Principal Platform Engineer – Satellite Data & Analytics Scale-Up
Fairfax County, VA (Hybrid) | U.S. Person (ITAR) | Full-Time
We’re working with a well-funded space technology scale-up that’s redefining how RF data is collected and used for global insight. With a proprietary satellite constellation and a data analytics platform that’s gaining serious traction in defense, intelligence, and commercial sectors, this company is growing fast – and now seeking a Principal Platform Engineer to help architect and optimize the infrastructure powering it all.
This is a mission-critical hire for the Platform Engineering team – responsible for enabling the internal development teams by building and maintaining secure, efficient, and cost-effective platforms in AWS. You’ll play a lead technical role in the evolution of their platform architecture, owning design, deployment, and performance improvements across multiple services and applications.
What You’ll Do
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Own the design, deployment, and ongoing support of core infrastructure in AWS
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Guide architectural decisions around EKS/Kubernetes, security posture, scalability, and performance
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Collaborate with Platform, Data, and Software teams to understand platform needs and unblock development
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Provide senior-level troubleshooting and root cause analysis for production systems
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Help govern cost-efficiency, access control, and automation best practices
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Mentor other engineers and influence the adoption of modern platform engineering tools and patterns
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Evaluate and onboard new technologies (e.g. Crossplane, Kyverno, ArgoCD) as appropriate
What You Bring
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10+ years’ professional experience in platform engineering, DevOps, or cloud infrastructure
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Strong hands-on experience with AWS services: EKS, EC2, RDS, S3, VPC, IAM, etc.
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In-depth knowledge of Kubernetes architecture and experience deploying Helm charts
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Advanced understanding of networking (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, firewalls, load balancers)
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Comfortable with Terraform, Docker, Linux OS administration, and patch management
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Proven experience deploying secure infrastructure and enforcing least-privilege access
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Skilled in troubleshooting production systems and running CI/CD pipelines
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Excellent communication and collaboration skills across cross-functional teams
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U.S. Citizenship (due to ITAR requirements)
⭐ Bonus Points For
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Experience with Kubernetes ecosystem tools: Crossplane, Kyverno, ArgoCD, etc.
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Exposure to OIDC/SAML authentication tools like Keycloak or Okta
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Familiarity with observability stacks (Grafana, Loki, Tempo, etc.)
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Experience building secure Docker containers for custom workloads
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Awareness of data infrastructure tools (e.g. Snowflake, Tableau)
Why Join?
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High-impact scale-up – This company is one of the few smallsat ventures showing real product-market fit and profitability.
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End-to-end ownership – Touch everything from low-level infrastructure to end-user tooling.
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Modern tech – Work on an AWS-native stack, influence Kubernetes direction, and implement best practices.
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Flexible hybrid setup – Prefer candidates local to Northern Virginia, but relocation or remote options considered for top talent.
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Solid comp – Base salary up to $200K + 25% bonus + strong benefits.
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Make a difference – Join a team where your work directly impacts real-world outcomes in national security, humanitarian, and commercial domains.
Location & Requirements
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Location: Herndon, Virginia (preferred local for hybrid model – ~2 days onsite/week)
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Remote: Fully remote considered for exceptional candidates
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Citizenship: U.S. Person
Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.
Adam Slade