Linux Systems Engineer - Bare Metal & Kubernetes

Optiver; Sydney; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Global team collaboration

Training opportunities

Health insurance discounts

Fully paid commuting expenses

Office perks: meals, coffee, massages

Job summary

Optiver is seeking a Linux Systems Engineer to design, build, and operate our on-prem Kubernetes clusters and bare-metal Linux platforms across global datacenters. You will own core Kubernetes components, contribute to IaC with Terraform, and maintain CI/CD workflows using ArgoCD and GitHub Actions.

The role emphasizes high-performance, low-latency infrastructure with on-call rotation, strong focus on reliability, security posture, and documentation to empower the team.

Qualifications

• Strong Linux systems engineering experience in production environments.
• Hands-on experience operating on-prem Kubernetes (not only managed cloud offerings).
• Experience with Rancher, Cilium or other CNI technologies, ArgoCD (GitOps), Terraform, CI/CD with GitHub Actions.
• Solid understanding of L2/L3 networking, routing, firewalls and load balancing.
• Experience troubleshooting performance across kernel, container and network layers.
• Production mindset with incident response and post-mortem driven improvements.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and operate on-prem Kubernetes clusters in a bare-metal environment (Rancher-managed).
• Maintain and optimise bare-metal Linux infrastructure, including provisioning and lifecycle management.
• Own Kubernetes components (Cilium, ArgoCD, Rancher) and CI/CD workflows (ArgoCD, GitHub Actions).
• Develop infrastructure as code with Terraform and bespoke on-prem systems.
• Participate in on-call rotation for Kubernetes clusters and Linux production systems.
• Drive reliability, scalability and performance improvements for containerised and non-containerised workloads.
• Contribute to monitoring, observability and security posture; build docs and runbooks.

Skills

Linux systems engineering

Kubernetes on-prem

Rancher

Cilium (CNI)

ArgoCD (GitOps)

Terraform

GitHub Actions

Networking fundamentals

Incident response

Tools

Rancher

Cilium

ArgoCD

Terraform

GitHub Actions

Prometheus

Job description

Linux Systems Engineer - Bare Metal & Kubernetes

As a Linux Engineer in the Global Linux team, you will design, build and operate the critical infrastructure that powers our trading environment. The team owns both large-scale bare-metal Linux platforms and on-prem Kubernetes clusters across our global datacenters.

You will play a key role in evolving our Kubernetes platform while continuing to support and improve our high-performance Linux estate.

Design, deploy and operateon-prem Kubernetes clustersin a bare-metal environment (Rancher-managed)

Maintain and improve ourbare-metal Linux infrastructure, including provisioning, lifecycle management and performance tuning

Own and operate core Kubernetes components includingCilium (CNI), ArgoCD (GitOps), and Rancher

Build and maintain CI/CD workflows for infrastructure and cluster deployments usingArgoCD and GitHub Actions

Develop and maintain infrastructure as code usingTerraform and bespoke on-prem systems

Participate in on-call rotation covering both Kubernetes clusters and other Linux-based production systems

Drive reliability, scalability and performance improvements across both containerized and non-containerized workloads

Contribute to monitoring, observability and security posture across the Linux and Kubernetes platforms

Ensure the broader team can effectively operate and support the Kubernetes and Linux platforms by building clear documentation, operational runbooks, and providing practical, hands-on guidance

Who you are

Strong Linux systems engineering experience in production environments

Hands-on experience operatingKubernetes on-prem (not only managed cloud offerings)

Experience with:

Rancher

Cilium or other CNI technologies

ArgoCD (GitOps workflows)

Terraform

CI/CD systems such asGitHub Actions

Solid understanding of networking fundamentals (L2/L3, routing, firewalls, load balancing)

Experience troubleshooting performance issues across kernel, container and network layers

Production mindset with experience in incident response and post-mortem driven improvements

Nice to have

Experience building monitoring stacks (e.g. Prometheus, Grafana)

Experience with Kubernetes security controls (network policies, RBAC, policy engines)

Knowledge of low-latency or performance-sensitive environments

Experience contributing to internal platform tooling

No prior trading or financial experience is needed - our onboarding program will kick-start your career at Optiver and support you in gaining all the relevant knowledge about our business.

Who we are

At Optiver, our mission is to constantly improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and acting as a stabilizing force no matter the market conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we participate in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets for everyone who participates. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a trusted partner of 70+ exchanges across the globe.

What you'll get

You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, where you’ll be surrounded by curious thinkers and creative problem solvers. Motivated by a passion for continuous improvement, you’ll thrive in a supportive, high-performing environment alongside talented colleagues, working collectively to tackle the toughest problems in the financial markets.

In addition, you’ll receive:

• A performance-based bonus structure, enabling all of our employees to benefit from our global profit pool.
• The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 50 different countries.
• Training opportunities, discounts on health insurance, and fully paid first-class commuting expenses.
• Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, world-class barista coffee, in-house physio and chair massages, organized sports and leisure activities.
• Training and continuous learning opportunities, including access to conferences and tech events.

Diversity statement

Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, and welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the process.

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