THE PROJECT
The DarkStar Group's team uses AI/ML approaches (including NLP) to speed the analysis of massive amounts of aging data to determine what can and cannot be declassified, and the resulting redaction of portions of data items. This effort is critical to protecting our exponentially growing classified data sets and to responding to an increased number of FOIA requests. The team consists of Data Scientists, ML experts, Software Engineers, Data Analysts, and Systems Integrators working very closely with groups of customer Analysts.
Work on this program takes place in the Herndon, VA area (we cannot support remote work) and requires a TS/SCI + Polygraph clearance (acceptable to this customer).
THE ROLE
- The DarkStar Group is seeking a skilled and proactive DevOps Systems Administrator with expertise in managing AWS EC2 instances to join our dynamic team in Herndon, VA. This role involves designing, implementing, and maintaining scalable, secure, and automated cloud infrastructure primarily on AWS, with a strong focus on EC2 instance management and related services.
Key Responsibilities:
- AWS EC2 Management: Provision, configure, monitor, and maintain EC2 instances including AMI management, instance scaling (auto-scaling groups), load balancing, and security groups to ensure high availability and performance.
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Design and implement infrastructure automation using tools such as Terraform or AWS CloudFormation to provision and manage cloud resources efficiently and reproducibly.
- Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Build, maintain, and optimize CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or AWS CodePipeline to automate software delivery and deployment processes.
- Monitoring and Troubleshooting: Implement and maintain monitoring solutions (e.g., AWS CloudWatch, ELK stack, Grafana) to ensure system health, performance, and availability; proactively identify and resolve issues to minimize downtime.
- Security and Compliance: Manage AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles, policies, and multi-factor authentication (MFA); perform regular security assessments and implement best practices to safeguard cloud infrastructure.
- Collaboration and Support: Work closely with development, operations, and security teams to foster a DevOps culture, support application deployment, and provide technical guidance for cloud infrastructure and automation.
- Environment Management: Maintain multiple environments (development, staging, production) ensuring consistency, reliability, and scalability across all stages.
- Scripting and Automation: Develop and maintain automation scripts using Bash, Python, or Ruby to streamline routine tasks and improve operational efficiency.
Required Skills
- Proven experience managing AWS EC2 instances and related services such as VPC, S3, IAM, RDS, ELB, and Auto Scaling.
- Strong skills in infrastructure automation using Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar IaC tools.
- Experience with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or AWS CodePipeline.
- Proficient in Linux system administration and scripting (Bash, Python, Ruby).
- Knowledge of containerization and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS ECS) is a plus.
- Solid understanding of networking, security best practices, and cloud architecture principles.
- Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
Desired Skills (Optional)
- Familiarity with Agile methodologies and DevOps culture.
- Experience with monitoring tools such as AWS CloudWatch, ELK stack, Grafana, or Prometheus.
- Strong communication skills to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
- This role offers the opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment driving cloud infrastructure excellence and automation, ensuring robust and scalable AWS EC2 deployments that support business-critical applications.
About The DarkStar Group
Our Company
The DarkStar Group is a small business that solves BIG problems. We're one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the US, and our engineers and scientists support the most critical national security missions in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere. Data Science, Software Engineering, Cloud/AWS Infrastructure, and Cyber/CNO are our core areas of expertise. We offer interesting and important work, job security, some of the best and most flexible benefits you'll find in the IC, and salaries so strong that they'll likely surprise you.
Our Benefits
The DarkStar Group offers exceptional compensation and benefits:
- very strong salaries;
- 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for you and all dependents;
- the ability to get increased salary if you don't need medical/dental/vision;
- 100% company-paid disability and life insurance benefits;
- a generously-funded HSA;
- an 8% 401(k) contribution;
- 31 days of PTO/holidays to start (more with tenure);
- the ability to flex time across pay periods without using your PTO;
- a generous training budget;
- $25,000 employee referral bonuses;
- business development / growth incentives; and
- top notch company swag.
** We have a huge growth opportunity, so we are offering up to a $25,000 reward for anyone new you refer whom we hire. **
The DarkStar Group, A GRVTY Company, is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
Anyone requiring reasonable accommodations should email ds_recruiting@grvty.com or call 703-544-7930 with requested details. A member of the HR team will respond to your request within 2 business days.
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