Job#: 3027726 Job Description: The VA Lighthouse Program is a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs initiative to modernize and streamline access to VA data and services through secure, reliable, scalable application programming interfaces (APIs), improving how veterans, partners, and internal teams access critical information.
The AI & Engineering team supports the VA Lighthouse platform to accelerate digital delivery, modernize technology and operations, and drive measurable improvements for public sector clients through collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
As the VA Lighthouse Engineer, you will:
- Create and foster Self-Service Principles - create automated process for creating on-demand platform for deploying containerized applications and exposing API endpoints to federal data consumers
- Architectural Vision & Strategy: Shape and communicate the architectural blueprint for Lighthouse with a focus on scalability, security, automation, and developer experience in a cloud-native environment.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with product owners, security teams, and stakeholders to facilitate and prioritize features that Program Manager(s) can use to meet business needs and create technical roadmaps, ensuring compliance with VA, federal, and industry requirements.
- Establish and Enforce Standards: Define, document, and advocate for engineering best practices across the VA Lighthouse program, leveraging your expertise in DevSecOps and Kubernetes.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): Provide clients with PaaS solutions-delivering low-code/no-code development platforms and enterprise-grade API engineering to accelerate application delivery, streamline integration, and enable scalable digital solutions.
- End-to-End Software Development: Execute efforts across the full software development lifecycle, automating processes, boosting operational efficiency, and strengthening system reliability.
- DevSecOps Ownership: Design, implement, and maintain secure, automated CI/CD pipelines and increased monitoring and platform related business intelligence. Automate build, test, deployment, and infrastructure processes; champion shift-left security practices.
- Continuous Innovation: Continuously refine the platform and deliver innovative, reliable solutions to meet the mission.
- Governance & Compliance: Ensure solutions meet all compliance requirements, including audit readiness and documentation.
Required:
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
5+ years of experience with AWS Cloud and/or DevOps at scale
Deep hands-on experience with Kubernetes (design, implementation, troubleshooting, scaling) in production environments
Understanding of L4, L5, and L7 networking with AWS Resources and Cilium, Istio, or equivalent operators
Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and scripting languages
Experience leading engineering teams and setting program-level standards
Experience defining and maintaining a monitoring solution for providing insight to platform issues
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future
Must be able to obtain and maintain the VA Public Trust clearance required for this role
Preferred:
8+ years in software or platform engineering, including technical leadership or architect roles
Experience with Terraform or OpenTofu for IaC
Experience with configuration management tools such as Ansible, Puppet, or Chef
Proven success implementing secure, automated DevSecOps pipelines and containerization tools like Kubernetes or Docker
Experience with Blue Green Deployment techniques with ArgoCD
Experience with end-to-end encryption techniques using managed mTLS
Familiarity with monitoring, security best practices, and regulatory compliance (e.g., FedRAMP, FISMA)
Strong communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills
Experience working with or within government or public sector environments
Demonstrated ability to stay current with cloud and emerging technology trends
Apex Systems is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom and Mexico. Apex uses a virtual recruiter as part of the application process. Click for more details.
Apex Benefits Overview: Apex offers a range of supplemental benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. We offer an ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and a 401K program which allows you to contribute typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Apex also offers a HSA (Health Savings Account on the HDHP plan), a SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions, a corporate discount savings program and other discounts. In terms of professional development, Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Apex has a dedicated customer service team for our Consultants that can address questions around benefits and other resources, as well as a certified Career Coach. You can access a full list of our benefits, programs, support teams and resources within our 'Welcome Packet' as well, which an Apex team member can provide.
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