Space Systems DevOps Engineer
Omitron, Inc. · Vandenberg SFB, CA
$130,000–$170,000
Jul 22, 2026
Vandenberg SFB, CA
Jul 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A mid-level DevOps/systems engineering role embedded with an orbital analyst team at Vandenberg Space Force Base, supporting Space Domain Awareness and Command and Control missions for the U.S. Space Force. Day-to-day work spans administering and hardening Red Hat Enterprise Linux in an air-gapped, STIG-compliant environment, building CI/CD pipelines and Python automation, tuning compute/storage/network infrastructure, and acting as the technical liaison between infrastructure staff and mission analysts.
Mid level · 4+ years · Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA · Secret clearance · Full-time
Pay in the description: $130,000–$170,000
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $161,771 (middle half $130,294–$177,479). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (9)
This role sits at the intersection of systems administration and software/DevOps engineering. It was classified as 15-1252 (Software Developers) because the JD explicitly requires building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code automation, and Python tooling — i.e., the role ships code. However, 15-1244 (Network and Computer Systems Administrators) is a genuine runner-up given the heavy Linux administration, STIG hardening, VMware/storage/network operations, and air-gapped environment duties.
The posting self-describes the role as 'mid-level' in the position overview, which aligns with the 4+ year minimum experience requirement.
An active DoD Secret clearance is the hard gate stated in Minimum Requirements. The posting also notes candidates must be willing to pursue a TS/SCI upgrade, but does not require TS/SCI to be held at time of hire.
The degree requirement accepts 'an equivalent combination of relevant experience' in lieu of a Bachelor's degree, so the degree requirement is set to None.
Vandenberg Space Force Base is in Santa Barbara County, CA. The closest CBSA is Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA (42200).
Virtualization experience (VMware, Red Hat, or similar) is listed under Minimum Requirements with a substitution qualifier; VMware is captured as the primary with Red Hat Virtualization as an alternative. The more specific VMware vSphere/ESXi/Horizon products appear only under Preferred Qualifications.
DISA STIG / RMF hardening, SELinux, Secure Boot, enterprise storage tuning, and Ansible all appear only under Preferred Qualifications.
DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II certification (e.g., Security+ CE) is required but is a professional certification, not a named technology tool, so it is not listed as a skill.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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