Senior DevSecOps / Platform Security Engineer (AWS + Kubernetes)

Red Cell Partners is an incubation firm building and investing in technology-led companies. They are seeking a Senior DevSecOps/Platform Security Engineer to build and operate production security controls across AWS and Kubernetes platforms, focusing on secure delivery and automation.

Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and maintain CI/CD security controls that scale across repositories and teams (reusable pipeline components, templates, and standards)
• Implement Kubernetes security architecture and guardrails (RBAC hardening, workload security baselines, admission policies, network policies, and safe multi-tenant patterns as applicable)
• Improve container security end-to-end: base-image strategy, vulnerability scanning, registry controls, image signing, and promotion workflows
• Operationalize vulnerability management with risk-based prioritization, measurable remediation SLAs, and dashboards/metrics (MTTR, exposure trends, top recurring root causes)
• Drive developer enablement: clear documentation, lightweight design reviews/threat modeling for high-impact changes, office hours, and high-signal guidance embedded in tooling
• You'll ship code and infrastructure, not just recommendations
• You'll own reliability and outcomes for the controls you build
• You'll response to incidents and on-call rotation related to platform security controls and pipeline reliability (scope aligned with Platform/SRE)
• This role supports delivery into regulated environments and works closely with Security/GRC to implement engineering-owned controls and produce audit-ready evidence

Requirements:

• 5+ years of experience in DevOps/SRE/Platform Engineering and/or Security Engineering with a strong automation and delivery focus
• Hands-on experience securing AWS environments: IAM (least privilege), network controls, encryption (KMS), and centralized logging/detection
• Strong Kubernetes security experience (EKS or equivalent): RBAC, workload hardening, and policy enforcement via admission control
• Experience integrating security into CI/CD pipelines and developer workflows (SAST, SCA, secrets scanning, container scanning, IaC scanning)
• Infrastructure as Code proficiency (Terraform, CloudFormation, CDK, or Pulumi) and ability to embed guardrails into IaC workflows
• Proficiency scripting/coding (e.g., Python, Go, Bash) to build integrations, automations, and internal tooling
• Able to communicate risk and tradeoffs clearly and pragmatically to engineers; improves signal-to-noise rather than adding friction
• Experience with Kubernetes policy-as-code tooling (OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno) and secure workload identity patterns (OIDC/IRSA)
• Experience with software supply chain security: SBOM generation and management, signing/verification (e.g., cosign), and provenance concepts
• Experience building ‘golden paths' or internal developer platforms that improve both delivery velocity and security outcomes
• Familiarity with regulated delivery expectations (NIST SP 800-171/CMMC) and evidence-driven control implementation
• Analytical Aptitude: Possess keen analytical and problem-solving skills, coupled with the capability to understand complex software challenges and collaborate toward viable solutions
• Effective Communication: Skilled in distilling technical complexities into comprehensible terms for varied audiences
• Adaptive Nature: Resilience and adaptability in the face of an ever-changing tech landscape, with a knack for rapidly integrating new technologies and methodologies
• Agile Methodology Experience: An understanding and hands-on experience with agile development methodologies and version control tools
• Agility in Tech: Demonstrated adaptability in the fast-paced tech landscape, continually embracing and integrating new technologies and methodologies
• Education: While formal education in Computer Science or related fields is a plus, DefconAI values hands-on experience and demonstrable skills above all. Candidates with 6+ years of relevant experience will be considered regardless of their academic pedigree
• Continuous Learner: A commitment to perpetually update one's skill set, staying aligned with the latest in technology trends and best practices