DevOps Platform Engineer

DevOps Platform EngineerHybrid (Eden Prarie, MN or Basking Ridge, NJ)Contract Estimated Rate: $55/hr-65/hr Role Overview:We are building an enterprise AI platform designed to enable scalable, governed delivery of AI-powered solutions. This platform provides standardized capabilities for orchestration, large language model (LLM) integration, evaluation, observability, and lifecycle management, all within a cloud-based environment.We are seeking a hands-on DevOps Platform Engineer to own and manage the full cloud infrastructure layer supporting this platform. This role will act as the primary point of contact for infrastructure-related needs, including deployments, scaling, environment setup, and security enforcement.Key Responsibilities:Cloud Infrastructure OwnershipManage containerized and serverless cloud services, including Kubernetes clusters, application services, networking, IAM, secrets, and storageProvision and operate data infrastructure (relational databases, caching layers, object storage, and messaging systems)Design and manage networking components such as VPCs, load balancers, and firewall rulesSupport AI-related infrastructure such as model-serving environments, event-driven systems, and compute scalingCI/CD Pipeline DevelopmentDesign and implement multi-stage CI/CD pipelines (build, test, security scan, deploy, verify)Support deployment strategies such as rolling updates, canary, and blue/green deploymentsIntegrate policy enforcement and security checks into pipelinesManage container lifecycle and artifact repositories across environmentsInfrastructure as CodeDefine and manage all infrastructure using Terraform (or similar IaC tools)Build reusable modules to enable rapid environment and service provisioningEnsure all changes are version-controlled and follow proper review and validation processesObservability & ReliabilityBuild and maintain monitoring and observability stacks (metrics, logging, tracing, alerting)Define and track platform reliability metrics (availability, latency, deployment success)Monitor and report engineering performance metrics (e.g., deployment frequency, failure rates, recovery times)Lead incident response and root cause analysis for infrastructure issuesSecurity & GovernanceEnforce identity and access management best practices (least privilege, service identities)Manage secrets, encryption, and network-level security controlsImplement policy enforcement across infrastructure and deployment workflowsSupport compliance requirements and audit readinessCost OptimizationMonitor and optimize cloud spend across services and environmentsImplement autoscaling, cost controls, and usage optimization strategiesProvide visibility into cost drivers and recommend improvementsRequired Experience:Cloud & InfrastructureDeep hands-on experience managing cloud platforms (GCP preferred)Strong experience with Kubernetes, containerization, and serverless servicesExperience with networking, IAM, storage, and cloud-native security controlsDevOps & ToolingTerraform (or similar IaC tools) for infrastructure automationCI/CD pipeline development (GitHub Actions, Cloud Build, etc.)Docker/container lifecycle managementObservability & SecurityExperience with monitoring tools (Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry)Policy enforcement tools (e.g., OPA)Understanding of identity frameworks and secure service-to-service communicationCore Experience5+ years in DevOps, SRE, or Platform EngineeringProven ownership of production cloud infrastructureExperience supporting distributed systems at scaleNice to Have:Multi-cloud experience (AWS, etc.)Messaging/streaming systems (Kafka, Pub/Sub)Experience supporting AI/ML infrastructure workloadsFamiliarity with GitOps, service mesh, or advanced deployment patternsExposure to regulated environments (HIPAA, SOC 2, etc.)ABOUT EIGHT ELEVEN:Eight Eleven Group provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, citizenship, disability, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, amnesty or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.Pay Disclaimer:The pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.