Director, Platforms & Infrastructure - Autonomous Mission Infrastructure

The Mission: Tyto Athene is not just modernizing federal networks; we are engineering the autonomous infrastructure substrate that the AI-era Federal and DoD mission runs on. Self-healing networks. Agentic operations. Hybrid cloud that operates at machine speed across IL5 and IL6 boundaries. Cryptographically agile data transport that survives the quantum transition. We are looking for a practitioner-architect to own the Platforms & Infrastructure pillar of our CAIO directorate - building the productized infrastructure capability that every other Tyto offering rides on. This isn't a "keep the lights on" role. You are the operator-leader who decides what we build, what we buy, and what we automate out of existence. Every layer of our infrastructure - network, cloud, ITSM, data transport, container orchestration, observability, identity - is being reimagined with AI agents as first-class citizens, not bolted-on assistants. You will drive that reimagining and the team that ships it.

The Impact:

Own the Autonomous Infrastructure Vision: Define and socialize the technical vision for Tyto's self-healing networks, agentic operations, and the Federation Gateway that connects multi-classification environments at machine speed. This pillar is one of three Tier 1 strategic thrusts for the company.
• Architect the Platform Spine: Collaborate directly with the Technology Acceleration Lab for Operational Needs (TALON) engineers, the Cyber pillar, and the Quantum pillar to deliver an integrated platform substrate - agentic SecOps, cleared MLOps, A2A/MCP plumbing, and PQC-native infrastructure - that productizes into reusable solution accelerators rather than one-off custom integrations.
• Operationalize AI-Everywhere: Drive AI and agentic automation across every layer of the infrastructure stack - Kubernetes operations, observability and incident response, ITSM workflow, change management, network optimization, capacity planning. Your team should be deploying agents to operate the platform, not just to monitor it.
• Customer Evangelization: Act as the technical face of Tyto's platform capability for senior DoD, IC, and Federal customers. Lead high-impact whiteboarding sessions with program-of-record owners and CIO/CTO offices on autonomous infrastructure adoption.
• Build a Multi-Disciplinary Team: Develop a team of multi-disciplinary engineers (AI/ML + DevOps/Cloud/Infrastructure + Software Engineering working together, not siloed) who can take an infrastructure idea from whiteboard to cleared production environment.

What You'll Own: The Platforms & Infrastructure pillar within the CAIO directorate. The technical roadmap for self-healing networks, agentic operations, cleared cloud and MLOps fabric, and the Federation Gateway. Approximately 5-8 engineers across AI/ML, DevOps/Cloud/Infrastructure, and Software Engineering disciplines. Strategic positioning and named technical thought leadership for federal platform-infrastructure pursuits.

What Success Looks Like:

• First 90 days: Deep team immersion, current-state assessment of platform capabilities, point-of-view development on the autonomous infrastructure roadmap, initial TALON integration.
• First 6 months: Published platform-pillar roadmap, two named customer co-creation engagements, three solution accelerators in active development
• First 12 months: Support measurable pipeline contribution across federal platform-infrastructure pursuits through the development and operationalization of key solutions and accelerators that increase PWin, demonstrable agentic operations capability deployed in cleared production.

What You Bring (Required):

• The Blueprint: 12+ years building and operating large-scale enterprise infrastructure, with a significant "tour of duty" (5+ years) in DoD, IC, or Federal mission environments. You have shipped infrastructure into production at the scale, complexity, and accreditation level the federal mission demands.
• The Scars: 8+ years of hands-on platform engineering experience across at least two of the following: cloud and hybrid cloud architecture, network automation and SDN, Kubernetes and container orchestration, ITSM and IT operations at scale, data transport and resilient communications. You have led architecture, implementation, and operations - not just slideware.
• The Agentic Edge: 3+ years of leadership experience integrating AI and agentic automation into infrastructure operations - autonomous incident response, AI-driven capacity management, agent-based change automation, MLOps for cleared environments, or comparable. You understand the difference between AI-washed runbooks and genuinely autonomous infrastructure, and have shipped the latter.
• The Cleared Pedigree: 5+ years operating in IL5/IL6 environments with deep fluency in cleared cloud (AWS GovCloud, Azure Government), accreditation workflows, and the realities of multi-classification operations. You know what it takes to get a system from prototype to ATO.
• The Standards: Deep fluency in NIST 800-53, FedRAMP, FISMA, the CISA/DoD Zero Trust Reference Architectures, and the post-quantum cryptographic transition timeline. You can speak to NSM-10 and CNSA 2.0 implications for federal infrastructure without referring to notes.
• The Builder Mindset: You build teams that ship. You have hired, developed, and retained senior platform engineers in a competitive market. You know how to balance internal capability development with strategic vendor partnerships.

The Differentiator (Desired):

• Platform Visionary: You aren't just aware that "platform engineering" and "agentic ops" are converging - you have an operationalized point of view on how, when, and why. Conference talks, public technical writing, named architectural patterns to your credit.
• Clearance: Active TS/SCI required for primary role function. SECRET-cleared candidates with clearable backgrounds considered with active sponsorship.
• The Federation Gateway Mindset: You have built or operated systems that span classification boundaries, hyperscaler boundaries, or partner-federation boundaries. You understand that the hardest infrastructure problems live at the seams.
• The Quantum-Aware Architect: You have begun engineering cryptographic agility into infrastructure before procurement deadlines forced it. You understand why September 2026 FIPS 140-2 sunset and the Pentagon PQC migration memo matter for every system you ship.
• The Lab Rat: You still enjoy diving into lab environments - building reference implementations, validating vendor claims, breaking things to understand them. You haven't lost the engineer underneath the leader.

Compensation:

• Compensation is unique to each candidate and relative to the skills and experience they bring to the position. This does not guarantee a specific salary as compensation is based upon multiple factors such as education, experience, certifications, and other requirements, and may fall outside of the above-stated range.

Benefits:

• Highlights of our benefits include Health/Dental/Vision, 401(k) match, Paid Time Off, STD/LTD/Life Insurance, Referral Bonuses, professional development reimbursement, and parental leave.