Field-Driven Software Engineer: Kubernetes & Cloud

Ultimate Knowledge; Columbia (MD); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Ultimate Knowledge is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer who writes code and engineers distributed cloud-native systems. You will embed with customer teams, deploy Kubernetes workloads, and help customers adopt best practices in GitOps and IaC.

This role requires strong problem-solving, communication, and the ability to work in secure, on-prem, and cloud environments. You will be asked to ship code, build tooling, and debug real distributed systems failures while maintaining pragmatic, low-ego

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience (backend or platform-focused).
• Proficiency in at least one modern backend language (TypeScript, Java, Go, Python).
• Hands-on experience deploying and operating Kubernetes workloads in production.
• Practical experience with GitOps tooling (ArgoCD preferred; Flux acceptable).
• Experience building and maintaining infrastructure-as-code using Terraform, Helm, and/or Kustomize.
• Ability to troubleshoot distributed systems, including container runtime issues, API failures, microservices communication, and networking issues.
• Familiarity with CNI plugins such as Calico, Cilium, or Multus.
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (DNS, TCP/IP, firewalls, proxies, service networking).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred; GovCloud a plus).
• Ability to write automation and tooling in scripting languages (Bash, Shell, Python).
• Experience working directly with customer engineering or IT/SecOps teams.
• Ability to gather requirements, interpret constraints, and adjust implementation plans.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including explanations for non-experts.
• Experience troubleshooting in unfamiliar or partially-documented environments.
• Comfortable in secure, regulated, or on-prem environments with limited visibility.

Responsibilities

• Ship code, build tooling, and write automation for distributed systems in customer environments.
• Debug real distributed-systems failures and mentor customers on GitOps, networking, and IaC practices.
• Collaborate with customer teams, understand constraints, and adapt platform deployments accordingly.
• Work across cloud and on-prem environments, including secure networks and air-gapped environments.

Skills

5+ years software experience

Backend languages

Kubernetes

GitOps tooling

IaC (Terraform/Helm/Kustomize)

Troubleshooting distributed systems

CNI plugins

Networking fundamentals

Cloud platforms (AWS)

Scripting (Bash/Shell/Python)

Customer engagement

Requirements gathering

Communication

Unknown environments troubleshooting

On-prem security

Job description

Ultimate Knowledge is seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer who writes code and engineers distributed cloud-native systems. You will embed with customer teams, deploy Kubernetes workloads, and help customers adopt best practices in GitOps and IaC.

This role requires strong problem-solving, communication, and the ability to work in secure, on-prem, and cloud environments. You will be asked to ship code, build tooling, and debug real distributed systems failures while maintaining pragmatic, low-ego