Kubernetes Engineer

The Aerospace Corporation; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Paid holidays

Telework options

401(k) matching

Flexible spending accounts

Relocation assistance

Professional growth

Education assistance

Job summary

The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a skilled Kubernetes Engineer (Technical and Cloud Computing Engineer Staff IV/V) with expertise in Kubernetes, Linux, programming, and automation. You will manage Kubernetes clusters on‑prem and in the cloud, supporting engineering teams across space programs.

You’ll work with rocket scientists and engineers to deliver innovative solutions for space telemetry analysis and mission critical workloads, on‑site in Chantilly, VA or El Segundo, CA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, STEM, or IT or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of increasingly responsible and relevant professional experience supporting a high availability enterprise environment.
• 2+ years hands‑on experience managing existing Kubernetes environments, with responsibilities of deployment, upgrade, patching, and backups.
• Full ownership and engineering responsibility of production AWS and Kubernetes services.
• Experience in Linux systems administration, including configuration, for an enterprise environment.
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals.
• Experience automating repetitive tasks with scripting or DevOps tools.
• This position requires the ability to maintain a Secret security clearance and the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance
• 7+ years of experience in AWS, Linux, and IaC; architecting and deploying secure environments; performance tuning and capacity planning.

Responsibilities

• Manage Kubernetes for on‑prem and in AWS production environments with end‑to‑end responsibilities of deployment, upgrade, patching, performance tuning, capacity planning & backups/DR.
• Frequent full security patching of all layers of Kubernetes infrastructure while maintaining very high uptime
• Ownership and engineering responsibility of production AWS and Kubernetes services
• Identify and resolve full Kubernetes stack engineering problems independently
• Ensure successful real‑time analysis of telemetry data from space launch partners, such as SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA), and Blue Origin
• Provide after‑hours support for Kubernetes infrastructure troubleshooting during launch events
• Support scientists and engineers running workloads and apps in Kubernetes
• Provide Linux expertise and troubleshooting
• Evaluate and test new products and technologies
• Use code to enhance and automate operations

Skills

Kubernetes

Linux

Automation

Scripting

AWS

DevOps

Networking fundamentals

Security clearance

Python

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, STEM, or IT

Tools

Rancher

Portworx

VMware

Hyper-V

Harvester

ArgoCD

Ansible

Terraform

Packer

Golang

Job description

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space- delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

Job Summary

The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a skilled Kubernetes Engineer (Technical and Cloud Computing Engineer Staff IV/V) with expertise in Kubernetes, Linux, programming, and automation. In this role, you will be responsible for maintaining both on-premise and cloud-based Kubernetes clusters, providing essential support to our engineering team.

As part of a multidisciplinary infrastructure team, you will manage multiple clusters used for technical analyses, including space launch telemetry analysis. Collaborating closely with rocket scientists and engineers, you will contribute to the development of innovative solutions to complex challenges within the space enterprise, supporting critical national space assets. This position requires a strong sense of shared responsibility and ownership, working alongside cross‑functional team members to achieve our mission objectives.

The selected candidate will be required to work full‑time on‑site at our facility in El Segundo, CA or Chantilly, VA.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Manage Kubernetes for on‑prem and in AWS production environments with end‑to‑end responsibilities of deployment, upgrade, patching, performance tuning, capacity planning & backups/DR.
• Frequent full security patching of all layers of Kubernetes infrastructure while maintaining very high uptime
• Ownership and engineering responsibility of production AWS and Kubernetes services
• Identify and resolve full Kubernetes stack engineering problems independently
• Ensure successful real‑time analysis of telemetry data from space launch partners, such as SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA), and Blue Origin
• Provide after‑hours support for Kubernetes infrastructure troubleshooting during launch events
• Support scientists and engineers running workloads and apps in Kubernetes
• Provide Linux expertise and troubleshooting
• Evaluate and test new products and technologies
• Use code to enhance and automate operations

What You Need To Be Successful

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, STEM, or IT or equivalent experience is required
• A minimum of (5) or more years of increasingly responsible and relevant professional experience supporting a high availability enterprise environment is required
• A minimum of (2) years hands‑on experience managing existing Kubernetes environments, with responsibilities of deployment, upgrade, patching, and backups is required
• Full ownership and engineering responsibility of production AWS and Kubernetes services
• Be able to identify and resolve engineering problems independently
• Experience in Linux systems administration, including configuration, for an enterprise environment
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals
• Experience automating repetitive tasks with scripting or DevOps tools
• This position requires the ability to maintain a Secret security clearance and the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance

• A minimum of (7) or more years of increasingly responsible and relevant professional experience in AWS, Linux, and IaC is required
• Experience architecting and deploying secure AWS and/or Kubernetes environments from scratch is needed
• Experience performance tuning and capacity planning AWS and/or Kubernetes environments is required

How You Can Stand Out

• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), or Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) is preferred
• Experience deploying Kubernetes clusters using Rancher is strongly desired
• Experience deploying/supporting persistent container storage on Kubernetes (Portworx preferred)
• Experience in Linux performance tuning, and security hardening for an enterprise DoD environment
• Experience with VMWare, Hyper‑V, or Harvester
• Experience with automated provisioning, configuration management, Infrastructure-as‑Code, GitOps (Examples: ArgoCD, Ansible, TerraForm, Puppet, Packer, Bash, Golang, Python)
• Experience with Agile and Scrum is preferred
• A current and active TS/SCI security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government, is strongly preferred. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade‑based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills.

(Min - Max)

$135,000.00 - $228,000.00

Pay Basis: Annual

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change
• Engage with Impact
• Foster Innovation
• Deliver Results

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry‑leading benefits.

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company‑paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

We are all unique, from various backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other—the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at [e-mail] . You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.