I

Innovative Defense Technologies

Automated software testing and defense cybersecurity.

Platform Engineer

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
$135k - $273k
Mid
Bachelor's, Master's
Arlington County, Arlington, VA, USA
HybridBased in Arlington, VA; requires at least 3–4 days in the office. Travel up to 10% as needed.
DevOps & InfrastructurePlatform Engineering

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in information technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, or Math, or equivalent full-time professional experience.
  • At least 3 years of professional software development or deployment experience in technically rigorous environments.
  • Experience with container technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.
  • Experience with Kubernetes management services such as Helm or ArgoCD.
  • Experience with hypervisor or virtualization technologies such as VMware, KVM, or EC2.
  • Experience with networking in virtualized environments, including TCP/IP, DNS, load balancing, firewalls, and VLANs.
  • Experience with automation scripts and tools such as Ansible, Terraform, Puppet, or Salt, and aptitude for using AI tools such as large language models and AI coding assistants to streamline script generation and troubleshooting.
  • Strong Linux skills.
  • Experience with Bash or shell scripting.
  • Basic full-stack development skills, including SQL, Python or Java, JavaScript, and HTML/CSS.
  • Ability to shift between projects in an agile work environment.
  • Strong documentation skills.
  • Ability to travel up to 10% of the time as needed.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain an active Secret U.S. security clearance.
  • Ability to work on-site in Arlington, Virginia at least 3–4 days per week.
Responsibilities
  • Support formal and informal requirements definition, validation, and scope control to complete project deliverables successfully.
  • Support conversion of internal customer requirements into a refined vision.
  • Develop, implement, and maintain Infrastructure as Code software for automated deployment and configuration of a multi-site, multi-system microservice-based application, leveraging AI coding assistants to accelerate development.
  • Support active operations deploying and maintaining multiple Kubernetes clusters in unclassified and classified air-gapped environments, using AI solutions to improve deployment and maintenance efficiency.
  • Debug deployment and configuration issues, identify their root causes, and fix them.
  • Identify and apply emerging technologies and architectures, including evaluating cloud operations platforms such as cloud IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
  • Perform operational and development tasks while using AI approaches to streamline workflow, optimize automation, and reduce installation complexity.
  • Implement and test software using multiple languages and technology stacks.
  • Develop software interfaces that communicate across network protocols and messaging frameworks.
  • Integrate software components into complex software environments.
  • Collaborate with colleagues and lead engineers from other disciplines.
  • Participate in and provide feedback during design and code reviews.
  • Develop software using secure coding practices.
  • Support test and integration activities in IDT laboratories and on-site customer laboratories.
  • Assess, plan, identify, analyze, mitigate, and control risks and opportunities.
  • Support preparation, tracking, and delivery of internal deliverables.
Desired Qualifications
  • A master's degree in engineering or another technical field.
  • High-level proficiency with Kubernetes distributions such as RKE2.
  • Experience with distributed storage systems such as Rook/Ceph or NFS.
  • Experience deploying Kubernetes clusters and configuring networking, storage, and related components.
  • Experience with Git, Jenkins, and Artifactory.
  • DevSecOps experience.
  • Experience with at least one public cloud environment, such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure.
  • Experience managing and directing personnel while maintaining cost and schedule targets.

About the company

I

Innovative Defense Technologies

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IDT provides automated software testing, data analysis, and cybersecurity solutions for DoD mission-critical systems. Its ATRT technology automates the full testing lifecycle—from component tests to system integration and result analysis—allowing rapid updates of large, complex software. The offering emphasizes repeatable, statistically rigorous testing, rapid configuration validation, and on-demand regression tests in response to cyber threats, with solutions tailored to each customer’s system. The goal is to field new software capabilities faster and more affordably by reducing the time and cost spent on software testing.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Grant

Total Funding

$1.6M

Headquarters

Arlington, Virginia

Founded

2006

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • June 2026 Navy IDIQ reached $748.6 million, extending through June 2031.
  • May 2026 ONR Paladin contract added $96.3 million for AI testing modernization.
  • Virginia approved a $19 million Arlington expansion creating 210 jobs in 2026.

What critics are saying

  • Navy concentration is severe: Project Paladin and June 2026 IDIQ dominate revenue.
  • Sole-source status creates procurement vulnerability if NAVSEA replaces IDT's toolchain.
  • Defense hiring expansion to 210 jobs raises execution risk before 2027 deliverables.

What makes Innovative Defense Technologies unique

  • IDT won Navy sole-source ATRT work in May 2026 and June 2026.
  • IDT embeds automated test engineering into fleet software, not generic consulting.
  • IDT spans simulation, virtualized tactical systems, and rugged edge compute for operators.

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Benefits

  • Hybrid Work Options

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

11%

1 year growth

11%

2 year growth

11%
SBIR.gov
Sep 13th, 2026
Awards | SBIR

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Innovative Defense Technologies
Aug 6th, 2026
IDT to showcase mission integration, operational validation, and edge capabilities at SMD 2026.

IDT to showcase mission integration, operational validation, and edge capabilities at SMD 2026. Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT) will participate in the 2026 Space & Missile Defense Symposium, August 11-13 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Attendees can visit Booth 1112 to meet the IDT team and learn how the company helps defense customers move software-driven capability into complex operational environments faster. During the symposium, IDT will demonstrate a tactical analysis environment that allows operators to explore mission scenarios, compare courses of action, and evaluate operational tradeoffs. The environment combines simulation, virtualized tactical systems, mission data, and AI-enabled reasoning to analyze more mission permutations than physical testing alone can support. Users define the objectives, assumptions, priorities, and constraints, while operators retain decision authority. Visitors can also explore an interactive experience highlighting IDT's solutions, demonstrated outcomes, and supporting capabilities across the capability lifecycle from design and integration through testing, deployment, and operational decision-making. The booth will also feature a ruggedized, deployable computing platform designed to host virtualized tactical systems, automated testing, analytics, data, and mission applications closer to the operational environment. The display illustrates how significant computing, memory, and storage capacity can be packaged for demanding workloads at the edge or in constrained environments. Across more than 300 defense projects, IDT has helped reduce integration timelines by 75 percent, decrease testing labor by more than 90 percent, and increase test coverage by 350 percent. The 2026 Space & Missile Defense Symposium will take place August 11-13 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. Visit IDT at Booth 1112 to meet the team and see these capabilities in action.

HR TODAY
Apr 16th, 2025
Martha Anderson Promoted to Vice President, Talent Development at Innovative Defense Technologies

Arlington, Virginia, United States, April 2025 - Martha Anderson has been promoted to Vice President, Talent Development at Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT) after more than three years of transformative contributions as Director of Talent Development.

Innovative Defense Technologies
Nov 19th, 2024
IDT Proud to Partner with ONR on Slingshot Experimentation Series

In collaboration with commercial partners Royce Geo and Satellogic, IDT will deliver essential software and rapid updates to facilitate robust Research, Development, Testing & Evaluation of satellite remote sensing capabilities in the first phase of the Slingshot series.

ExecutiveBiz
Sep 28th, 2023
Innovative Defense Technologies Receives Potential $90M Contract to Support Navy's Project Overmatch

Innovative Defense Technologies, a software-based warfare capabilities provider, has secured a potential three-year, $89.8 million contract from the U.S. Navy to support a Department of the Navy project focused on advancing naval technology.