CONTRACT - Sr Engineer, Kubernetes (NTD)

Nintendo; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 199,947,619 - 359,809,833; Full time

Job summary

Nintendo Technology Development in Redmond, WA seeks a Senior Software Engineer, Kubernetes, to join our internal platform team. You will standardize, stabilize, and scale our Kubernetes infrastructure while handling day‑to‑day operations and strategic projects.

You will audit and document the current setup, build Terraform IaC, drive a hybrid cloud strategy, and implement GitOps with ArgoCD/FluxCD. Collaborating across teams, you will mentor peers and help expand production Kubernetes at

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional software development experience.
• 5+ years hands-on experience building and managing production Kubernetes infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Audit existing infrastructure and document current setup.
• Build Terraform IaC templates to reproduce Kubernetes clusters.
• Advance a hybrid cloud strategy with Kubernetes.
• Implement GitOps with ArgoCD, FluxCD, Spinnaker, or Kargo.
• Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines with Helm/Kustomize.
• Hands-on Kubernetes cluster management with kubeadm and kubectl.
• Operate on-prem and cloud Kubernetes environments.
• Design, tune, and troubleshoot networking (Cilium, ingress, Gateway API).
• Collaborate and mentor across teams.

Skills

Kubernetes

Go

Python

Docker

CI/CD

Terraform

ArgoCD

GitOps

Kustomize

kubectl

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

kubeadm

Helm

Kubespray

GitHub Actions

FluxCD

Spinnaker

Job description

Nintendo Technology Development

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Nintendo Switch TM system and the Nintendo 3DS TM family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System TM , Nintendo has sold more than 4.7 billion video games and more than 740 million hardware units globally, including Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, as well as the Game Boy TM , Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS TM family of systems, Super NES TM , Nintendo 64 TM , Nintendo GameCube TM , Wii TM and Wii U TM systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well‑known, household names, such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokémon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo Technology Development, based in Redmond, Washington, creates future hardware/software technology and researches North American‑based technologies.

Nintendo is an equal opportunity employer. We offer a welcoming and inclusive environment in service to one another, our products, the diverse consumers we represent, and the communities we call home. We do all of this with kindness, empathy and respect for each other.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

As a Senior Software Engineer, Kubernetes, you will be a key member of our internal platform team. This role is a unique blend of software development and DevOps principles, focusing on standardizing, stabilizing, and scaling our Kubernetes infrastructure. You will be responsible for both day‑to‑day operations and strategic long‑term projects that will shape our platform's future.

• Document and Standardize: Audit our existing infrastructure and document our current setup, including its architecture, processes, and configurations. Your goal is to establish a clear and reproducible foundation.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Build out robust deployment scripts and IaC templates to enable the full reproduction of our Kubernetes infrastructure. You will leverage tools like Terraform to provision and manage our clusters, ensuring consistency and reliability.
• Platform Strategy: Investigate and propose solutions for a hybrid cloud strategy, evaluating the technical and business merits of different approaches.
• Implement Deployment Automation: Design and implement standardized, automated deployments using GitOps principles. This includes setting up and managing tools such as ArgoCD, Flux CD, Spinnaker, or Kargo to ensure a single source of truth for all deployments.
• Tooling & CI/CD: Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines to streamline developer workflows. You'll help manage application deployments using package or configuration managers like Helm or Kustomize.
• Cluster Management: Have hands‑on experience with Kubernetes cluster management, which require familiarity with tools like kubeadm and kubectl.
• On‑Premise & Cloud Environments: Have knowledge & experience working with Kubernetes clusters hosted on‑premise and in cloud environments, along with the unique considerations that come with both.
• Networking & Service Mesh: Own the design, tuning, and troubleshooting of cluster networking end‑to‑end — including the CNI dataplane (Cilium), ingress/Gateway API, Envoy configuration, and service mesh. Diagnose and resolve complex throughput, latency, and connectivity issues spanning worker nodes, pod networking, and east‑west traffic.
• Collaboration & Mentorship: Work closely with peer groups and other teams, sharing your expertise and helping to build a deeper understanding of Kubernetes best practices across the organization.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

We are looking for a senior‑level candidate with a software engineering background and hands‑on experience with managing production Kubernetes environments.

• Experience: 7+ years of professional experience in software development, with at least 5 years of hands‑on experience building and managing production‑level Kubernetes infrastructure.
• Kubernetes Expertise: Deep understanding of Kubernetes architecture, including core concepts like Pods, Deployments, Services, RBAC and the API server.
• On‑Premise & Cloud Cluster Management: Experience with using and managing Kubernetes clusters hosted on on‑premise hardware and in cloud environments such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Experience provisioning and managing infrastructure with tools like Terraform, specifically for Kubernetes clusters.
• Configuration Management: Proficiency with Helm (especially advanced usage) or Kustomize.
• GitOps: Experience with managing Kubernetes application & service deployment with tools such as ArgoCD, FluxCD, Spinnaker, Kargo, GitLab CI/CD, or GitHub Actions.
• Containerization: Expertise with Docker and other container runtimes like containerd.
• Advanced Kubernetes Networking: Hands‑on production experience with Cilium (or closely transferable CNIs such as Calico or Canal, with demonstrated ability to ramp on Cilium/eBPF). Working knowledge of Linux networking fundamentals (iptables/nftables, conntrack, MTU, BGP) and Kubernetes traffic paths (kube‑proxy or eBPF replacement, CoreDNS, ingress controllers, Gateway API).
• Service Mesh: Production experience with at least one service mesh — Istio (sidecar and/or ambient) preferred, Linkerd or Cilium Service Mesh acceptable — including mTLS, traffic policy, and Envoy‑level troubleshooting (listeners, clusters, xDS, access logs).
• Experience with programming languages such as Go, Python, or C#.
• Knowledge of Linux & Windows systems, as well as scripting functionality for both
• Direct experience with Terraform, kubeadm, and kubespray for cluster provisioning and management preferred.

Applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States to be considered. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

This position is onsite in Redmond, WA, and not open to remote status at this time.

This contract position includes the base pay range listed below and is eligible for benefits through the employing agency. Agency benefits include eligibility for medical insurance, employee assistance program, and paid sick leave. All benefits are subject to elections, eligibility requirements, plan and program terms. Benefits offerings will be confirmed at the time of offer by the employing agency, and may differ depending on the employing agency partner.

Pay range:

$69.78 — $125.57 USD