Principal Platform Engineer - Connected Aviation...

The Aviation Intelligence (AI) team within CA Engineering has the end-to-end responsibility to ensure that Collins Aerospace and broader RTX data assets are managed with integrity and quality while being consumed by our critical customer facing applications - whether via API’s, analytics and/or data visualizations, or data reporting. We would like to offer you an opportunity to be a Senior Platform Engineer within our team where you will play an integral role in a high growth and high visibility area of the Collins Aerospace company.

As a Principal Platform Engineer on the Aviation Intelligence team, you will be responsible for leading critical projects and coordination for the department, supporting our Ascentia and FlightAware crews that focus on AI/ML projects, data science and data management.

What You Will Do:

• Own and evolve AWS infrastructure supporting data platform, ML training, and analytics workloads (Iceberg/Trino, ETL pipelines, Kubeflow/MLflow)

• Design, deploy, and maintain EKS-based services and Kubernetes workloads

• Build and manage Terraform infrastructure across environments (dev/staging/prod)

• Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure and application deployment (GitLab/GitHub)

• Operate and improve Kafka/Redpanda clusters

• Improve reliability, observability, and performance of prediction services

• Support Dagster for data workflow orchestration

• Collaborate with Data Science, ML Engineering, and Data Engineering to productionize models and data pipelines

• Strengthen AWS IAM, networking, and connectivity between cloud and on-prem systems

• Support cyber hardening efforts with our RTX cyber team

• Identify and incrementally improve existing infrastructure and deployment patterns

Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the company’s immigration sponsorship now or in the future. The company will not offer immigration sponsorship for this position., + Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 5 years of experience

• Proficiency with Python.

• Strong experience with AWS (EKS, IAM, VPCs, networking)

• Hands-on Kubernetes experience operating production workloads

• Experience managing Kafka (or Redpanda) in production environments

• Proficiency with Terraform for infrastructure as code

• Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines (GitLab, GitHub Actions, or similar)

• Solid understanding of distributed systems, reliability, and scaling

• Experience supporting production data pipelines or ML systems

• Experience with observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, Thanos, etc.)

Qualifications We Prefer:

• Experience with Kafka Connect

• Experience with Rust or a willingness to learn it.

• Familiarity with Dagster, Airflow or other modern ETL orchestration tools

• Background supporting ML/AI systems in production (MLOps)

• Experience optimizing infrastructure for performance and cost

• Familiarity with Iceberg, Spark, Elasticsearch and other large-scale data processing systems

• Experience working in hybrid infrastructure environments (cloud + on-prem Kubernetes)

The salary range for this role is 107,500 USD - 204,500 USD. The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels.

RTX considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.

Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance.

This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.

RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.

Aviation connects the world and Connected Aviation (CA) connects Aviation. Sustainably. Seamlessly. Securely. Connected Aviation (CA) is a business unit within Collins Aerospace’s Avionics portfolio which aims to bring many connectivity and digital solutions to life and fulfill Connected Ecosystem, one of the strategic pillars of our company., At Collins, the paths we pave together lead to limitless possibility. And the bonds we form - with our customers and with each other – propel us all higher, again and again.

As part of our commitment to maintaining a secure hiring process, candidates may be asked to attend select steps of the interview process in-person at one of our office locations, regardless of whether the role is designated as on-site, hybrid or remote.