Platform Engineer

Who we are:
N3bula Systems is at the forefront of infrastructure automation and secure platform engineering, delivering open, resilient solutions for national defense and intelligence missions. In 2025, N3bula Systems joined forces with Raft-a mission-obsessed, non-traditional prime focused on distributed data systems, platforms at scale, and agentic AI. Together, they're accelerating mission-critical AI innovation and transforming how the U.S. military connects sensors, shooters, and decision-makers across domains to enable a unified joint force.

As part of the Raft, N3bula Systems brings deep expertise in systems architecture, cloud automation, and cybersecurity-now supercharged by Raft's edge-native AI, autonomous data fusion, and scalable software platforms. Their combined capabilities deliver real-time, warfighter-ready solutions that solve the most complex national security challenges-at speed, at scale, and without compromise.

About the Role:

N3bula Systems is hiring a Platform Engineer with an active Top Secret/SCI clearance to play a pivotal role in automating and orchestrating our critical infrastructure. This position is ideal for a technical expert passionate about deploying, managing, and optimizing system infrastructures using the latest technologies in system automation, container orchestration, and open-source applications. You'll be based in Arlington, VA and work on projects vital to national security and technological advancement.

Key Responsibilities:

• Implement and manage system automation using Ansible and Puppet, ensuring efficient configuration across RHEL and Windows platforms
• Deploy and maintain Kubernetes clusters with RKE2 and Rancher, focusing on scalability, reliability, and security
• Manage a wide array of open-source applications (NiFi, Kafka, Zookeeper, MinIO, Keycloak, Longhorn, Grafana, Prometheus, Loki, Promtail, GitLab), enhancing our capabilities in data processing, storage, and monitoring
• Ensure the highest level of system performance and security across all platforms and technologies
• Collaborate with teams to understand project requirements, providing technical solutions that align with strategic goals
• Maintain comprehensive documentation on system configurations, deployments, and operational practices

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or related field
• Proven experience with Ansible, Puppet, Kubernetes (RKE2 and Rancher), RHEL, and Windows system management
• Strong problem-solving skills and adaptability in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent communication and teamwork abilities

Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with NiFi, Kafka, Zookeeper, MinIO, Keycloak, Longhorn, Grafana, Prometheus, Loki, Promtail, and GitLab
• Experience with containerization technologies
• System performance optimization experience

Clearance Requirements:

• Active Top Secret with ability to obtain and maintain SCI

Work Type:

• Onsite in Arlington, VA
• May require up to 10% travel

Salary Range:

• $150,000 - $200,000
• The determination of compensation is predicated upon a candidate's comprehensive experience, demonstrated skill, and proven abilities

What we will offer you:

• Highly competitive salary
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) and company match
• Take as you need PTO + 11 paid holidays
• Education & training benefits
• Generous Referral Bonuses
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession withthemission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking,and collaboration is a norm.

Raft's core philosophy isUbuntu: IAm, BecauseWe are. We support our"nadi"by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.