Job description

Required Qualifications: • Minimum of 12 years with BS/BA; Minimum of 10 years with MS/MA; Minimum of 7 years with Ph.D. • Experience with platform/systems/integration engineering • Hands-on Kubernetes-based container platform experience • US Citizenship • Active DoD Secret clearance • DoD 8570/8140 compliant certification • Practical experience deploying and operating AI models, with a foundational understanding of inference and performance tuning • Hands-on experience deploying and administering OpenShift (or another enterprise Kubernetes distribution) on bare metal • Infrastructure-as-code proficiency, specifically Terraform and Ansible, for provisioning and configuration management • Working knowledge of virtualization/cloud orchestration platforms (Spectro Cloud, VMware, or equivalent) • Understanding of container platform architecture: networking (CNI), storage (CSI), cluster security, and lifecycle management • Ability to document platform architecture, licensing tradeoffs, and operational considerations • Strong Linux administration skills (RHEL) • Must have regular/recurring physical access to a DISA SIPR-accredited facility • Working understanding of agentic platform modeling/hosting/services Preferred Qualifications: • Excellent verbal and written communication skills • Excellent writing and grammatical skills • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail • Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) • HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate • Experience with GitOps workflows (e.g., ArgoCD, Flux) for platform configuration management • Experience bootstrapping platforms in disconnected or OCONUS environments including physical hardware installation The Senior AI Platform Engineer will stand up and operate a bare-metal container platform, support a feasibility assessment of all platform technologies, and drive the transition towards infrastructure-as-code managed provisioning using Terraform and Ansible. This individual will work in a bare-metal-first environment while actively reducing reliance on manual installs over time, and will support core platform services and OCONUS bootstrap activities. This role is flexible for occasional telework however, candidates must be within 50 miles to one of the following work locations: Oklahoma City, OK, Montgomery, AL, Ogden, UT, San Antonio, TX, Mechanicsburg, PA, Chambersburg, PA, Arlington, VA, Ft. Meade, MD, Columbus, OH. Other Responsibilities Include: • Deploy, configure, and operate large language models (LLMs), and integrate approved frontier AI models and services into enterprise environments • Optimize model inference and deployment configurations to improve response times, throughput, and GPU/memory utilization while maintaining output quality • Monitor, troubleshoot, and maintain model-serving environments, including model updates, API connectivity, and supporting infrastructure • Transition platform provisioning from manual/bare-metal installs toward a fully IaC-managed model • Install, configure, and operate bare-metal OpenShift (or equivalent enterprise Kubernetes distribution) clusters • Design and implement infrastructure-as-code provisioning using Terraform and Ansible for platform and VM orchestration • Support the objective feasibility assessment of OpenShift versus Spectro Cloud, documenting licensing tradeoffs, operability, and long-term sustainability considerations • Deploy and support core platform services including authoritative DNS (e.g., PowerDNS) • Implement and enforce STIGs and cybersecurity compliance requirements on platform infrastructure • Monitor platform health, performance, and capacity using observability tools; manage platform logging and alerting • Support OCONUS hardware bootstrap activities including physical hardware installation and configuration • Document platform architecture, configuration decisions, and operational procedures The Senior AI Platform Engineer will stand up and operate a bare-metal container platform, support a feasibility assessment of all platform technologies, and drive the transition towards infrastructure-as-code managed provisioning using Terraform and Ansible. This individual will work in a bare-metal-first environment while actively reducing reliance on manual installs over time, and will support core platform services and OCONUS bootstrap activities. This role is flexible for occasional telework however, candidates must be within 50 miles to one of the following work locations: Oklahoma City, OK, Montgomery, AL, Ogden, UT, San Antonio, TX, Mechanicsburg, PA, Chambersburg, PA, Arlington, VA, Ft. Meade, MD, Columbus, OH. Other Responsibilities Include: • Deploy, configure, and operate large language models (LLMs), and integrate approved frontier AI models and services into enterprise environments • Optimize model inference and deployment configurations to improve response times, throughput, and GPU/memory utilization while maintaining output quality • Monitor, troubleshoot, and maintain model-serving environments, including model updates, API connectivity, and supporting infrastructure • Transition platform provisioning from manual/bare-metal installs toward a fully IaC-managed model • Install, configure, and operate bare-metal OpenShift (or equivalent enterprise Kubernetes distribution) clusters • Design and implement infrastructure-as-code provisioning using Terraform and Ansible for platform and VM orchestration • Support the objective feasibility assessment of OpenShift versus Spectro Cloud, documenting licensing tradeoffs, operability, and long-term sustainability considerations • Deploy and support core platform services including authoritative DNS (e.g., PowerDNS) • Implement and enforce STIGs and cybersecurity compliance requirements on platform infrastructure • Monitor platform health, performance, and capacity using observability tools; manage platform logging and alerting • Support OCONUS hardware bootstrap activities including physical hardware installation and configuration • Document platform architecture, configuration decisions, and operational procedures Required Qualifications: • Minimum of 12 years with BS/BA; Minimum of 10 years with MS/MA; Minimum of 7 years with Ph.D. • Experience with platform/systems/integration engineering • Hands-on Kubernetes-based container platform experience • US Citizenship • Active DoD Secret clearance • DoD 8570/8140 compliant certification • Practical experience deploying and operating AI models, with a foundational understanding of inference and performance tuning • Hands-on experience deploying and administering OpenShift (or another enterprise Kubernetes distribution) on bare metal • Infrastructure-as-code proficiency, specifically Terraform and Ansible, for provisioning and configuration management • Working knowledge of virtualization/cloud orchestration platforms (Spectro Cloud, VMware, or equivalent) • Understanding of container platform architecture: networking (CNI), storage (CSI), cluster security, and lifecycle management • Ability to document platform architecture, licensing tradeoffs, and operational considerations • Strong Linux administration skills (RHEL) • Must have regular/recurring physical access to a DISA SIPR-accredited facility • Working understanding of agentic platform modeling/hosting/services Preferred Qualifications: • Excellent verbal and written communication skills • Excellent writing and grammatical skills • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail • Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) • HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate • Experience with GitOps workflows (e.g., ArgoCD, Flux) for platform configuration management • Experience bootstrapping platforms in disconnected or OCONUS environments including physical hardware installation

Requirements

Must-haves

Minimum of 12 years with BS/BA; Minimum of 10 years with MS/MA; Minimum of 7 years with Ph.D.
Experience with platform/systems/integration engineering
Hands-on Kubernetes-based container platform experience
US Citizenship
Active DoD Secret clearance
DoD 8570/8140 compliant certification
Practical experience deploying and operating AI models, with a foundational understanding of inference and performance tuning
Hands-on experience deploying and administering OpenShift (or another enterprise Kubernetes distribution) on bare metal
Infrastructure-as-code proficiency, specifically Terraform and Ansible, for provisioning and configuration management
Working knowledge of virtualization/cloud orchestration platforms (Spectro Cloud, VMware, or equivalent)
Understanding of container platform architecture: networking (CNI), storage (CSI), cluster security, and lifecycle management
Ability to document platform architecture, licensing tradeoffs, and operational considerations

Nice-to-haves

Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Excellent writing and grammatical skills
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate
Experience with GitOps workflows (e.g., ArgoCD, Flux) for platform configuration management
Experience bootstrapping platforms in disconnected or OCONUS environments including physical hardware installation
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Excellent writing and grammatical skills
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

kubernetesaiapi

Platform: peraton
Effort: medium

Benefits

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