, disability status or genetic information. Exostar is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all persons in all facets of employment including recruiting, hiring, compensation, promotion, training, benefits, transfers and working conditions.Job SummaryRequisition Number: DEVOP001946Job Category: Soft DeveloperSchedule: Full-Time