Junior Engineer - Tier 1 Helpdesk Support

Defense Unicorns is seeking a Junior Engineer to serve as Tier 1 helpdesk support on the Shipmates team. You will be the dedicated first line of support for end users across a cloud-based platform environment, handling user access requests, device troubleshooting, application issues, ticket triage, and log investigation.

This role is designed with a deliberate growth trajectory. The helpdesk is your day-to-day foundation while you learn the platform environment, but the expectation is that you grow well beyond it. On slower days, you will pair with other engineers on the team to build technical depth in Kubernetes, AWS, containerized applications, CI/CD pipelines, and SRE practices. You should be someone who is curious, driven, and eager to expand your technical scope over time.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for Tier 1 end-user support across the platform environment, triaging issues and resolving or escalating as appropriate
• Handle user permissions and access requests for mission applications
• Troubleshoot device usage issues and general application access problems
• Triage development team tickets for broken pipelines, dashboard questions, and log investigation, routing to the correct team
• Manage day-to-day ticket flow using JIRA Service Management and participate in the on-call rotation
• Develop and maintain internal documentation, runbooks, playbooks, and triage procedures to formalize Tier 1 processes
• Contribute to platform homepage and user-facing documentation, including support contact information and links to guides
• Define and maintain clear Tier 1 scope boundaries and escalation criteria in coordination with Tier 2 engineering teams
• Pair with senior engineers during lower-volume periods to build technical depth in Kubernetes, AWS, CI/CD pipelines, and SRE practices with the platform.
• Support documentation efforts for platform User and Admin guides
• Defense Unicorns operates in a distributed remote environment, employee’s core hours will need to accommodate East Coast user/application team needs

The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.

Travel Expectations/Requirements: None 

• Experience in an IT help desk, system administration, or IT operations role
• Familiarity with ticketing systems such as JIRA Service Management or similar
• Experience with macOS, Windows, or Linux administration
• Basic understanding of cloud environments (AWS preferred) and willingness to learn Kubernetes, containerized applications, and CI/CD pipelines
• US citizenship required; must be eligible for CUI access
• Ability to meet IAT Level II certification requirements (e.g., Security+ CE) within a defined timeline, or already certified at IAT II–III
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams in a remote, asynchronous environment
• Strong triage instincts – able to assess, categorize, and route issues efficiently even in an environment with limited existing documentation
• Proactive mindset with a willingness to build processes and documentation from the ground up

• Defense contractor or government IT experience
• Familiarity with Kubernetes, AWS, or containerized application environments
• Experience supporting CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Jenkins)
• Familiarity with NIST SP 800-171, NIST SP 800-53, or CMMC 2.0 framework and compliance requirements
• Experience supporting or administering SIEM platforms, MDM solutions, or similar security tooling
• IAT Level II or III certification (Security+, CASP+, CISSP, or equivalent) already obtained
• Experience writing technical documentation, runbooks, or standard operating procedures