About TBA

Tampa Brass & Aluminum Corporation is a fourth-generation, family-owned precision nonferrous foundry and machine shop supporting the defense, aerospace, maritime, and energy sectors. TBA operates in a controlled environment handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and ITAR-regulated technical data, and is preparing for a NIST SP 800-171 r2 compliance assessment.

Position Overview

TBA is hiring a Senior Software Engineer to build and maintain the internal software and infrastructure that supports manufacturing operations, system integrations, and AI-assisted internal tooling. This role owns application development and Linux/Windows-based infrastructure work end to end, operating inside a security-conscious, compliance-bound environment. You will work closely with the IT/compliance lead to keep systems running, documented, and aligned with NIST SP 800-171 r2 requirements.

This is a hands-on individual contributor role, not a people-management position. You will be trusted to make implementation-level decisions independently and to pause for approval before architectural changes or anything touching production source code.

Key Responsibilities

Application Development

• Design, build, and maintain internal REST APIs (Python/FastAPI or similar) that serve internal tools and AI agents
• Develop and maintain containerized services with clear separation of concerns per application
• Convert existing shell-script-based tooling into maintainable, tested application code

Infrastructure & Deployment

• Administer the internal Linux server and lead rollout of a Kubernetes-based deployment platform (K3s or RKE2) to host containerized internal services
• Stand up and maintain supporting cluster infrastructure: container registry (e.g., Harbor), GitOps-based deployment (e.g., ArgoCD), and cluster-level monitoring/logging
• Maintain the shared Postgres layer, including per-app schemas and role-based access
• Ensure all services survive host and node restarts and remain continuously LAN-accessible; verify restart resilience before considering any deployment complete

Source Control & CI/CD

• Manage repositories in Gitea (git.tampabrass.com), including repo organization and branching conventions
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines for automated build, test, and deployment
• Follow phased delivery: later infrastructure phases (e.g., K3s, containerization) do not begin until prior phases are complete and explicitly approved

Systems Integration

• Integrate and maintain data flow between the ERP system (E2), Paperless Parts, the file server, and custom internal applications
• Respect system boundary and scope requirements for CUI-handling systems; never introduce integrations that expand CUI scope without sign-off

Compliance Support

• Operate within a NIST SP 800-171 r2-scoped environment
• Support documentation of system configurations relevant to the SSP as requested
• Coordinate with the MSSP and internal network/IT staff on VLAN-segmented network changes affecting in-scope systems

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Strong Python skills; comfortable building and maintaining REST APIs (FastAPI or equivalent)
• Solid containerization experience (Docker); comfortable operating in a Windows/WSL2 Docker Desktop environment as well as native Linux
• Hands-on Kubernetes experience (K3s, RKE2, or similar lightweight distribution)
• Linux server administration experience
• Git fluency; experience with self-hosted Git (Gitea, GitLab, or similar)
• Relational database experience (Postgres preferred), including schema and access-role design
• Comfortable working independently, documenting decisions, and pausing for approval before architectural or source-code changes
• U.S. Person status, as required for access to ITAR-controlled technical data
• Ability to pass a background check and meet screening requirements for access to NIST SP 800-171 r2-scoped systems

Preferred

• Experience with GitOps deployment tooling (ArgoCD or similar) and container registries (Harbor or similar)
• Experience integrating with manufacturing ERP systems (E2 or similar) or PLM systems
• Familiarity with NIST SP 800-171 r2 or other regulated/compliance-driven environments
• Experience building tooling or APIs consumed by AI agents (context retrieval, RAG, knowledge-base-backed services)
• CI/CD pipeline design experience (Gitea Actions, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or similar)

Work Environment

This role is fully on-site in Tampa, FL. Due to ITAR and CUI handling requirements, remote access to in-scope systems is restricted to approved VPN/VDI channels, and this position requires day-to-day physical presence.

SMART Goals

Infrastructure Modernization

• Specific: Complete Phase 1 of the Linux server project (Git repo organization and Obsidian vault sync pipeline) and begin Phase 2 (K3s cluster setup, containerized FastAPI service conversion)
• Measurable: Phase 1 deliverables reviewed and approved; Phase 2 services deployed with verified restart resilience and LAN accessibility
• Achievable: Using existing Docker/Postgres patterns and phased-gating approach already in place
• Relevant: Reduces manual script maintenance and establishes a repeatable deployment pattern for future internal services
• Time-bound: Phase 1 complete within 45 days of start; Phase 2 underway within 90 days

Compliance-Aligned Systems Support

• Specific: Support resolution of open SSP-related technical items (system boundary documentation, ERP/Paperless Parts integration details) ahead of the NIST SP 800-171 r2 assessment
• Measurable: Assigned open items closed or documented with clear status ahead of the assessment window
• Achievable: Working directly with the IT/compliance lead and MSSP as needed
• Relevant: Directly supports readiness for the September 2026 third-party assessment
• Time-bound: Ongoing through assessment date, with milestone check-ins monthly