Job Description
Job#: 3022191 Job Description: This position is for a Platform Engineer supporting a Department of Defense (DoD) program operating a containerized, Kubernetes-based, multitenant hosting environment used for enterprise and distributed applications across multiple global locations. The environment uses Kubernetes and may incorporate distributions such as Red Hat OpenShift to deliver a cloud-native, software-defined infrastructure and managed hosting services. The Platform Engineer will play a critical role in designing, building, operating, and securing the Kubernetes platform that underpins mission-critical DoD workloads. Candidates must be capable of acquiring/maintaining an active DoD clearance for employment . Position Duties Work with engineering teams to design, develop, and maintain a Kubernetes-based enterprise hosting architecture. Develop, deploy, and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to support provisioning, configuration, and lifecycle management of Kubernetes clusters and platform services. Use IaC to provision customer namespaces, workloads, and supporting platform components for hosted applications. Provide daily administration of Kubernetes clusters, including patching, upgrades, and maintenance of all core components (control plane, worker nodes, CNI plugins, CSI drivers, CRI runtimes). Configure and manage Container Network Interface (CNI) plugins such as Calico, Cilium, or OpenShift SDN to enable secure, efficient networking workflows. Deploy and maintain Container Storage Interface (CSI) drivers (e.g., OpenShift Data Foundation, Ceph) to support dynamic provisioning of persistent storage. Monitor consumption of compute, storage, and networking resources and notify leadership when additional capacity is required. Harden Kubernetes clusters and associated components in accordance with cloud-native best practices and required DoD cybersecurity controls. Troubleshoot and resolve platform issues related to Kubernetes networking, container workloads, persistent storage, and runtime environments. Develop and maintain operational documentation, including architectures, diagrams, configurations, storage/network standards, and SOPs. Provide on-call production support for after-hours incidents and escalation. Recommend improvements to security, performance, scalability, and operational efficiency across containerized compute, network, and storage services. Build, configure, and administer Kubernetes clusters end-to-end. Implement and manage container registries such as Harbor, Red Hat Quay, or Docker Hub for secure container image management. Deploy, manage, and optimize persistent storage services for Kubernetes workloads (e.g., Ceph, NFS, ODF). Required Skills Senior-level hands-on experience with Kubernetes-based platforms such as Red Hat OpenShift, Rancher, or upstream Kubernetes. Experience deploying and managing CSI drivers for dynamic persistent storage provisioning (ODF, Ceph, AWS EBS, Azure Disks, etc.). Strong IaC experience using Helm, Kustomize, Terraform, and GitOps tools such as Argo CD or Flux. Strong troubleshooting skills across Kubernetes networking, container runtimes, persistent storage, servers, and platform services. Familiarity with Kubernetes persistent storage ecosystems (ODF, Ceph, NFS, etc.). Experience with Kubernetes observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Elasticsearch, Fluentd, Kibana, etc.). Desired Skills Strong understanding of Kubernetes networking concepts including CNIs (Calico, Cilium, OpenShift SDN), service discovery, ingress controllers, DNS, and network policies. Proven experience building and administering enterprise-grade Kubernetes clusters. Experience with container orchestration technologies such as Docker, Podman, or Kubernetes. Experience managing container registries (Harbor, Quay, Docker Hub). Strong automation proficiency using Ansible, Terraform, Python, Pulumi, or similar tools. Working knowledge of DoD STIGs, IAVM requirements, and/or industry-standard hardening practices. Familiarity with DevSecOps processes and integrating Kubernetes workloads into CI/CD pipelines. Required Certifications Security+ or equivalent DoD 8570.01-M IAT Level II certification. Must obtain (within 6 months of hire) a relevant Computing Environment certification such as: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift Administration Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) Or other equivalent Kubernetes/container certification