Software Architect

Role Overview NALEJ is seeking a highly skilled Software Architect to serve as the lead technical design authority for large-scale, Kubernetes-native platforms operating across AWS Commercial and GovCloud environments. This individual contributor will architect secure, enterprise-grade software systems for highly regulated Department of War environments spanning Impact Levels 2 through 5. The role operates within a modern AI-native paved-road development environment. NALEJ’s architectural approach emphasizes modular, event-driven, and API-first designs that support parallel development by engineering teams and autonomous AI coding agents. The successful candidate will combine deep technical judgment with clear documentation, practical governance, and the ability to move architecture into implementation. Key Responsibilities Serve as the lead individual-contributor design authority for comprehensive, modular systems deployed on Kubernetes using AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service. Architect across the full application stack, integrating high-throughput backend services in Go and Python, modern frontend applications, and complex data infrastructure. Define secure, zero-trust platform patterns using Istio for mutual TLS and default-deny networking, Keycloak for CAC and PKI authentication and authorization, Vault for secrets management, and policy engines such as Kyverno . Design scalable data ecosystems using open table formats such as Apache Iceberg, distributed SQL engines such as Trino, workflow orchestration such as Airflow, Kafka-based event streaming, PostgreSQL, and S3-compatible storage. Establish declarative infrastructure and GitOps strategy using Crossplane, Argo CD, Helm, and related tooling, with clear boundaries between open-source infrastructure and custom applications. Design stable interface contracts using REST, gRPC, and OpenAPI so systems are easily consumed, tested, and maintained by both human developers and autonomous AI agents. Produce clear reference architectures, system diagrams, architecture decision records, interface specifications, security patterns, and implementation guidance. Partner with engineering, cybersecurity, platform, data, product, and program stakeholders to resolve tradeoffs and ensure architecture is secure, deployable, supportable, and aligned with mission requirements. Required Technical Expertise Cloud Platform and Infrastructure Deep expertise with AWS, AWS GovCloud, Kubernetes, and Amazon EKS in production environments. Strong experience with infrastructure as code, Crossplane, GitOps, Argo CD, Helm, container orchestration, observability, resiliency, and platform engineering patterns. Software and Interface Architecture Strong architectural experience with backend services in Go and or Python using modular, API-first, event-driven, and domain-oriented patterns. Ability to define clear service boundaries, interface contracts, integration patterns, nonfunctional requirements, and migration paths for complex systems. Data Architecture Experience designing modern data platforms using components such as Apache Iceberg, Trino, Airflow, Kafka, PostgreSQL, object storage, and distributed processing patterns. Ability to address data lifecycle, lineage, governance, access control, schema evolution, performance, reliability, and disconnected or bandwidth-constrained operations. Security Identity and Compliance Experience designing zero-trust architectures and implementing controls aligned with NIST 800-53, Department of War guidance, and regulated cloud environments. Hands-on knowledge of Istio, Keycloak, OIDC, SAML, CAC and PKI integration, Vault, policy enforcement, auditability, and secure software supply chains. Developer Platforms and AI Native Engineering Experience designing within modern CI and CD ecosystems such as GitLab and remote developer environments such as Coder and JupyterHub. Ability to create paved-road standards, reusable platform capabilities, and machine-readable con…

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