DevOps Engineer (Mid-Level) in Columbia, Maryland at Cogent People Inc

Employment Type: Full-time, W2 position with Cogent People Inc. This is a direct hire position with full benefits.

Location: Hybrid (3 days to Columbia, MD)

Work Authorization Requirements: To comply with government contracting requirements, candidates must meet all of the following:

• Must be a U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, or valid EAD holder
• Must have lived in the United States for at least 3 of the past 5 years
• Must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship
• Sponsorship (H-1B) is not available for this position (now or in the future)

Candidates who do not meet these requirements will not be considered.

Clearance Requirement

Public Trust Clearance required or ability to obtain, depending on assignment.

About Cogent People Inc.

Cogent People Inc. is a government consulting and technology services firm supporting mission-critical federal and commercial programs. We deliver secure, scalable, and modern digital solutions across complex IT environments.

Our teams thrive at the intersection of engineering excellence and mission impact, building systems that matter.

Job Overview

Cogent People Inc. is seeking a Mid-Level DevOps Engineer to support a federal technology program operating within a cloud-first AWS environment. This role combines strong Linux systems administration expertise with modern DevOps practices focused on cloud infrastructure, automation, and operational excellence.

This position is responsible for supporting cloud infrastructure operations, deployment automation, CI/CD processes, and environment maintenance while ensuring alignment with security, compliance, and operational requirements.

The ideal candidate will bring hands-on AWS experience, strong scripting and automation skills, and the ability to collaborate effectively across engineering, infrastructure, database, and operations teams in a regulated federal environment.

What You’ll Do

• Support the deployment, maintenance, and monitoring of AWS cloud infrastructure in alignment with federal security and compliance standards
• Develop and maintain Python and shell scripts to automate operational tasks, monitoring, deployment support, and environment maintenance
• Support CI/CD pipelines for application deployments, ETL workflows, database updates, and configuration management across development, test, and production environments
• Monitor infrastructure, application, and pipeline health using enterprise monitoring and logging tools; assist with troubleshooting, incident response, and operational support activities
• Support operational improvements through automation, monitoring enhancements, deployment consistency, and environment standardization
• Administer Linux servers and cloud-hosted database environments, including patching, configuration updates, backup validation, and general operational support
• Support enterprise job scheduling, workflow orchestration, and data transfer processes through monitoring, dependency tracking, troubleshooting, and issue coordination
• Manage AWS IAM, networking, and security configurations in compliance with federal cloud governance requirements
• Create and maintain operational documentation including runbooks, deployment procedures, troubleshooting guides, and architecture diagrams
• Collaborate with infrastructure, development, database, and operations teams to support system reliability and operational efficiency

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience will also be considered.
• 4–7 years of systems administration, cloud infrastructure, or DevOps engineering experience
• Minimum 2 years of hands-on AWS experience in a production environment
• Experience supporting enterprise applications, data platforms, or ETL processing workloads
• Experience troubleshooting infrastructure, application, or operational support issues in production or non-production environments
• Experience supporting deployments, operational monitoring, and system maintenance activities
• Strong experience with Linux systems administration
• Experience with Python and shell scripting for automation and operational support
• Familiarity with CI/CD and deployment automation tools such as GitHub Actions, AWS CodePipeline, Jenkins, or similar technologies
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform or AWS CloudFormation
• Experience using monitoring and logging platforms such as CloudWatch, Splunk, or equivalent tools
• Familiarity with relational databases and operational support concepts
• Understanding of networking, IAM, and cloud security best practices
• Ability to clearly document operational procedures, troubleshooting activities, and deployment steps
• Ability to manage assigned tasks across multiple concurrent workstreams
• AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate certification or higher
• Familiarity with Confluence, Jira, or similar collaboration platforms

What Will Set You Apart

• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional certification
• Experience supporting AWS-based ETL or workflow orchestration services
• Familiarity with Oracle database environments or SQL-based operational troubleshooting
• Experience supporting enterprise scheduling or workload orchestration platforms
• Exposure to infrastructure modernization or cloud migration initiatives
• Experience working in healthcare, financial systems, or other regulated environments

Why Cogent People Inc.?

At Cogent People, we combine technical excellence with a mission-driven culture. Our teams work on meaningful, high-impact projects that support government and enterprise transformation initiatives.

We offer:

• Competitive compensation
• Career growth and professional development opportunities
• Exposure to complex, mission-critical systems
• A collaborative and supportive team environment
• Long-term client engagements with stability and continuity

We are a Certified Great Place to Work, committed to building an inclusive and high-performance culture.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance (comprehensive coverage)
• 401(k) with company match
• Company-paid life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Paid Time Off: 3 weeks annually + 10 paid holidays
• Employee assistance and wellness resources (as applicable)

Compliance Notice

Cogent People Inc. conducts employment verification for all candidates. Misrepresentation of work authorization, residency history, or professional experience will result in disqualification.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO) and evaluate all applicants based on qualifications, experience, and role requirements.

We do not engage third-party recruiters for this role unless explicitly stated.