Cloud / Platform Engineer (Linux, Identity, Security)

Kosma modernizes a Learning Management System for a U.S. federal agency. You build, secure, and operate the platform below that system for the full 12 months: the Linux estate, the database and cache layer, the cloud migration, identity federation, security hardening, monitoring, disaster recovery, and release management.

A Moodle subject matter expert owns the product decisions for the first eight months - then hands you operational ownership of the application. You do not need to arrive as a Moodle expert. You do need to be a strong platform engineer who owns that application by the end of the year.

What you will do

• Build and operate the Linux estate behind a production web application; migrate the platform into a Government-authorized cloud.
• Own the database and cache layer (MariaDB/PostgreSQL, Redis): configuration, tuning, backup, restore, and performance against defined page-render targets.
• Build single sign-on with OIDC (SAML 2.0 where required), federated with an enterprise directory, smart-card credentials, and MFA; own platform-layer access control.
• Harden against a defined federal control framework and keep the audit evidence; run monthly vulnerability scans, a documented patch cadence, and central logging, monitoring, and alerting.
• Manage releases through CI/CD. You hold the final release authority; the Moodle expert defines application rollback criteria.
• Design and test disaster recovery against defined objectives; keep uptime against a contractual business-hours commitment; control change inside Government blackout windows.
• Run the reporting infrastructure - the Moodle expert designs the reports, you make them run.
• Take operational ownership of the Moodle application during months 6 to 8, then operate, patch, release, and repair it alone.

• 5+ years engineering and operating Linux systems behind production web stacks.
• A production cloud migration you carried out - Microsoft Azure preferred.
• OIDC federation against an enterprise identity provider, plus MFA administration.
• Operating MariaDB or PostgreSQL, and Redis or an equivalent.
• Security hardening against a documented control framework, with recurring scan remediation.
• Disaster-recovery tests you ran yourself, and CI/CD pipeline ownership.
• Enough PHP and SQL to patch an application you did not build - and a record of taking over an unfamiliar production application and operating it alone.
• U.S. citizenship (required by the Government for this contract), eligibility for a favorable Public Trust determination, completion of agency security training and compliance with the agency Rules of Behavior, and reliable availability during core U.S. business hours., * Moodle, LMS, or production PHP operations - strongly preferred. You inherit this application at month 8.
• Federal cloud authorization boundary work (FedRAMP or equivalent); Entra ID / Azure AD; PIV or CAC authentication.
• Splunk or comparable SIEM; Zero Trust or CISA directive compliance work; a Linux, cloud, or security certification (RHCSA, RHCE, Azure Administrator, Security+, or equivalent).

Pulled from the full job description

• Travel reimbursement
• Retirement plan
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays, * Term position of 12 months - the full base period of the contract. This is the only role present for the whole period.
• Core hours are 10:00 to 15:00 Eastern; you set the rest of your schedule.
• Occasional coordination in the Washington, DC area and at a second agency office in the southeastern United States; travel is infrequent, reimbursed at federal per diem rates.
• Scheduled maintenance happens outside business hours on a published calendar. Kosma does not run a 24/7 on-call rotation for this contract.

What this job is really like

The uptime commitments are contractual, not targets. No production change happens inside a Government-defined blackout window.

This is the only 12-month seat. The Moodle specialist and the content developer both leave before you do, and the application becomes yours to run - a planned, scheduled handover, not a problem you solve alone.

In exchange you get a defined scope, a Moodle expert beside you through the heaviest phase, and a Delivery Lead who takes the meetings, gives escalation support, and arranges cover for your planned leave in advance.

Conditions of employment

This position depends on a contract award. Kosma has not submitted the quotation yet. You receive an offer only if all six of these conditions occur:

• The Government awards the contract to Kosma Technology LLC.
• You are a U.S. citizen.
• You receive a favorable Government suitability determination at the Public Trust level.
• You complete a satisfactory background check.
• You pass Kosma’s hands-on technical evaluation.
• You show your identity and authorization to work in the United States (Form I-9).

The evaluation: 2 to 3 hours, hands-on, scored against a written rubric in a Kosma-built Moodle environment that matches the target stack - after award notification, before your start date. No one works on this contract without passing one. If Kosma names you in the quotation, you also have a short technical conversation before submission.

Anticipated start: on or about 1 October 2026. The actual date depends on the award date and the Government suitability process. We control neither.

Pay & benefits

Base pay is $120,000 to $165,000 each year, paid as W-2 wages - approximately $120,000 to $165,000 for the 12-month term. A $500/month health insurance stipend, paid as taxable wages, adds $6,000; total cash for the term is approximately $126,000 to $171,000. You select and buy your own coverage; Kosma does not administer a health plan.

• Paid time off: 15 days per year, prorated to 15 days for this term. Usable as sick leave.
• Paid federal holidays: the 11 federal holidays that fall inside your term.

Kosma does not sponsor group health insurance or a retirement plan. This position has no bonus, commission, or equity.

About Kosma

Kosma Technology LLC is a founder-led Veteran-Owned Small Business in Poolesville, Maryland, delivering systems engineering for U.S. federal missions. We are building our first delivery team - you will be among the first hires, and we hire senior practitioners only.