--- title: 'Systems Engineer 3 - DevOps at Captivation Software' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/systems-engineer-3-devops-captivation-software-annapolis-junction-d3qt9wk0610j' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-05' --- # Systems Engineer 3 - DevOps at Captivation Software - **Company:** Captivation Software - **Location:** Annapolis Junction, MD - **Posted:** 2026-08-10 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/captivation/jobs/5384923008 ## Job description Build to something to be proud of. Captivation has built a reputation on providing customers exactly what is needed in a timely manner. Our team of engineers take pride in what they develop and constantly innovate to provide the best solution. Captivation is looking for software developers who can get stuff done while making a difference in support of the mission to protect our country. Description Captivation Software is looking for a senior level systems engineer who will be part of a team that designs, implements, and maintains DevOps resources for multiple product teams and enables teams to automate build and deployment where possible. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who has a deep understanding of the needed technologies and the initiative to learn new skills. ## Requirements Security Clearance: - Must currently hold a Top Secret/SCI U.S. Government security clearance with a favorable Polygraph, therefore all candidates must be a U.S. citizen Minimum Qualifications: - Twenty (20) years experience as a SE in programs and contracts of similar scope, type and complexity is required. - Bachelor’s degree in System Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering Science, Engineering Management, or related discipline from an accredited college or university is required. - Five (5) years of additional SE experience may be substituted for a bachelor’s degree. Required Skills: - Developing Infrastructure As Code and scripting to automate tasks, provision managed services, and build tools. Popular programming languages for DevOps engineers include Terraform, Ansible, and Python. - Install, configure, and provide performance tuning utilizing: Kubernetes and cloud native logging and metrics collection tools (i.e. Elasticsearch, Grafana/Prometheus). - Managing Gitlab CI/CD pipelines to automate building, testing, and deploying code utilizing GitLab runners and Argo CD. - Managing commercial cloud computing platforms (AWS). - Communication and collaboration: DevOps is a team-oriented discipline. Engineers need to be able to communicate and collaborate effectively with other team members, as well as with stakeholders. Desired Skills: - Develop and manage Gitlab CI/CD pipelines to automate deployment processes - Design, build, and maintain AWS infrastructure including but not limited to EC2, Lambdas, EKS, RDS, S3, EFS, EBS, using Terraform and auto scaling. - Collaborate with development teams to optimize application performance and reliability. - Troubleshoot infrastructure issues and ensure system uptime. - Kubernetes experience with a focus on EKS. - Familiarity with FOSS tools such as Elasticsearch, Prometheus/Grafana, PGAdmin, etc. that can be installed in Kubernetes via helm chart. - Familiarity with various Kubernetes storage class types such as GP3. Longhorn, EBS, etc. This position is open for direct hires only. We will not consider candidates from third party staffing/recruiting firms. ## Benefits - Annual Salary: $130,000 - $270,000 (Depends on the Years of Experience) - Up to 20% 401k contribution (No Matching Required and Vested from Day 1) - Above Market Hourly Rates - $3,600 HSA Contribution - 6 Weeks Paid Time Off - Company Paid Employee Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance/Life Insurance/Short-Term & Long-Term Disability/AD&D ## About Captivation Software ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Captivation Software is a small, developer-owned company that builds innovative software solutions for the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Community. - **Entity Type**: Private - **Headquarters**: Columbia, Maryland, United States - **Founded**: 2014 - **Founders**: Dave Barbalato (President) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Software Development, Defense & Intelligence, Digital Signal Processing, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning - **Target customers**: United States Department of Defense, United States Army, US CYBERCOM, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and other Intelligence Community agencies (B2G/Government) - **Mission or purpose statement**: "Build something to be proud of." — The company is focused on engineering digital solutions for mission makers, delivering software engineering expertise with the agility and efficiency of a small business. ## Products & Services Captivation delivers expertise across a broad spectrum of technical disciplines rather than a single product. Their core service areas include: - **Digital Signal Processing (DSP)**: Specialized engineering for RF and signal intelligence. - **Big Data / Streaming Analytics**: Processing and analyzing large-scale data streams. - **Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence**: Developing AI/ML models, including NLP and MLOps. - **Application Development**: Full-stack development using Java, Python, C++, Angular, and modern frameworks. - **Data Visualization**: Creating UI/UX solutions for complex data. - **DevOps & Platform Engineering**: Infrastructure management with AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, GitLab, and Ansible. - **Network Engineering**: Expertise with Cisco/Arista, SSP, STE, and STN. - **Systems Administration**: Linux, AWS, and security-focused system management. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company) - **Key Metric**: The company has 9 employees (as of latest LinkedIn data) but is actively hiring with 53+ open job postings, indicating rapid growth or a high-demand project-based model. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly available. Key clients include the US Department of Defense, US Army, US CYBERCOM, and DISA. - **Growth Signals**: The company has 53 active job postings on Greenhouse, with a yearly job posting growth of +65.6%. They are expanding their presence with multiple offices in Maryland (Columbia, Annapolis Junction, Baltimore) and an office in the United Kingdom. ## Competitive Advantages - **Specialized Mission Focus**: Deep expertise in serving the Intelligence Community and Armed Forces, a niche with high barriers to entry due to security clearance requirements. - **Technical Leadership**: Founded and led by engineers (Dave Barbalato has 15+ years of software engineering experience; Daniel Barbalato has 10 years in DSP). The company is described as "technical from the top down." - **Developer-Oriented Culture**: Operates like a tech startup with a flattened company structure and a focus on transparency, which is rare in the defense contracting space. - **Exceptional Compensation Package**: Offers a 20% 401(k) employer contribution with no match required, a $3,400 HSA contribution, and fully company-paid medical/dental/vision insurance. ## Strategic Focus - **Talent Acquisition**: Actively seeking the "BEST and BRIGHTEST" cleared professionals, with a strong emphasis on hiring for a wide range of engineering roles. - **Geographic Expansion**: Maintaining a presence in the Maryland area (near key government clients) and expanding to the UK. - **Staying at the Cutting Edge**: Pursuing work with leading software technologies (AI/ML, cloud, GPU computing) to remain competitive and deliver innovative solutions to clients. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Described as a "small, developer-oriented company" with a "progressive attitude" and a "flattened company structure." The company values transparency and empowers its team. - **Remote/Hybrid/Office Policy**: Primarily on-site/in-office work at their Columbia, MD, Annapolis Junction, MD, and Baltimore, MD locations. Some hybrid roles are available (e.g., AI Engineer). - **Notable Perks**: - Up to 20% 401(k) Employer Contribution (NO MATCH REQUIRED). - $3,400 HSA Contribution. - Company-Paid Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance. - Company-Paid Life and Disability Insurance. - Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO). - Learning & Development Program (Udemy). - Free snacks and drinks. - Performance bonuses. - Generous parental leave. - **Engineering Culture**: Employees work with modern tech stacks (AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Python, Java, etc.) on meaningful mission-critical problems. The company encourages open-source contributions. ## Sources 1. [captivation.us](https://captivation.us/) 2. [LinkedIn - Captivation](https://www.linkedin.com/company/captivation-software) 3. [Greenhouse - Captivation Careers](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/captivation) 4. [Built In - Captivation Software](https://builtin.com/company/captivation-software) 5. [Levels.fyi - Captivation Software](https://www.levels.fyi/companies/captivation-software) ## Other roles at Captivation Software - [Software Engineer 1/2 - PostgreSQL/CI/CD/SpringBoot/Angular/MongoDB/Oracle/Docker/Kubernetes/JSON/XML/Jira](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-1-2-postgresql-ci-cd-springboot-angular-mongodb-oracle-docker-7xthgex1c1nj) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [Systems Administrator 3 (On-Call) - Linux/Bash/Python/Ansible/SaltStack/Docker](https://feeny.ai/job/systems-administrator-3-on-call-linux-bash-python-ansible-saltstack-docker-5k1mvfcnndee) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [Systems Engineer 2 - Confluence/Jira/Kibana/Grafana](https://feeny.ai/job/systems-engineer-2-confluence-jira-kibana-grafana-captivation-software-34ykcgxcfaaa) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [Technical Requirements Systems Engineer(Mid/Senior)(Hybrid) - Java/JavaScript/AWS](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-requirements-systems-engineer-mid-senior-hybrid-java-javascript-aws-mnezgq46db4x) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [Front-End Developer (Mid/Senior) - Java/Quarkus/HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Oracle/AWS](https://feeny.ai/job/front-end-developer-mid-senior-java-quarkus-html-css-javascript-oracle-aws-40vv890fwm8h) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [Front-End Developer (Mid/Senior) - Java/Quarkus/HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Oracle/AWS](https://feeny.ai/job/front-end-developer-mid-senior-java-quarkus-html-css-javascript-oracle-aws-nfxfzf7wxyx9) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [DevOps Engineer (On-Call/Hybrid) - Linux/AWS/Docker/Terraform/Ansible/Git](https://feeny.ai/job/devops-engineer-on-call-hybrid-linux-aws-docker-terraform-ansible-git-ta47p5554jqz) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [Automated Test Engineer (Hybrid) - Cypress/JavaScript/Agile/Git/Jira/AWS/CI/CD](https://feeny.ai/job/automated-test-engineer-hybrid-cypress-javascript-agile-git-jira-aws-ci-cd-xaqhkyd0jpfy) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [Senior Information Systems Security Officer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-information-systems-security-officer-captivation-software-annapolis-1xvhgs217kbg) — Annapolis Junction, MD - [Network Engineer 2 (Travel Required) - Cisco/Jira/LatteArt/STE/STN/SSP/Cisco](https://feeny.ai/job/network-engineer-2-travel-required-cisco-jira-latteart-ste-stn-ssp-cisco-p0hss2krqk9q) — Annapolis Junction, MD