Field-Driven Software Engineer: Kubernetes & Cloud

Ultimate Knowledge

Columbia (MD)

Hybrid

USD 140,000 - 180,000

Full time

14 days+

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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.