Lead Kubernetes Engineer

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.


Job Category: Academic Staff

Employment Type: Regular

Job Profile: DevOps Engineer III

Job Summary:
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), Department of Information Technology, is seeking a Kubernetes Engineer to architect and operate the container orchestration platform underpinning a wide range of strategic SMPH initiatives.

This role will design Kubernetes clusters supporting use cases that include web application hosting, the SMPH research analytics platform, LLMs-as-a-service, and AI-specific orchestration components. The Kubernetes Engineer will work closely with security, infrastructure, research computing, and application teams to ensure clusters meet HIPAA, NIST 800-53, and NIST 800-171 control requirements while delivering a developer-friendly platform that accelerates delivery of new services.

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Manages, maintains, selects, and develops automation tools and infrastructure, including security configurations

• Performs integration, migration, configuration, and security of existing applications and services into automated infrastructures

• Serves as a subject matter expert to internal stakeholders, providing guidance and training to staff

• Serves as technical lead for one or more aspects of the system

• Analyzes requirements and communicates and coordinates with staff and internal stakeholders related to the system and/or project

• Develops, programs, and/or deploys automation workflows for deployment, configuration, and/or monitoring of systems/services

Department:
School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Information Technology, Infrastructure.

Compensation:
The starting salary wage for the position is $115,000 annually; but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. For more information, refer to the campus benefits webpage.

SMPH Faculty /Academic Staff Benefits Flyer 2026

Required Qualifications:

• At least three (3) years of hands-on production experience designing, operating, and securing Kubernetes clusters
• Demonstrated experience with Ansible for configuration management and automation
• Demonstrated cybersecurity experience, including applying security controls to platform infrastructure

Preferred Qualifications:

• Kubernetes-related certification (e.g., CKA, CKAD, CKS)
• Cybersecurity certification (e.g., CISSP, Security+, GIAC certifications)
• Contributions to open-source cloud-native community projects (CNCF or related)
• Experience with Terraform and infrastructure-as-code in a regulated environment (HIPAA, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171)
• Experience with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) or other managed Kubernetes platforms
• Experience supporting research computing, AI/ML workloads, or LLM-serving infrastructure

Education:
Bachelor's degree preferred; focus in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Technology or related field preferred

How to Apply:
For the best experience completing your application, we recommend using Chrome or Firefox as your web browser.

To apply for this position, select either "I am a current employee" or "I am not a current employee" under Apply Now. You will then be prompted to upload your application materials.

Important: The application has only one attachment field. Upload the following documents in that field, either as a single combined file or as multiple files in the same upload area. Failure to submit the required documents will result in no longer being considered for the position.

• Cover letter (required)
• Resume (required)

Your cover letter should address how your training and experience aligns with the required and preferred qualifications listed above. Application reviewers will rely on these written materials to determine which applicants move forward in the process. References will be requested from final candidates. All applicants will be notified once the search concludes and a candidate is selected.

University sponsorship is not available for this position, including transfers of sponsorship and TN visas.The selected applicant will be responsible for ensuring their continuous eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without the need of an employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. This position is an ongoing position that will require continuous work eligibility.If you are selected for this position, you must provide proof of work authorization and eligibility to work.

Contact Information:
Cody Roekle, View email address on click.appcast.io

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal OpportunityEmployer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgroundsand encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodationfor any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR)in the division you are applying to.Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

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