Lead DevOps Engineer, AWS & Kubernetes

Annapolis Junction, MD

Lead DevOps Engineer An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role 👋🏼 Hey! Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We're a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You'll be more than a contract performer for us — you'll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you'll contribute to our team culture. We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you'll like it here! Remember, Bitwise is not a cult. 🖖🏼 🎯 What We Look For Bitwise hires talented engineers who are driven by purpose and who value a culture of technical excellence, growth, and overall wellness. We deliver new and innovative intelligence solutions to our customers at the very forefront of our country's national security missions. And we do it every single day. Our work matters, and so will you. We ask that every new hire be able to: Contribute meaningful thought leadership — if not right away, over time Interact with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities Be detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right Contribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company Allow us to invest in their education so we both grow together Know and live our core values every single day 💡 About this Role You'll join a mature, mission-critical program as Lead DevOps Engineer, leading a small, agile DevOps/SysAdmin team embedded within a broader engineering organization of 25+ developers. You'll own end-to-end infrastructure management—from bare-metal and AWS environments to Kubernetes deployments—supporting complex data transformation workflows and a widely used web-based user interface. In this role, you'll lead and mentor two system administrators, collaborating across software teams to architect robust systems and support development processes. You'll maintain metrics and observability to track uptime and performance, guide the team in modern automation tools like Ansible, Terraform, and Podman, and drive continuous improvement through regular technical reviews and post-mortems. You'll oversee system maintenance, security, and SSP accreditations; facilitate migrations from legacy MASH environments to AWS cloud-based architecture; and ensure deployment automation processes keep pace with the team's needs. This is a chance to make meaningful contributions in a fast-paced, collaborative environment known for technical stability and deep integration into mission-critical systems. 📋 Requirements 12+ years of relevant experience with a B.S. in a technical discipline, or 16+ years of relevant experience without a degree Strong Linux system administration experience (RHEL9) Experience in containerization using Podman and Kubernetes for deploying and managing applications Amazon AWS experience (setting up EC2 instances, S3 buckets, VPCs, IAM) Proficiency in system automation and scripting tools such as Ansible (including Semaphore), Terraform, Packer, Bash, and Python Knowledge of SSP compliance and processes, including STE/STN Metrics and observability with Kibana, Grafana, and Prometheus Ability to lead, mentor, and direct system administrators Experience maintaining system platforms and health across EC2, bare metal, and on-premises environments Database administration experience with databases such as Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, or graph databases (e.g., DGraph) Proficiency in CI/CD deployment automation processes Experience maintaining base Linux kickstart images (RHEL9) 🌟 Preferred Skills Apache Nifi dataflow experience Elastic stack experience (Logstash, Filebeat, etc.) Graph database experience Experience with additional AWS tools such as EKS, ECS, Lambdas, and Secrets Manager CI/CD in GitLab CNO experience Experience facilitating low-to-high development Cisco networking experience 🏝️ Benefits at Bitwise Top salaries because we're top performers Pick your PTO — Everyone values time and money differently, so we give you the flexibility to choose between 3 and 5 weeks of PTO with a corresponding adjustment to your pay. Your choice, your balance. All 11 federal holidays, paid! Up to 2 snow days, paid! We'll quadruple (4x!) the first 6% you contribute to your 401(k), giving you up to a 24% company match. Contributing less than 6%? Unclaimed matches come right back to you as extra income, giving you a guaranteed 24% that goes to your retirement, to your paycheck, or both. C'mon now! 🚀 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances. That's a lot. Already covered on health insurance? No problem — we'll trade you this benefit for a boost to your salary instead. $5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments. Spot bonuses for obtained certifications, customer recognition, and just about anything else that makes us go "Hot damn!". We hope to say that many times about you. 🔥 💰 Salary Range $266,500 – $313,500 This range includes our flex income and depends upon your annual work hours. Salary is determined on an individual basis following the interview process and considering various factors such as years of experience, skills, education, and certifications. 🛎️ What to Expect After Applying You'll get an email from us right away to acknowledge your application. After that, we'll: Send over additional company materials for you to review Schedule a video call to talk about you, our company, and your place in it Craft a delightful offer package for you and record a video walkthrough Work closely with you through onboarding. We'll keep it joyful and easy. ℹ️ Disclaimers Bitwise is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. Compensation for this position, including all compensation options, will be determined on an individual basis following the interview process. If you require accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please reach out to us. Last updated: 10/12/26

Lead DevOps Engineer

An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role

An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role

👋🏼 Hey!

Hey!

Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We're a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You'll be more than a contract performer for us — you'll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you'll contribute to our team culture. We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you'll like it here!

Remember, Bitwise is not a cult. 🖖🏼

🎯 What We Look For

Bitwise hires talented engineers who are driven by purpose and who value a culture of technical excellence, growth, and overall wellness. We deliver new and innovative intelligence solutions to our customers at the very forefront of our country's national security missions. And we do it every single day. Our work matters, and so will you.

We ask that every new hire be able to:

Contribute meaningful thought leadership — if not right away, over time

Interact with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities

Be detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right

Contribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company

Allow us to invest in their education so we both grow together

Know and live our core values every single day

core values

💡 About this Role

You'll join a mature, mission-critical program as Lead DevOps Engineer, leading a small, agile DevOps/SysAdmin team embedded within a broader engineering organization of 25+ developers. You'll own end-to-end infrastructure management—from bare-metal and AWS environments to Kubernetes deployments—supporting complex data transformation workflows and a widely used web-based user interface.

In this role, you'll lead and mentor two system administrators, collaborating across software teams to architect robust systems and support development processes. You'll maintain metrics and observability to track uptime and performance, guide the team in modern automation tools like Ansible, Terraform, and Podman, and drive continuous improvement through regular technical reviews and post-mortems. You'll oversee system maintenance, security, and SSP accreditations; facilitate migrations from legacy MASH environments to AWS cloud-based architecture; and ensure deployment automation processes keep pace with the team's needs. This is a chance to make meaningful contributions in a fast-paced, collaborative environment known for technical stability and deep integration into mission-critical systems.