Backend/DevOps Engineer

Your Impact:

If you want to be part of a dynamic Team delivering and engaging in innovative training solutions, this is the place for you We are currently seeking new team members to join the Capabilities DevOps team in Hanover, MD. Team members will be part of a collaborative, multidisciplinary team delivering highly sophisticated, technical, hands-on training solutions to meet the mission and time-critical needs of our customers using custom solutions and modern software development frameworks. The team is focused on the development of tailored, high quality, timely software solutions for use by instructional staff members and students. The team implements all parts of the software development process; from configuring and managing the deployment environment to writing, testing, and deploying the code. If you are a software engineer or have web application development experience and are a self-starter and enterprising person looking to expand your knowledge in all parts of application development, then this is the position for you.

Responsibilities:

The Capabilities DevOps team’s responsibilities include capturing and evaluating requirements, designing services, pipelines, and user interfaces/experiences (UI/UX) that are elegant and forward-thinking, selecting and implementing technologies that are the best fit for the application, managing and configuring the application code, documenting, testing, and maintaining the application during its deployed lifespan. This will include many of the following actions and more as requirements demand.

• Designing, developing, troubleshooting, and analyzing software programs for computer-based training.
• Research, document, and test security solutions for emerging technologies, security methodologies, and cyber security concepts.
• Support the development of comprehensive, tactically relevant operational training through the design, development, and implementation of training scenarios required to prepare students for operations.
• Work with a Team of multi-disciplinary professionals to create, evaluate, and apply necessary updates based on recommendations for course content and training material updates.
• Advancing the maturity of, and troubleshooting issues with, existing class management tools to support and ensure delivery and grading of student activities.
• Creating and maintaining virtualized systems used to facilitate and simulate real-world scenarios that create an immersive cyber-environment for students.
• Performing system modeling, simulation, and analysis.
• Designing and developing utility programs and operations systems and conducting detailed analysis of system specifications.
• Providing input for documentation of new or existing programs, associated documentation, block diagrams and logic flow charts applied to engineering problems.
• Verifying accuracy and completeness of programs by preparing sample data, conducting program tests, analyzing test results, and debugging programs errors.

#divergent

Here’s what you’ll need:

The Capabilities DevOps team positions require fully cleared individuals with an extensive range of experience and abilities to develop applications for cyber security training. As a team we implement and support all stages of the Software Development Lifecycle and recognize the benefit of having team members that specialize in specific stages of that cycle.

Clearance Required:

• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph.

Minimum Education Level 2:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field and five (5) years of applicable software development experience is required.
  OR Three (3) years of experience may be substituted for a Bachelor’s Degree is acceptable, for a total of eight (8) years of applicable software development experience

Minimum Education Level 3:

• Master’s Degree in Computer Science or related field and five (5) years of applicable software development experience is required.
  OR A Bachelor’s Degree and five (5) additional years of experience is acceptable for a total of ten (10) years of applicable software development experience.
  OR Three (3) years of experience may be substituted for a Bachelor’s Degree is acceptable, for a total of thirteen (13) years of applicable software development experience.

Minimum Years of Experience:

• Minimum (5) years of applicable software development experience is required.
• Experience developing using one or more of the following languages: Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Python, or C++.
• Requires demonstrated proficiency in web UI interface design using a variety of languages such as HTML, CSS, AJAX, JSON/XML JavaScript/TypeScript and JQuery or similar.
• Experience using SQL/NoSQL and relational databases (MySQL/MongoDB preferred) required.
• A working knowledge of both Windows and Linux platform is required.
• Demonstrated experience with agile methodologies.

All team members regardless of their specialization will be expected to:

• demonstrate the ability to parse and understand existing code bases, contributing to the continued development of class management tools
• perform trend analysis of student activities and identify potential improvements to course delivery systems and interfaces
• develop software solutions using languages such as Python, Shell scripting or Node.js
• develop and deploy applications, services, and systems within virtualized environments such as vSphere and Docker
• create and manage applications using industry standard package managers (apt, yum, npm, nuget, etc…)
• show proficiency in using source code management systems, with a focus on Git
• apply valid software development pipelines to develop, test, document and deploy projects
• use and receive tasking through project management systems such as Jira
• provide comprehensive documentation and support for various levels of customers
• be a self-motivated individual that can think creatively to stay ahead of issues that could prevent the successful delivery of course material and activities while supporting the team as a whole
• learn about the other specializations to better work with and support other development efforts
• provide recommendations for technical solutions to a wide range of difficult problems
• lead development activities, displaying the ability to guide and manage software engineering projects
• mentor junior team members
• As a Backend DevOps Engineer you should fit the needs of both the Backend Service and DevOps specialization at a minimum. While working on the team there will be opportunities to expand into the realm of a UI/UX specialist as well.

Backend Service specialist: Focus on creating dataflow components to collect, parse, and provide the information to other services or for exfiltration and deliverables. You will need the following skills at a minimum:

• Develop services, APIs and dataflow solutions using various languages and frameworks such as Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.JS, Express, PHP, Ruby on Rails, and Go.
• Design and implement database schemas across multiple systems with and without replication using SQL and NoSQL solutions
• Develop scripts, scrapers, and parsers in support of automated grading and course delivery
• Develop and implement test beds and use test suites such as JUnit or PyTest for robust testing practices
• Administer, configure, and maintain common Unix/Linux and Windows Server variants
• Create and configure virtual hosts and networks using VMware in support of developing real-world scenarios

DevOps specialist: Focus on the management and maintenance of the virtualization and deployment solutions used to ensure rapid validated deployments of services and applications. You will need the following skills at a minimum:

• Design and implement flexible and robust CI/CD pipelines to enhance the software development lifecycle using solutions such as GitLab
• Plan, implement, and maintain scalable application and service deployments in on-premises Kubernetes clusters using tools like helm, fleet, git, rancher, lens, k9s, etc.
• Develop and deploy applications, services, and systems within virtualized environments, preferably vSphere, Docker, and Kubernetes
• Support API and dataflow systems
• Perform HTTPS certificate management
• Design service, application, and network architectures to support deployment and data flow
• Develop and implement test beds and use test suites such as JUnit or PyTest for robust testing practices

Preferred:

• Experience with VMWare, VSphere, and VCenter virtualization tool.
• Awareness of data center operations and network-based server systems.
• Ability to solve problems quickly and completely; analytical problem-solving skills; adept at root-cause analysis and mitigation.
• Effective communication, writing, documentation, and requirements gatherings skills are needed to be effective in this role for working with other members of the Team and with the Customer to meet the requirements of the program.
• Proven ability to work independently while being conscious of how your work interacts with that of others.
• Possess drive, enthusiasm, and attention to detail.

Other Essential Functions:
Must be able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
Must be well-organized with the ability to coordinate and prioritize multiple tasks simultaneously. Must work well under pressure to meet deadline requirements.
Grooming and dress must be appropriate for the position and must not impose a safety risk/hazard to the employee or others. Must put forward a professional behavior that enhances productivity and promotes teamwork and cooperation.
Work Environment:
General Office environment. The work environment is fast-paced and sometimes involves extreme deadline pressures. The nature of the work requires a high degree of teamwork and cooperation with other members of the staff as well as individuals across the Company and Customers.
Attendance:
Attendance is always critical. Must be able to work a 40-hour workweek, normally Monday through Friday. However, times and days may vary depending on business requirements. Needs to be available to work overtime during critical peaks and be available to meet last minute requests for overtime should the situation occur.