{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"8ee814d4bf1ad03079ad5bee","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/8ee814d4bf1ad03079ad5bee","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/8ee814d4bf1ad03079ad5bee","title":"Lead Systems Engineer","description":"Lead DevOps Engineer\n\nAn active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role\n\n Hey!\n\nBitwise 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!\n\nRemember, Bitwise is not a cult.\n\n What We Look For\n\nBitwise 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.\n\nWe ask that every new hire be able to:\n\nContribute meaningful thought leadership — if not right away, over time\nInteract with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities\nBe detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right\nContribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company\nAllow us to invest in their education so we both grow together\nKnow and live our core values every single day\n About this Role\n\nYou'll lead a small, agile DevOps and systems administration team that keeps critical mission systems running smoothly and securely. As Lead DevOps Engineer, you'll be the technical backbone of a high-impact operation, managing everything from bare-metal servers and AWS cloud infrastructure to Kubernetes deployments that power complex data transformation workflows and a widely-used web-based user interface.\n\nYou'll mentor two system administrators, collaborating closely with a broader engineering organization of 25+ developers to architect robust systems, support development processes, and maintain the metrics and observability that track uptime and performance. Your focus will be on automation, modernization, and continuous improvement—guiding your team through challenges while building a culture of technical excellence. This is a mature, mission-critical project known for its stability, team cohesion, and real-world impact.\n\nIn this role, you will:\n\nLead, mentor, and direct the daily tasks of two system administrators\nCollaborate with and support a larger team of 25+ software engineers\nProvide guidance and advice for overall system design and setup in conjunction with software engineering teams\nMaintain system platforms and health across all servers (EC2, MASH, bare metal), production systems, and development environments\nFacilitate migration of Apache Nifi installations and other services from on-premise MASH environments to AWS cloud-based architecture\nOversee system maintenance, security, and SSP accreditations\nDesign and implement observability strategies including automation, monitoring, alerting, backup, and disaster recovery for development, staging, and production environments\nMaintain and optimize deployment automation processes, including CI/CD pipelines in GitLab\nPerform database administration across Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, graph databases (e.g., DGraph), and other mission-critical data stores\nEnsure system documentation stays current and conduct regular technical reviews and post-mortems to drive continuous improvement\nMaintain base Linux kickstart images for RHEL9 environments\n Requirements\n12+ years of experience in DevOps, systems administration, or related field, OR a B.S. in a technical discipline plus 8+ additional years of experience\nStrong Linux system administration experience, particularly with RHEL9\nHands-on experience with containerization using Podman and Kubernetes for deploying and managing applications\nProficiency with Amazon AWS, including EC2 instances, S3 buckets, VPCs, and IAM\nExpert-level knowledge of system automation and scripting tools including Ansible (including Semaphore), Terraform, Packer, Bash, and Python\nKnowledge of SSP compliance and processes, including STE/STN\nDemonstrated expertise with metrics and observability tools such as Kibana, Grafana, and Prometheus\n Preferred Skills\nApache Nifi dataflow experience\nDatabase administration experience with Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, or graph databases (e.g., DGraph)\nElastic stack experience (Logstash, Filebeat, etc.)\nGraph database experience\nExperience with additional AWS tools such as EKS, ECS, Lambdas, and Secrets Manager\nCI/CD experience with GitLab\nCNO experience\nExperience facilitating low-to-high development environments\nCisco networking experience\n️ Benefits at Bitwise\nTop salaries because we're top performers\nPick 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.\nAll 11 federal holidays, paid!\nUp to 2 snow days, paid!\nWe'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!\n100% 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.\n$5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments.\nSpot 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.\n Salary Range\n\n$266,500 – $313,500\n\nThis range includes our flex income and depends upon your annual work hours.\n\nSalary is determined on an individual basis following the interview process and considering various factors such as years of experience, skills, education, and certifications.\n\n️ What to Expect After Applying\n\nYou'll get an email from us right away to acknowledge your application. After that, we'll:\n\nSend over additional company materials for you to review\nSchedule a video call to talk about you, our company, and your place in it\nCraft a delightful offer package for you and record a video walkthrough\nWork closely with you through onboarding. We'll keep it joyful and easy.\nℹ️ Disclaimers\n\nBitwise 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.\n\nCompensation for this position, including all compensation options, will be determined on an individual basis following the interview process.\n\nIf you require accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please reach out to us.\n\nLast updated: 9/14/26","company":"Bitwise","rawCompany":"bitwise","city":"Annapolis Junction","state":"MD","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-09-21T11:03:31.173Z","occupations":[{"code":"15-1299.08","title":"Computer Systems Engineers/Architects","slug":"computer-systems-engineers-architects"},{"code":"15-1252.00","title":"Software Developers","slug":"software-developers"},{"code":"15-1244.00","title":"Network and Computer Systems Administrators","slug":"network-and-computer-systems-administrators"}],"industries":[{"code":"541512","title":"Computer Systems Design Services","slug":"computer-systems-design-services"},{"code":"541511","title":"Custom Computer Programming Services","slug":"custom-computer-programming-services"},{"code":"513210","title":"Software Publishers","slug":"software-publishers"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Lead Systems Engineer","description":"Lead DevOps Engineer\n\nAn active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role\n\n Hey!\n\nBitwise 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!\n\nRemember, Bitwise is not a cult.\n\n What We Look For\n\nBitwise 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.\n\nWe ask that every new hire be able to:\n\nContribute meaningful thought leadership — if not right away, over time\nInteract with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities\nBe detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right\nContribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company\nAllow us to invest in their education so we both grow together\nKnow and live our core values every single day\n About this Role\n\nYou'll lead a small, agile DevOps and systems administration team that keeps critical mission systems running smoothly and securely. As Lead DevOps Engineer, you'll be the technical backbone of a high-impact operation, managing everything from bare-metal servers and AWS cloud infrastructure to Kubernetes deployments that power complex data transformation workflows and a widely-used web-based user interface.\n\nYou'll mentor two system administrators, collaborating closely with a broader engineering organization of 25+ developers to architect robust systems, support development processes, and maintain the metrics and observability that track uptime and performance. Your focus will be on automation, modernization, and continuous improvement—guiding your team through challenges while building a culture of technical excellence. This is a mature, mission-critical project known for its stability, team cohesion, and real-world impact.\n\nIn this role, you will:\n\nLead, mentor, and direct the daily tasks of two system administrators\nCollaborate with and support a larger team of 25+ software engineers\nProvide guidance and advice for overall system design and setup in conjunction with software engineering teams\nMaintain system platforms and health across all servers (EC2, MASH, bare metal), production systems, and development environments\nFacilitate migration of Apache Nifi installations and other services from on-premise MASH environments to AWS cloud-based architecture\nOversee system maintenance, security, and SSP accreditations\nDesign and implement observability strategies including automation, monitoring, alerting, backup, and disaster recovery for development, staging, and production environments\nMaintain and optimize deployment automation processes, including CI/CD pipelines in GitLab\nPerform database administration across Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, graph databases (e.g., DGraph), and other mission-critical data stores\nEnsure system documentation stays current and conduct regular technical reviews and post-mortems to drive continuous improvement\nMaintain base Linux kickstart images for RHEL9 environments\n Requirements\n12+ years of experience in DevOps, systems administration, or related field, OR a B.S. in a technical discipline plus 8+ additional years of experience\nStrong Linux system administration experience, particularly with RHEL9\nHands-on experience with containerization using Podman and Kubernetes for deploying and managing applications\nProficiency with Amazon AWS, including EC2 instances, S3 buckets, VPCs, and IAM\nExpert-level knowledge of system automation and scripting tools including Ansible (including Semaphore), Terraform, Packer, Bash, and Python\nKnowledge of SSP compliance and processes, including STE/STN\nDemonstrated expertise with metrics and observability tools such as Kibana, Grafana, and Prometheus\n Preferred Skills\nApache Nifi dataflow experience\nDatabase administration experience with Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis, or graph databases (e.g., DGraph)\nElastic stack experience (Logstash, Filebeat, etc.)\nGraph database experience\nExperience with additional AWS tools such as EKS, ECS, Lambdas, and Secrets Manager\nCI/CD experience with GitLab\nCNO experience\nExperience facilitating low-to-high development environments\nCisco networking experience\n️ Benefits at Bitwise\nTop salaries because we're top performers\nPick 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.\nAll 11 federal holidays, paid!\nUp to 2 snow days, paid!\nWe'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!\n100% 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.\n$5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments.\nSpot 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.\n Salary Range\n\n$266,500 – $313,500\n\nThis range includes our flex income and depends upon your annual work hours.\n\nSalary is determined on an individual basis following the interview process and considering various factors such as years of experience, skills, education, and certifications.\n\n️ What to Expect After Applying\n\nYou'll get an email from us right away to acknowledge your application. After that, we'll:\n\nSend over additional company materials for you to review\nSchedule a video call to talk about you, our company, and your place in it\nCraft a delightful offer package for you and record a video walkthrough\nWork closely with you through onboarding. We'll keep it joyful and easy.\nℹ️ Disclaimers\n\nBitwise 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.\n\nCompensation for this position, including all compensation options, will be determined on an individual basis following the interview process.\n\nIf you require accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please reach out to us.\n\nLast updated: 9/14/26","datePosted":"2026-09-21T11:03:31.173Z","dateModified":"2026-09-21T11:03:31.173Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Bitwise","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Annapolis Junction","addressRegion":"MD","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"8ee814d4bf1ad03079ad5bee"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/8ee814d4bf1ad03079ad5bee"}}