DevOps Lead – Azure DevOps & Platform Engineering with Security Clearance

Position Summary
The DevOps Lead provides enterprise-wide leadership for CI/CD governance, deployment automation, and platform modernization across a 32-application portfolio. This role is responsible for standardizing Azure DevOps practices, modernizing release pipelines, and reducing deployment risk while enabling faster, more reliable software delivery. This is a hands-on technical leadership, focused on improving SDLC maturity, eliminating manual deployment dependencies, and supporting cloud modernization initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
Azure DevOps & CI/CD Governance
• Standardize and modernize Azure DevOps pipelines across applications.
• Transition legacy release configurations toward standardized, code-based CI/CD.
• Establish reusable pipeline templates and enforce branching strategies.
• Ensure deployment configurations are version-controlled and documented.
Release & Deployment Management
• Eliminate manual production deployment processes.
• Define and enforce environment promotion standards (Dev → Test → Prod).
• Implement automated approval workflows and rollback procedures.
• Reduce single-developer deployment risk through standardized automation.
Infrastructure & Cloud Modernization
• Implement Infrastructure-as-Code practices.
• Support AWS-focused modernization initiatives.
• Standardize environment provisioning and reduce configuration drift.
• Promote containerization and deployment consistency where appropriate.
SDLC & Quality Integration
• Integrate automated testing and security scanning into CI/CD pipelines.
• Establish DevOps performance metrics (deployment frequency, lead time, change failure rate).
• Improve traceability from work items through production release.
Risk Reduction & Cross-Team Enablement
• Reduce application-level silos through standardized tooling.
• Ensure multiple developers can confidently deploy applications.
• Support cross-training initiatives in partnership with Scrum Master.
Required Qualifications
• 7+ years of DevOps or platform engineering experience.
• 3+ years of hands-on Azure DevOps (TFS) experience.
• Minimum active secret level clearance.
• Development team guidance and management. • Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong understanding of Git workflows and branch governance.
• Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code.
• Experience supporting cloud-hosted applications (AWS preferred).
• Knowledge and adherence to ISO standards. • Knowledge of secure SDLC practices in regulated environments.
Authority
The DevOps Lead has authority to:
• Establish and enforce CI/CD and deployment standards.
• Require standardized pipeline practices across applications.
• Block production deployments that bypass approved automation.
• Define release governance and environment promotion policies.
This role does not manage development staff but provides enterprise-wide technical leadership for platform engineering practices.