Senior Technical Manager - Cloud Platform Engineering ...

Senior Technical Manager – Cloud Platform Engineering, DevOps, ITAR & FedRAMPLocation: Houston, TX (preferred) or U.S. Remote (Northern Virginia also considered)Clearance: Active TS/SCI required; must be eligible and willing to obtain a CI PolygraphType: Full-TimeAbout the RoleWe are seeking a Senior Technical Manager to lead Cloud Platform Engineering, DevOps, and compliance-driven infrastructure initiatives supporting advanced analytics platforms operating in both commercial and classified environments.This role sits at the intersection of platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, and national security, supporting mission-critical capabilities in maritime domain awareness, satellite imagery analytics, and AI-driven intelligence systems.You will play a key role in enabling a major expansion into the classified space, including support for a high-visibility NGA QX (Quick Reaction) pilot in partnership with a leading defense contractor. This effort is expected to rapidly evolve into long-term deployment across secure government environments.What You'll OwnThis is not a narrow DevOps leadership role - you will act as the technical glue across the organization, owning platform engineering strategy and execution across all cloud environments.Platform & Cloud Leadership• Lead platform engineering and DevOps across ~95% GCP environments (with some AWS/Azure) • Own architecture, scalability, reliability, and security of cloud infrastructure supporting all products • Oversee CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code (Terraform), and automation strategy • Drive improvements in observability, monitoring, and incident response Compliance & Secure Environment Buildout• Lead implementation of ITAR and FedRAMP controls across cloud environments • Prepare systems for FedRAMP authorization and ongoing compliance • Support expansion into classified (TS/SCI) environments, including high-side deployments • Establish governance and security practices in a fast-moving, evolving environment Team Leadership & Organizational Impact• Manage and mentor a small but growing platform team (~4 direct reports initially) • Support infrastructure needs across multiple product lines (maritime + energy platforms) • Partner cross-functionally with engineering, security, product, and leadership teams • Act as a decision-maker who can identify gaps, ask the right questions, and drive execution Operational Excellence in a Startup Environment• Build structure where needed - without slowing down delivery • Operate effectively in an environment with limited formal processes but strong conventions • Balance speed vs. perfection (often delivering at ~80% in response to mission needs) • Handle shifting priorities driven by customer and mission requirements ________________________________________What Makes This Role Unique• Direct impact on national security and intelligence missions • Opportunity to shape platform engineering in a company transitioning from startup ? scaled organization • Work on cutting-edge capabilities: o Satellite imagery analytics o AI/ML and LLM-driven systems (including agentic AI and small language models in secure environments) • High autonomy - you are trusted to figure things out and make things happen ________________________________________Required Qualifications• Active TS/SCI clearance (CI Polygraph eligibility required) • ~12+ years of experience in: o Cloud Platform Engineering o DevOps / SRE o Infrastructure Engineering • Strong experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) • Proven experience implementing ITAR controls • Experience supporting or preparing systems for FedRAMP compliance • Strong understanding of: o Cloud networking (VPCs, subnets, firewalls, VPNs, DNS, load balancing) o CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices o Infrastructure as Code (Terraform preferred) • Experience with observability tools (Grafana, Prometheus, ELK, Datadog, etc.) • Scripting/programming experience (Python, Bash, Go, etc.) • Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced environments ________________________________________What They're Really Looking For (From the Hiring Team)• A senior technical leader, not a junior manager • Someone comfortable not knowing everything - but knowing how to find answers • Strong communicator who can bridge gaps across teams and disciplines • Comfortable in startup environments with evolving processes • Able to balance hands-on technical involvement with leadership responsibilities • Pragmatic - understands when to push for perfection vs. when to ship and iterate ________________________________________Preferred Qualifications• Experience with GCP services such as GKE, Cloud Run, BigQuery, Pub/Sub, Cloud SQL • Experience with classified or secure government environments • Familiarity with CMMC, ISO 27001, or similar frameworks • Experience supporting AI/ML or LLM-based systems • Exposure to multi-cloud environments (AWS GovCloud, hybrid, on-prem) • Prior experience leading platform or DevOps teams in high-growth environments ________________________________________Work Environment & Culture• Fast-paced, high-growth company (~125 employees, scaling rapidly) • Collaborative and highly autonomous culture • Emphasis on likable, low-ego team members • Heavy use of AI tools in day-to-day work (both operational and technical) • Occasional off-hours work may be required for critical issues, but not a sustained "burnout" culture ________________________________________Compensation• Base Salary + equity • Strong upside with pre-Series A equity participation

Created: 2026-05-09