Kubernetes Platform Engineer

BT Group; Manchester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading telecommunications company in the UK is seeking a skilled Kubernetes Engineer to design and develop managed services within a secure private cloud. The ideal candidate has over 5 years of networking infrastructure experience, along with strong skills in automation and cloud engineering practices. Responsibilities include working on Kubernetes deployment and incident management, with the opportunity to explore innovative technologies. This role also offers a competitive salary and an attractive benefits package.

Benefits

On target 10% bonus

BT Pension scheme

Equal family leave

Enhanced women’s health support

25 days annual leave

24/7 private virtual GP appointments

2 weeks carer’s leave

World-class training opportunities

Option to join BT Shares Saving schemes

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience in Networks Infrastructure IT with a focus on networking.
• 3 years Kubernetes experience, managing Kubernetes infrastructure.
• Development experience with Terraform, Metal3, KAPI, Ansible, Python, Golang.
• Experience with Ubuntu Linux on virtual and physical servers.
• Experience with on-prem Kubernetes distributions like RKE2 or Openshift.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop a Kubernetes managed service in a high-security environment.
• Automate cluster deployment and scaling using IaC and container orchestration.
• Provide documentation and incident support for Kubernetes services.
• Integrate various software into a cohesive platform solution.
• Explore and assess cutting-edge technologies related to Kubernetes.

Skills

Communication

Cloud engineering

Design and development

Networking

Security tools and practices

CI / CD

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Python

Kubernetes

Ubuntu Linux

Golang

Job description

What you’ll be doing

• Design and development : Working closely with an agile development team of Kubernetes engineers to co-design and develop a Kubernetes managed service for telco functions within a high security private cloud environment.
• Automation : Automating cluster deployment, scaling, and management using infrastructure as code (IaC) and container orchestration tools. Collaborating with development teams on infrastructure deployment best practices, encompassing CI / CD pipelines and related frameworks such as Terraform, Jenkins, and Ansible.
• Operations : Utilising a DevOps approach, providing documentation and incident escalation support to operations teams to facilitate brilliant in life service and incident management of the Kubernetes managed service.
• Integration : Building a deep understanding of varied software spanning security, logging, monitoring, cloud infrastructure, networks, and how best to integrate these into a cohesive platform solution.
• Innovation and Evaluation : Contributing to the exploration of cutting-edge technologies through the deployment of new technology proof-of-concept projects related to Kubernetes, participation in their assessment, and development into an in‑life service.

Skills Required for the Role

• Communication : Adept communicator facilitating effective collaboration within and across engineering and delivery teams, with a demonstrated ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Cloud engineering : Proficient in developing Terraform, Ansible, and Python in a cloud environment with an emphasis on developing robust, scalable, and maintainable infrastructure.
• Design and development : hands on design, build, maintenance and development of a Kubernetes managed service.
• Networking : Working knowledge of IP networking, routing, switching, and firewall principles and protocols. Experience with SDN, DPDK and SR-IOV would be a plus.
• Security tools and practices : Configuration of PKI, certificates, HashiCorp Vault, and software supply chain security, in the context of cloud and Kubernetes environments.
• CI / CD : Expertise in integrating with a GitOps workflow, employing infrastructure as code (IaC) best practices. Proficient in implementing CI / CD pipelines to ensure consistent, automated deployments.

Experience Required for the Role

Mandatory

• 5+ years’ experience of Networks Infrastructure IT with a focus on networking ( IP networking, routing, switching, and firewall principles and protocols)
• 3 years Kubernetes experience, at least 1 year managing Kubernetes infrastructure and with varied Kubernetes distributions.
• Development experience with, but not limited to Terraform, Metal3, KAPI (ideally), Ansible, Python, Golang
• Have worked with Ubuntu Linux on virtual and physical servers
• Experience with on prem Kubernetes distributions (e.g RKE2, Openshift etc)
• Metal3 and CAPI experience.

Nice to have

• Private cloud (particularly OpenStack) experience desirable but not essential

Benefits

• On target 10% on target bonus
• BT Pension scheme, minimum 5% Employee contribution, BT contribution 10%
• From January 2025, equal family leave : receive 18 weeks at full pay, 8 weeks at half pay and 26 weeks at the statutory rate. It’s for all parents, no matter how your family is made up.
• Enhanced women’s health support : including help with menopause symptoms, cancer screenings, period care and more.
• 25 days annual leave (not including bank holidays), increasing with service
• 24 / 7 private virtual GP appointments for UK colleagues
• 2 weeks carer’s leave
• World‑class training and development opportunities
• Option to join BT Shares Saving schemes.