Principal Devops Engineer Jobs in Colorado
Principal Devops Engineer jobs in Colorado are concentrated in Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs, where aerospace and defense contractors, tech firms, and public-sector agencies maintain large infrastructure teams. Lockheed Martin, DISH Network, and Palantir Technologies all have established Colorado footprints and consistently hire at the principal level for cloud platform engineering, infrastructure automation, and site reliability. The Colorado market is among the most active in the Mountain West for senior-level devops talent, with demand running strong across container orchestration, CI/CD pipeline architecture, and zero-trust security implementation. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Showing 5 of 14+ Principal Devops Engineer jobs
Description
At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector is seeking a DevOps Engineer – Level 2 or Level 3 to join our team in Aurora, CO to support on-premises mission systems by operating, maintaining, and incrementally enhancing existing DevOps and platform solutions. The engineer will work within established architectures and standards rather than designing new solutions, focusing on reliability, security, and continuous improvement of current environments. The position can be based in Fairfax, VA.
In this job, you will:
Operate and maintain existing GitLab CI/CD infrastructure including patching and permissions. Advise on updates to jobs, runners, variables, and approvals to improve stability and throughput.
Administer Nexus artifact repositories including patching, backups, access management, repository configuration, cleanup/retention policies, and routine health checks.
Maintain Apache NiFi infrastructure including patching, troubleshooting, performance tuning, and implementing changes defined by senior engineers.
Support installation and day-to-day operations of Kubernetes on-prem clusters, including patching, storage management, deployments, rollouts/rollbacks, configuration updates, and resource adjustments.
Maintain and extend monitoring and alerting using Grafana and Prometheus for on-prem infrastructure and applications, including patching, access control, refining dashboards, alert rules, and service onboarding within existing observability patterns.
Implement incremental improvements to existing DevOps tooling and workflows (e.g., adding tests, improving pipeline stages, automating manual steps) consistent with established designs and security baselines.
Perform routine incident response and problem resolution for build, deployment, and runtime issues across CI/CD, Kubernetes, Nexus, NiFi, and supporting services.
Apply existing security and compliance controls across the DevOps toolchain: secrets management, access controls, certificate and credential rotation, image scanning, and log retention in accordance with program requirements.
Follow formal change management processes, including documenting changes, participating in reviews, and updating runbooks, SOPs, and technical documentation.
Collaborate with senior engineers, system administrators, and developers to implement improvements and operational changes defined by leads and architects.
Other duties as assigned
This position can be staffed at a level 2 or 3 based on the basic qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications:
Level 2: Bachelor’s in STEM degree with 2 years of professional experience; Master’s in STEM degree with 0 years of professional experience. Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
Level 3: Bachelor’s in STEM degree with 5 years of professional experience; Master’s in STEM degree with 3 years of professional experience; PhD with 0 years of experience. Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
Requires an active Top-Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance at time of application
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Government Full Scope Polygraph.
Relevant DevOps, site reliability, or systems engineering experience.
Demonstrated experience maintaining GitLab CI/CD in an on-prem environment
Practical experience administering Nexus repositories
Experience supporting Apache NiFi infrastructure
Working knowledge of on-prem Kubernetes operations
Experience using Grafana and Prometheus in an on-prem context
Proficiency with Linux systems administration fundamentals and at least one scripting language (e.g., Bash, Python) for automation and operational tasks.
Familiarity with operating in secure, classified, or highly regulated on-prem environments and adherence to associated processes (security, configuration control, and auditing).
Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills; ability to methodically diagnose issues across multiple interconnected services.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience using Helm and Rancher
Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible) for maintaining existing on-prem infrastructure definitions and playbooks.
Experience with log aggregation and analysis platforms in on-prem environments (e.g., ELK/EFK or similar).
Experience working within formal change control and release management processes.
Exposure to microservices running on Kubernetes and related operational patterns (service discovery, scaling, health checks).
Behavioral Competencies
Operational ownership: Proactively monitors, maintains, and improves existing on-prem systems and DevOps toolchains.
Continuous improvement mindset: Identifies and implements incremental enhancements within established architectures and constraints.
Team collaboration: Works closely with senior engineers, system administrators, security, and development teams to execute defined technical directions.
Discipline and rigor: Adheres to security, configuration management, and documentation expectations in a classified on-prem environment.
Description
At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector is seeking a DevOps Engineer – Level 2 or Level 3 to join our team in Aurora, CO to support on-premises mission systems by operating, maintaining, and incrementally enhancing existing DevOps and platform solutions. The engineer will work within established architectures and standards rather than designing new solutions, focusing on reliability, security, and continuous improvement of current environments. The position can be based in Fairfax, VA.
In this job, you will:
Operate and maintain existing GitLab CI/CD infrastructure including patching and permissions. Advise on updates to jobs, runners, variables, and approvals to improve stability and throughput.
Administer Nexus artifact repositories including patching, backups, access management, repository configuration, cleanup/retention policies, and routine health checks.
Maintain Apache NiFi infrastructure including patching, troubleshooting, performance tuning, and implementing changes defined by senior engineers.
Support installation and day-to-day operations of Kubernetes on-prem clusters, including patching, storage management, deployments, rollouts/rollbacks, configuration updates, and resource adjustments.
Maintain and extend monitoring and alerting using Grafana and Prometheus for on-prem infrastructure and applications, including patching, access control, refining dashboards, alert rules, and service onboarding within existing observability patterns.
Implement incremental improvements to existing DevOps tooling and workflows (e.g., adding tests, improving pipeline stages, automating manual steps) consistent with established designs and security baselines.
Perform routine incident response and problem resolution for build, deployment, and runtime issues across CI/CD, Kubernetes, Nexus, NiFi, and supporting services.
Apply existing security and compliance controls across the DevOps toolchain: secrets management, access controls, certificate and credential rotation, image scanning, and log retention in accordance with program requirements.
Follow formal change management processes, including documenting changes, participating in reviews, and updating runbooks, SOPs, and technical documentation.
Collaborate with senior engineers, system administrators, and developers to implement improvements and operational changes defined by leads and architects.
Other duties as assigned
This position can be staffed at a level 2 or 3 based on the basic qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications:
Level 2: Bachelor’s in STEM degree with 2 years of professional experience; Master’s in STEM degree with 0 years of professional experience. Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
Level 3: Bachelor’s in STEM degree with 5 years of professional experience; Master’s in STEM degree with 3 years of professional experience; PhD with 0 years of experience. Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
Requires an active Top-Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance at time of application
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Government Full Scope Polygraph.
Relevant DevOps, site reliability, or systems engineering experience.
Demonstrated experience maintaining GitLab CI/CD in an on-prem environment
Practical experience administering Nexus repositories
Experience supporting Apache NiFi infrastructure
Working knowledge of on-prem Kubernetes operations
Experience using Grafana and Prometheus in an on-prem context
Proficiency with Linux systems administration fundamentals and at least one scripting language (e.g., Bash, Python) for automation and operational tasks.
Familiarity with operating in secure, classified, or highly regulated on-prem environments and adherence to associated processes (security, configuration control, and auditing).
Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills; ability to methodically diagnose issues across multiple interconnected services.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience using Helm and Rancher
Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible) for maintaining existing on-prem infrastructure definitions and playbooks.
Experience with log aggregation and analysis platforms in on-prem environments (e.g., ELK/EFK or similar).
Experience working within formal change control and release management processes.
Exposure to microservices running on Kubernetes and related operational patterns (service discovery, scaling, health checks).
Behavioral Competencies
Operational ownership: Proactively monitors, maintains, and improves existing on-prem systems and DevOps toolchains.
Continuous improvement mindset: Identifies and implements incremental enhancements within established architectures and constraints.
Team collaboration: Works closely with senior engineers, system administrators, security, and development teams to execute defined technical directions.
Discipline and rigor: Adheres to security, configuration management, and documentation expectations in a classified on-prem environment.
See All 14 Principal Devops Engineer Jobs in Colorado
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Find JobsPrincipal Devops Engineer Jobs by City in Colorado
Where Colorado roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Principal Devops Engineer Job Market in Colorado
A snapshot from current Colorado openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
What Colorado Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in principal devops engineer jobs across Colorado.
- At least ten years of devops or infrastructure engineering experience with demonstrated leadership
- Deep expertise in Kubernetes, Terraform, and cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP
- Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines at enterprise or large-scale production scale
- Strong background in infrastructure-as-code, configuration management, and platform automation
- Ability to obtain or maintain a federal security clearance for Colorado defense and government contractors
- Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, Bash, or Go for pipeline and tooling development
Principal Devops Engineer Jobs in Colorado: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a principal devops engineer in Colorado?
Principal devops engineer is not a state-licensed role in Colorado, so there is no Colorado-specific exam or registration required. The typical path runs through a computer science, information technology, or related bachelor's degree, followed by progressive infrastructure or platform engineering experience. Certifications from AWS, Google Cloud, HashiCorp, or the Linux Foundation carry real weight with Colorado employers, particularly those in aerospace, defense, and government contracting where demonstrated technical credibility at the architecture level is expected.
How much do principal devops engineers make in Colorado?
Principal devops engineers in Colorado earn a median of about $138,390 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $96,480 for the lowest 10% to over $213,010 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire principal devops engineers in Colorado?
Colorado principal devops engineer roles are posted by Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Qualis and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Colorado's mix of defense contractors, federal agency technology offices, and growth-stage tech companies in the Denver-Boulder corridor means principal-level devops openings appear across a wide range of industries and mission types.
Which Colorado cities have the most principal devops engineer jobs?
Colorado Springs, Aurora, and Denver have the most principal devops engineer openings in Colorado. Denver anchors the market as the state's primary technology and financial services hub, while Boulder draws cloud-native and software-focused teams, and Colorado Springs is home to a dense cluster of defense contractors and military technology organizations that require senior infrastructure engineers with security clearance eligibility.
Are there remote principal devops engineer jobs in Colorado?
Yes, and more than most fields, since devops work is inherently infrastructure-driven and often fully executable from any location with reliable connectivity. About 43% of principal devops engineer openings tied to Colorado are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, though roles tied to classified government or defense programs typically require on-site presence at a Colorado facility. Cloud platform and SRE-focused positions tend to have the most remote flexibility.
How can I get hired as a principal devops engineer in Colorado with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is through a junior site reliability or systems administrator role at one of Colorado's large technology or defense employers, then building toward senior and staff-level positions over time. Organizations like Lockheed Martin and DISH Network run technical associate programs and hire early-career engineers into infrastructure teams. Earning a cloud certification from AWS or Google Cloud, contributing to open-source infrastructure projects, and building a GitHub portfolio of Terraform or Kubernetes work gives candidates a measurable edge even before accumulating years of professional experience.
Where can I find and apply to principal devops engineer jobs in Colorado?
You can find and apply to principal devops engineer jobs in Colorado on Migrate Mate, which lists current Colorado openings. Search the listings to find roles that match your experience level, technical stack, and preferred location or work arrangement, then apply directly to the ones that fit.
See All 14 Principal Devops Engineer Jobs in Colorado
Find roles in Colorado that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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