Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer

Job ID: z5G7h3l6a1kMvyS65NP3c2v5TvpiQFMBw4JTSAvP1ag=Job Code: JPC - 26020Location: Milpitas, CA, 95035, United StatesJob Title: Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer / ArchitectLocation: Milpitas, CAExperience Required: 10-15+ Years Overall IT Experience with 5+ Years of Hands-on Kubernetes Platform EngineeringPosition OverviewSeeking an experienced Kubernetes Platform Engineer / Architect to design, build, automate, and support enterprise-grade container platforms that power business-critical applications across global environments. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Kubernetes, container orchestration, cloud-native technologies, platform engineering, automation, observability, and DevOps practices.This role will be responsible for developing a scalable, secure, and highly available Kubernetes ecosystem that enables application teams to rapidly deploy, manage, and modernize workloads. The candidate will work closely with cloud teams, infrastructure teams, application development teams, security teams, and SRE teams to deliver a robust cloud-native platform.Key ResponsibilitiesKubernetes Platform ArchitectureDesign and implement enterprise Kubernetes platforms across cloud and hybrid environments.Define platform standards, governance controls, and architectural best practices.Build scalable, resilient, and highly available Kubernetes clusters.Develop container platform roadmaps aligned with cloud strategy.Establish multi-cluster and multi-region Kubernetes architectures.Support application modernization and cloud-native transformation initiatives.Kubernetes Administration & OperationsDeploy, upgrade, patch, and manage Kubernetes clusters.Perform cluster lifecycle management and capacity planning.Optimize cluster performance, resource utilization, and availability.Configure namespaces, RBAC, network policies, storage classes, and quota management.Troubleshoot complex platform, networking, storage, and container issues.Ensure platform reliability and operational excellence.Containerization & Cloud-Native SolutionsDesign and implement containerized application environments.Support Docker and OCI-compliant container technologies.Develop best practices for: Container securityContainer lifecycle managementImage managementRegistry managementEnable microservices architecture adoption.Support modern cloud-native application deployments.Platform AutomationImplement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and GitOps practices.Automate Kubernetes provisioning and configuration management.Develop reusable deployment templates and platform services.Build self-service capabilities for development teams.Automate platform monitoring, compliance, and operational processes.Tools:TerraformAnsibleHelmArgoCDFluxCDGitHub ActionsAzure DevOpsDevOps & CI/CD EnablementDesign and support CI/CD pipelines for Kubernetes workloads.Integrate Kubernetes with enterprise DevOps toolchains.Support continuous deployment and release automation.Improve deployment speed, reliability, and application availability.Establish standardized deployment frameworks.Platforms:Azure DevOpsGitHub EnterpriseJenkinsGitLab CI/CDKubernetes SecurityImplement Kubernetes security best practices and governance controls.Configure and manage: RBACPod Security StandardsNetwork PoliciesSecrets ManagementService Mesh SecurityIntegrate security scanning into CI/CD pipelines.Support Zero Trust architecture initiatives.Conduct platform security assessments and remediation activities.Security Technologies:HashiCorp VaultAqua SecurityPrisma CloudMicrosoft Defender for ContainersTrivyFalcoService Mesh & Traffic ManagementDesign and support service mesh implementations.Configure traffic routing, ingress controllers, and API gateways.Implement secure service-to-service communication.Enable application observability and resilience patterns.Technologies:IstioLinkerdNGINX IngressKongAmbassadorMonitoring & ObservabilityBuild enterprise observability solutions for Kubernetes platforms.Implement centralized logging, monitoring, and alerting.Define SLOs, SLIs, and platform health metrics.Support Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices.Monitoring Tools:PrometheusGrafanaELK StackOpenTelemetryDatadogSplunkDynatraceCloud Platform IntegrationIntegrate Kubernetes with public cloud platforms.Design and manage managed Kubernetes services.Cloud Platforms:Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)Amazon EKSGoogle GKEPreferred expertise in AKS due to Azure cloud strategy.Leadership & CollaborationServe as the Kubernetes subject matter expert.Provide technical leadership and architecture guidance.Mentor platform engineers and DevOps teams.Collaborate with application development, cloud, and security teams.Participate in architecture reviews and technology governance forums.Required QualificationsEducationBachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related discipline.Master's Degree preferred.Experience10-15+ years of overall IT experience.5+ years of hands-on Kubernetes administration and platform engineering.Experience managing large-scale production Kubernetes environments.Experience implementing enterprise platform engineering practices.Strong experience supporting mission-critical applications.Required Technical SkillsKubernetes EcosystemKubernetes (K8s)DockerHelmKustomizeCRDsOperatorsKubernetes NetworkingKubernetes SecurityService MeshCloud PlatformsMicrosoft AzureAzure Kubernetes Service (AKS)AWS EKSGoogle GKEInfrastructure AutomationTerraformAnsiblePowerShellPythonBashGitOps & CI/CDArgoCDFluxCDAzure DevOpsGitHub ActionsJenkinsMonitoring & LoggingPrometheusGrafanaOpenTelemetryELK StackSplunkDynatraceNetworkingTCP/IPDNSIngress ControllersService MeshLoad BalancersNetwork PoliciesAPI GatewaysPreferred QualificationsExperience in semiconductor manufacturing or high-tech enterprise environments.Experience supporting engineering and R&D workloads.Experience with AI/ML platform deployments on Kubernetes.Experience implementing platform engineering and Internal Developer Platforms (IDP).Familiarity with OpenShift and Rancher environments.Experience with GPU-based Kubernetes workloads.Knowledge of FinOps and Kubernetes cost optimization.Preferred CertificationsRequiredCertified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)PreferredCertified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator (AZ-104)Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)HashiCorp Terraform Associate