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Defense Unicorns is seeking a senior Technical Lead / Platform Solutions Architect to embed with a government team and serve as the primary technical subject matter expert across a complex, multi-vendor AI and software platform.
You will serve as the technical authority and trusted advisor, connecting mission objectives, engineering execution, security, data, and AI perspectives into a coherent technical approach. This is an intentionally hands-on and strategic role that bridges executive-level mission conversations with deep technical discussions.
Key Responsibilities:
- Own end-to-end technical architecture across the platform ecosystem, serving as the primary technical SME
- Become a trusted technology advisor to mission leadership, translating objectives into pragmatic technical choices with clear tradeoffs and risk assessments
- Create and maintain the architectural "big picture" across application, platform, AI, data, networking, security, identity, and integration layers
- Lead technical integration across commercial and government technologies including Kubernetes/OpenShift, GitLab, AI/ML services, enterprise data platforms, and security tooling
- Identify architectural dependencies, integration risks, bottlenecks, and technical debt early to prevent schedule or mission impacts
- Guide engineering teams in establishing repeatable patterns for deployment, configuration, observability, identity, secrets, APIs, data access, and lifecycle management
- Work directly with OEM engineering and professional services teams to resolve cross-platform issues
- Evaluate emerging AI, agentic, cloud-native, and platform technologies and advise on practical adoption and integration
- Help establish technical patterns reproducible across classified environments and support transition from prototype to operational use
- Partner with DevSecOps, Data, and AI engineers to ensure security, compliance, and operational integration
- Produce and maintain architecture diagrams, ADRs, technical standards, integration patterns, and decision briefs for government leadership
- Identify recurring integration and platform problems that can be standardized, automated, or productized
You will work onsite at a government facility in Springfield, Virginia, with increasing SCIF interaction as the program scales.
Minimum Requirements:
- Active TS/SCI clearance (required)
- Local to National Capital Region with availability for onsite work at government facility in Springfield, Virginia
- 8+ years of experience in systems engineering, platform engineering, cloud architecture, DevSecOps, or solution architecture with demonstrated ownership of complex technical environments
- Deep hands-on understanding of Kubernetes and enterprise container platforms, preferably Red Hat OpenShift
- Strong understanding of cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, GitOps, APIs, networking, identity, secrets, and observability
- Familiarity with NIST 800-53, RMF, ATO/C-ATO, zero-trust architecture, software supply-chain security, and continuous authorization
- Ability to understand and communicate system architecture across application, platform, AI, data, and security boundaries
- Demonstrated experience leading technical decisions in ambiguous, fast-moving environments with multiple engineering teams and technology vendors
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to brief senior government leaders and collaborate with deeply technical engineers
- Ability to serve as technical point of accountability without becoming a bottleneck; comfortable making informed decisions and escalating when needed
Preferred Experience:
- Experience with AI/ML infrastructure, generative AI, agentic systems, model serving, RAG, or AI platform architecture
- Experience with Red Hat OpenShift AI, NVIDIA AI technologies, GitLab, enterprise data platforms, or comparable commercial technologies
- Experience integrating multi-vendor platforms where no single vendor owns the complete end-to-end solution
- Experience supporting Secret or TS/SCI systems and multi-domain or disconnected/air-gapped deployments
- Experience with UDS, Zarf, Pepr, Iron Bank, or similar secure software delivery and platform engineering technologies
- Experience creating architecture decision records, reference architectures, technical roadmaps, and executive-level technical briefings
- Experience advising government customers on technology strategy, modernization, platform adoption, or enterprise architecture
