At Agile Defense we know that action defines the outcome and new challenges require new solutions. That’s why we always look to the future and embrace change with an unmovable spirit and the courage to build for what comes next.

Our vision is to bring adaptive innovation to support our nation's most important missions through the seamless integration of advanced technologies, elite minds, and unparalleled agility—leveraging a foundation of speed, flexibility, and ingenuity to strengthen and protect our nation’s vital interests.

Requisition #: 975

Job Title: Platform Operations & Modernization Team Lead

Location: Honolulu, Hawai'i, Hickam AFB

Clearance Level: Active DoD - Secret

Required Certification(s):

· DoD 8570 Level II certification (e.g., Security+ CE)

SUMMARY

The Global Site-Reliability-Engineering (SRE) Distribution contract supports the U.S. Air Force’s AFLCMC/HBBK and the Kessel Run enterprise in delivering resilient, high-availability infrastructure for mission-critical software systems. This program maintains 24/7/365 platform support across CONUS and OCONUS environments focusing on modernization, automation, and DevSecOps enablement. Engineers on this program are responsible for the delivery, evolution, and secure operations of platform services supporting classified workloads on a global scale.

The Platform Operations & Modernization Team Lead is a Key Personnel role responsible for leading a small team (<5) of skilled platform engineers based in Honolulu. As the on-site technical and personnel lead, you will coordinate closely with a peer lead in Qatar to ensure seamless global coverage, serve as the team’s primary liaison to government stakeholders, and manage your team’s performance, development, and daily operations. In addition to managing people and processes, you’ll provide technical leadership in transitioning from legacy infrastructure to containerized platforms, overseeing production services, enabling self-service tooling, and driving security, uptime, and reliability in a classified environment. The Team Lead plays a critical role in guiding both strategic improvements and day-to-day support aligned with agile and DevSecOps best practices. This role supports a follow-the-sun model with global team coordination—while not shift-based, engineers must be comfortable contributing to incident response when needed.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

·Lead and mentor a geographically distributed platform team supporting classified environments.

·Act as the primary liaison between the engineering team and government stakeholders.

·Manage team scheduling, handoffs, and coordination with global site leads.

·Provide oversight for platform modernization, incident response, and infrastructure resiliency.

·Guide implementation of Kubernetes-based PaaS solutions and CI/CD workflows.

·Support cross-functional collaboration with design, product, and infrastructure leads.

·Ensure documentation, process adherence, and continuous improvement to further our mission success.

SUPERVISORY DUTIES

·Conduct regular check-ins and provide growth-focused feedback to direct reports. Maintain awareness of team workload and individual bandwidth to support healthy task distribution. Track team participation in required training, compliance, and clearance-related activities. Partner with program management to support personnel actions, including performance documentation, recognition, and remediation if needed. Promote a respectful, inclusive, and accountable team culture aligned with contract expectations. Represent the team’s operational health and staffing needs in internal program meetings and planning efforts.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

Required Skills

·Active U.S. Secret clearance.

·5+ years in platform, DevOps, or SRE roles supporting production systems.

·5+ years of experience deploying, configuring, and administering PaaS platforms (e.g., Cloud Foundry, Tanzu Kubernetes Grid, EKS) at global scale.

·5+ years working with cloud and on-prem infrastructure including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, VMware, Linux, OpenShift, or Windows.

·5+ years building, maintaining, and integrating systems in classified environments (e.g., SIPR, JWICS, Coalition networks).

·Demonstrated experience with incident response, security best practices, and DevOps execution in large-scale, distributed environments (multi-AZ or multi-data center).

·Demonstrated understanding of microservice, multi-tenant, and event-sourced architectures.

·2+ years of experience mentoring agile teams as a team lead or manager.

·2+ years of experience facilitating Extreme Programming (XP), lean, or agile product development practices.

Preferred Skills

·Strong written and verbal communication skills with internal and external stakeholders.

·Familiarity with DoD 8570 compliance standards and security best practices.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Environmental Conditions

·This position is 100% on-site at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawai‘i and requires eligibility to work in classified government environments. Candidates must be comfortable working in a secure facility with limited remote flexibility. Occasional travel may be required—up to 15%, including CONUS or OCONUS locations for training, collaboration with distributed teams, or mission support as directed by the government.

Strength Demands

·Sedentary – 10 lbs. Maximum lifting, occasional lift/carry of small articles. Some occasional walking or standing may be required. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Physical Requirements

·Stand or Sit; Walk; Use Hands / Fingers to Handle or Feel; See

Employees of Agile Defense are our number one priority, and the importance we place on our culture here is fundamental. Our culture is alive and evolving, but it always stays true to its roots. Here, you are valued as a family member, and we believe that we can accomplish great things together. Agile Defense has been highly successful in the past few years due to our employees and the culture we create together.

What makes us Agile? We call it the 6Hs, the values that define our culture and guide everything we do. Together, these values infuse vibrancy, integrity, and a tireless work ethic into advancing the most important national security and critical civilian missions. It's how we show up every day. It's who we are.

We also believe in supporting our employees by offering a competitive and comprehensive benefits package. To explore the benefits we offer, please visit our website under the Careers section.

Happy - Be Infectious.

Happiness multiplies and creates a positive and connected environment where motivation and satisfaction have an outsized effect on everything we do.

Helpful - Be Supportive.

Being helpful is the foundation of teamwork, resulting in a supportive atmosphere where collaboration flourishes, and collective success is celebrated.

Honest - Be Trustworthy.

Honesty serves as our compass, ensuring transparent communication and ethical conduct, essential to who we are and the complex domains we support.

Humble - Be Grounded.

Success is not achieved alone, humility ensures a culture of mutual respect, encouraging open communication, and a willingness to learn from one another and take on any task.

Hungry - Be Eager.

Our hunger for excellence drives an insatiable appetite for innovation and continuous improvement, propelling us forward in the face of new and unprecedented challenges.

Hustle - Be Driven.

Hustle is reflected in our relentless work ethic, where we are each committed to going above and beyond to advance the mission and achieve success.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

Platform Operations & Modernization Team Lead

Agile Defense

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