Kubernetes Platform Engineer / Development Operations (TS/SCI with Poly Required)

The engineer will help build and operate a cloud-native platform that enables automated application deployment, infrastructure scalability, and secure operations.

GCI embodies excellence, integrity and professionalism. The employees supporting our customers deliver unique, high-value mission solutions while effectively leverage the technological expertise of our valued workforce to meet critical mission requirements in the areas of Data Analytics and Software Development, Engineering, Targeting and Analysis, Operations, Training, and Cyber Operations. We maximize opportunities for success by building and maintaining trusted and reliable partnerships with our customers and industry.

At GCI, we solve the hard problems. As a Software Engineer, a typical day will include the following duties:

JOB DESCRIPTION

The DevOps / Kubernetes Platform Engineer is responsible for the design, implementation, and operation of containerized infrastructure and platform services supporting the project’s cloud environment. This role focuses heavily on Kubernetes platform engineering within Amazon Web Services (AWS), leveraging Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) to deploy, scale, and manage containerized workloads.

The engineer will help build and operate a cloud-native platform that enables automated application deployment, infrastructure scalability, and secure operations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, deploy, and manage Kubernetes clusters in AWS using Amazon EKS


• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for cloud and Kubernetes resources using tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation, or Ansible


• Implement and manage containerized application deployments using Docker and Kubernetes


• Build and maintain Helm charts and Kubernetes manifests for application deployment and platform services


• Automate provisioning and configuration of AWS infrastructure and Kubernetes environments


• Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines supporting automated build, testing, and deployment of containerized applications


• Implement Kubernetes observability and monitoring solutions using tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch, and ELK/Kibana


• Configure and manage Kubernetes networking, ingress controllers, service meshes, and security policies


• Monitor health, performance, and capacity of Kubernetes clusters and cloud infrastructure


• Support platform security and compliance including vulnerability scanning, container image security, and audit logging


• Collaborate with development teams to enable cloud-native application deployment patterns


• Participate in platform reliability engineering, including incident response, root cause analysis, and system optimization


• Establish and maintain platform standards, operational procedures, and best practices for Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering or a related technical discipline, or the equivalent combination of education, technical training, or work/military experience.


• 8–10 years of experience in system administration, DevOps, or cloud infrastructure engineering


• 3+ years of hands-on Kubernetes experience in production environments

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Kubernetes / Container Platform (Primary Requirement)


• Strong hands-on experience with Kubernetes cluster operations


• Direct experience deploying and managing Amazon EKS clusters


• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker or OCI containers)


• Experience deploying applications using Helm, Kustomize, or Kubernetes manifests


• Understanding of Kubernetes networking, services, ingress controllers, and load balancing


• Experience implementing Kubernetes RBAC, secrets management, and security policies


• Experience troubleshooting Kubernetes workloads, pods, and cluster networking issues


• AWS Cloud Experience


• Deep experience with AWS services including:


• Amazon EKS


• EC2


• VPC networking


• CloudWatch


• S3


• Experience automating infrastructure using Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar tools


• Experience building scalable, highly available cloud infrastructure


• Automation & Infrastructure as Code


• Strong scripting experience using:
  
  
  
  • Ansible
  
  
  • Python
  
  
  • Shell scripting
  
  


• Experience implementing Infrastructure as Code for cloud and Kubernetes resources


• Experience building automation pipelines for environment provisioning


• Monitoring & Observability


• Experience implementing monitoring solutions such as:
  
  
  
  • Prometheus
  
  
  • Grafana
  
  
  • ELK / Kibana
  
  
  • AWS CloudWatch
  
  


• CI/CD and DevOps Practices


• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions


• Understanding of GitOps workflows (ArgoCD, Flux preferred)


• Experience supporting automated deployments into Kubernetes environments


• Networking & Infrastructure


• Strong understanding of cloud networking concepts


• Experience with DNS, TLS certificates, and secure networking practices


• Familiarity with Linux system administration

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with GitOps deployment models (ArgoCD or Flux)


• Experience with service mesh technologies (Istio, Linkerd)


• Experience with container security tools (Aqua, Twistlock, Trivy)


• AWS certifications such as:




• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer


• AWS Solutions Architect


• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)

A candidate must be a US Citizen and requires an active/current TS/SCI with Polygraph clearance.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans