What are the responsibilities and job description for the Principal AWS Cloud DevOps engineer position at Space Telescope?
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is a multi-mission science and operations center for NASA’s flagship observatories. The Cloud Center of Excellence at the Space Telescope Science Institute is seeking a Principal AWS Cloud DevOps engineer to join our team working on NASA flagship Space Telescope missions that are revolutionizing our understanding of the universe. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Residence for ITAR compliance.
This position can support hybrid work. Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to our local market. (MD, DE, VA, PA, DC & WV).
In this role, you'll lead the cloud security automation initiatives & leverage DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines to implement robust automation and monitoring systems using modern engineering/operations frameworks for the AWS cloud applications and environment supporting our space observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman). Roman is a survey telescope slated for launch in late 2026 and expected to generate 20 PB of data in 5 years.
The data from Roman will be mainly processed in the Cloud; in addition, a Science Platform hosted in the Cloud will enable transformational science with Roman data by providing a rich computing environment that will allow broad, low-barrier access to data, computing, and software resources.
The STScI also hosts the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) archive that contains data from more than 20 missions. In this role you will collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, deploy, and maintain secure cloud architectures, automate security processes, and ensure compliance with industry regulations and best practices. Your expertise in AWS cloud infrastructure automaton, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and DevOps principles will be vital in supporting Roman & enabling world-class scientific discoveries through these pioneering telescope programs.
This role will be part of the DevOps/Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) team responsible for helping roll out new CI/CD templates to the engineering teams and the continued improvement of these pipelines.
Responsibilities include:
- Design, implement and maintain the infrastructure automation features of our AWS cloud environment.
- Work closely with the Science, Engineering, IT, Quality Assurance, Security and Site Reliability Engineering teams to improve automation, and the adoption of CI/CD best practices.
- Monitor the automated build and continuous integration processes to ensure efficient build execution and facilitate resolution of build/release failures.
- Create, maintain, and share technical documentation used by engineers and other team members across the Institute
- Design and implement DevOps best practices, establishing standards and policies for managing source code and continuous integration/delivery.
- Demonstrate excellent trouble-shooting skills and resolve deployment and environmental issues to closure Support continuous improvements to existing infrastructure, tools, and processes.
Qualifications, Technical Skills and abilities:
- A Bachelor’s in Computer Science or equivalent. Minimum of 15 years of relevant software development or large systems integration required with a strong background in automated code testing
- Extensive experience with AWS Compute, Networking and Developer Tools and related services such as EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, ECS/EKS. Proficiency in AWS IAM and implementing best practices for cloud security.
- A strong understanding of the SDLC, CI/CD, and the Agile software development methodology including experience with deployment automation.
- Proficient in Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS ECS/EKS for container management and orchestration.
- Scripting skills required - shell scripts, Python preferred including familiarity with CloudFormation/Terraform, JSON, YAML
- Experience with developing IaC modules for AWS multi-account framework & AWS organizations
- Experience with monitoring tools (e.g., AWS CloudWatch, Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog) and setting up proactive monitoring and alerting.
Certifications Preferred:
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional, or similar certifications.
The starting position and salary are commensurate with education and experience. We offer an excellent and generous benefits package, tuition reimbursement, flexible work schedules, and a stimulating and diverse work environment.
Salary range is $165000 - $180000. Compensation is commensurate with education and experience. Our excellent benefits include:
- Employer retirement contribution – direct STScI contribution of 10% of your salary from your first day
- 12 days sick leave, up to 24 days’ vacation, and 10 paid holidays
- Flexible work schedule with work/life balance
- Comprehensive medical/dental/vision/prescription plans, and more!
TO APPLY: Please complete an online application and upload a resume and/cover letter. Applications received by 04/18/25 will receive full consideration. Applications received after this date will be considered until the position is filled. Principal AWS Cloud DevOps engineer
Individuals needing assistance with the employment process can contact us at careers@stsci.edu.
Salary : $165,000 - $180,000
