Principal DevSecOps Engineer
Bluestaq
About Bluestaq
At Bluestaq, we build secure data platforms that matter for space missions, national defense, healthcare systems, and commercial innovation. Founded in 2018, we've become a leader in enterprise software and secure data management by staying focused on what counts: modern architecture, operational excellence, and mission impact.
We're engineers, problem-solvers, and builders who take the mission seriously, but not ourselves. We automate the repeatable, question the status quo, and design systems that are as reliable as they are scalable. Whether we're supporting space, defense systems, or healthcare advancements, we build with the same principles: cloud-native solutions, security by design, and relentless simplicity.
Our name? "Blue" (military shorthand for the good guys) and "staq" (as in software stack). It's who we are, mission-aligned technologists building platforms that protect the world’s most valuable data.
Recognized Excellence We've earned national recognition as one of Inc. Magazine's Fastest-Growing Private Companies and consistently rank among Colorado's Best Workplaces. But what we're most proud of? The systems we build, the teams we develop, and the mission outcomes we enable.
Principal DevSecOps Engineer
About the Role
Bluestaq is seeking a Principal DevSecOps Engineer to lead the evolution of our delivery platforms across mission-critical environments. This individual contributor role is focused on platform ownership, architecture, and cross-team enablement, shaping how software moves from development to production across programs, environments, and customers. You will define and mature the standards, automation, and platform capabilities that enable teams to ship secure, reliable software at speed while meeting compliance and operational requirements.
Operating with a high degree of autonomy and influence, you will partner closely with engineering leadership, cybersecurity, systems, and program teams to align platform direction with mission needs. You will drive multi-quarter initiatives that improve scalability, resilience, and developer experience, while mentoring senior engineers and helping raise the bar for DevSecOps practices across the organization.
Responsibilities
Platform Ownership & Architecture
- Serve as the technical owner for DevSecOps platforms across a major product ecosystem, mission area, or environment set.
- Define and evolve reference architectures for CI/CD, Kubernetes, GitOps, infrastructure-as-code, secrets management, monitoring, and incident response.
- Drive platform design decisions balancing speed, cost, reliability, and security in mission and production environments.
- Establish reusable platform patterns, standards, and “golden paths” that enable consistent adoption across teams.
Delivery Platforms & Automation
- Lead multi-quarter DevSecOps initiatives such as pipeline modernization, Kubernetes platform standardization, GitOps adoption, and environment strategy evolution.
- Reduce manual deployment and operational toil through automation and shared platform capabilities.
- Ensure delivery workflows scale across environments, programs, and teams without introducing fragility.
Security & Compliance Integration
- Embed security controls, policy enforcement, and compliance automation directly into delivery pipelines and platform tooling.
- Partner with cybersecurity and compliance stakeholders to support ATO/C-ATO and other regulated delivery environments.
- Define secure baselines for containerization, infrastructure, identity, and platform operations.
Cross-Team Influence & Enablement
- Partner with Engineering Managers, Architects, Cyber, Systems, IT, and Program teams to align platform capabilities with mission needs.
- Shape standards for how teams build, deploy, and operate software across environments.
- Coach and mentor Staff and Senior DevSecOps engineers; elevate engineering practices across teams.
- Act as a trusted technical authority for complex DevSecOps and platform decisions.
Reliability & Operational Excellence
- Drive improvements in platform resilience, observability, and incident response.
- Lead root-cause analysis and systemic improvements following platform failures.
- Ensure delivery platforms are secure, debuggable, and production-ready—not just functional.
Required Qualifications
- Deep experience designing and operating cloud-native delivery platforms at scale.
- Demonstrated ownership of DevSecOps architecture across multiple teams, services, or environments.
- Advanced expertise in Kubernetes platform design and containerized workloads.
- Strong experience with CI/CD pipeline architecture, automation, and delivery workflows.
- Experience implementing infrastructure-as-code (Terraform or equivalent) in production environments.
- Proven ability to embed security, policy enforcement, and compliance requirements into automated delivery pipelines.
- Experience operating in regulated, mission-critical, or high-security environments.
- Demonstrated ability to lead large technical initiatives without formal authority.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across engineering, cyber, infrastructure, and program teams.
- Excellent communication skills; able to translate complex platform strategy into actionable technical direction.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience designing and operating multi-tenant, multi-environment, or hybrid cloud platforms.
- Experience supporting DoD, FedRAMP, or other compliance-driven delivery environments.
- Background implementing GitOps workflows and environment management strategies.
- Experience defining platform standards adopted across multiple teams or programs.
- Expertise in observability systems, incident response models, and SLO-driven operations.
- Experience mentoring and developing DevSecOps engineers at Senior or Staff levels.
- Familiarity with secrets management, policy-as-code, and secure supply chain practices.
- Exposure to large-scale modernization, platform migrations, or enterprise DevSecOps transformations.
Required Education & Experience
- High School Diploma/GED and 16+ years of relevant experience, OR
- Associate degree in a related field and 14+ years of relevant experience, OR
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field and 12+ years of relevant experience, OR
- Master’s degree in a related field and 10+ years of relevant experience, OR
- PhD in a related field and 8+ years of relevant experience.
Clearance Requirement: This position may require the ability to obtain a TS/SCI Clearance. To be eligible for a security clearance, U.S. citizenship is required, and an employee must agree to participate in a background screen and credit check. Eligibility for a TS/SCI Clearance will be assessed as part of the onboarding process or based on programmatic needs.
Physical Requirements:
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.
- Must be able to access and navigate each department at the organization's facilities.
Relocation: This position does not offer relocation. Candidates must live in the immediate area or relocate at their own expense.
Bluestaq is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We prohibit unlawful discrimination against applicants or employees on the basis age 40 and over, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by state or local law.
Bluestaq will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities and employees whose work requirements interfere with a religious belief unless doing so would result in an undue hardship to Bluestaq or a direct threat. Employees needing such accommodation are instructed to contact Human Resources immediately at contact.us@bluestaq.com.
Date the Position Closes: Applications will be accepted for 60 days beyond the posting date, or until the position is filled, whichever comes first.
