This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S.
Who we are:
Raft (https://TeamRaft.com) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in McLean, VA. Our range of clients includes innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting-edge tech stack, and cloud-native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.
About the role:
As a Cloud Services Architect, you will provide direct cloud architect and engineering support to deliver cybersecurity capabilities protecting the USSF's Operational Enterprise. You will develop and maintain cloud environments, including simulation environments, for DoD customers. You will design, plan, and integrate cloud computing and virtualization systems, translating customer requirements into hardware and software specifications.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and build hybrid cloud-based environments ensuring high availability and disaster recovery
- Translate customer requirements into hardware and software specifications
- Develop and conduct testing of cloud and virtualization systems
- Maintain expertise in cloud computing technologies including cloud service provider architecture, deployment models (public, community, private, hybrid), and delivery models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)
- Implement automation, hypervisors, containers, virtual compute, storage, networks, and virtual infrastructure management
- Evaluate and report on new cloud and virtualization technologies
- Define requirements throughout SDLC including integrating, upgrading, and sustaining hybrid cloud environments
- Guide migration of legacy systems to modern cloud platforms
- Design enterprise and systems security throughout cloud development lifecycle
- Perform systems engineering activities: Concept of Operations, Requirements Definition, System Architecting, System Analysis and Design, Interface and Data Architectures, Validation and Verification, System Integration, Performance Analysis, Lifecycle Cost Analysis, Decision Analysis, and PCA
What we are looking for:
- Bachelor's & 14+ years experience, Master's & 12+ years, or PhD & 9+ years
- Cloud architecture knowledge (OS, multi-tenancy, virtualization, orchestration, elastic scalability)
- Experience deploying to DoD Cloud Service Providers (AWS, Microsoft, Google, Oracle)
- DevSecOps tool chains and Infrastructure as Code knowledge
- Automation, hypervisors, containers, virtual compute, storage, networks experience
- Virtual infrastructure management, self-provisioning, and scaling experience
- Application migration and Agile development experience
- Security+ or IAT II certification (within 90 days of employment)
- Big Data experience (Hadoop, NiFi, Spark, PySpark, Dask, etc.)
Highly preferred:
- Space Systems Command and Cyber Operations Branch (SSC/SZWO) experience
- Team leadership and mentoring abilities
- Cloud Security Implementation experience
- SCIF/SAPF security procedures familiarity
- Azure Solutions, Google Professional Cloud, AWS Certified Solutions, and/or Red Hat Certified Architect certifications
Clearance Requirements:
- Active Top Secret with ability to obtain and maintain SCI
Work Type:
- Onsite in Colorado Springs, CO
- May require up to 15% travel
Salary Range:
- $145,000 - $175,000
- 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 with the mission.
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 is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We 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.
We’re an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
Top Skills
What We Do
Raft is a digital consulting firm with niche expertise in the rapid delivery of modern, user-first, scalable, and data-intensive digital solutions. We accelerate the missions of our federal partners through human-centered design (HCD) and agile development practices, bringing deep technical expertise in DevSecOps, Kubernetes management, cloud-native microservice architectures, and secure, open source delivery.
We put our people and our culture first. We work with some of the smartest, hardest working experts in their field. We owe it to them to make sure our team is free of meaningless restrictions and internal politics so they can focus on what they love, finding innovative solutions.
We build off the Open-Source and resist vendor lock in. That way you’re not paying us to reinvent the wheel, our solutions play nice with others and are always adaptable.
We know digital innovation doesn’t always operate during bank hours, so neither do we. (It's also why we don’t dress like bankers.) We aren’t afraid to go the extra mile or put in the extra time to find a solution. We get it right the first time; we won’t waste our time (and your money) trying to fix something that’s fundamentally broken. It’s kind of like making an exceptional cup of coffee, if the beans are roasted wrong, it doesn’t matter how much pumpkin spice you dump in your cup, it’s still not going to taste great.
And above all else we’re up for a challenge; it’s in our DNA. Ask us about something that’s never been done, or better yet something that can’t be done, and we’ll find a way to do it. It’s just who we are.
If you need a partner that’s looking toward the future and not the past, don’t go traditional, go Raft.
Why Work With Us
Raft partners with public agencies to solve hard complex problems that impact the lives of millions of Americans. We work hard to make it easy for humans to connect with data.
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