Kubernetes Engineer (Cloud Native Infrastructure & Automation)

Atlas Technologies; North Charleston (SC); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Atlas Tech in Charleston, SC, seeks an experienced Kubernetes SME to design, deploy, and optimize enterprise-grade clusters across bare-metal, virtualized, and multi-cloud environments. You will implement GitOps pipelines, manage networking, and drive observability, with telework up to two days per week and up to 10% travel.

The role requires extensive Kubernetes hands-on work, cloud platform experience (AKS/EKS/GKE), and DoD security clearance, reporting to engineering leadership.

Qualifications

• BS degree or equivalent experience in a technical field.
• Security clearance DoD Secret level is required.
• Hands-on Kubernetes design, provisioning, and operations experience.
• Experience with multi-cluster, multi-cloud, and service mesh environments.
• Familiarity with GitOps pipelines (Argo CD or Flux) and CI/CD tooling.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical authority for Kubernetes strategy, operations, and best practices.
• Architect, deploy, and manage Kubernetes clusters across diverse environments.
• Automate infrastructure state and deployments via GitOps pipelines.
• Configure networking, ingress, and service mesh components.
• Improve monitoring, logging, and tracing for cluster reliability.
• Troubleshoot complex cluster issues and optimize resource usage.
• Collaborate with application teams to onboard workloads and patterns.
• Drive documentation, standards, and reusable automation templates.
• Provide training and mentorship to junior engineers.

Skills

Kubernetes

Cloud-native

GitOps

Argo CD

Flux

Service mesh

Istio

Linkerd

NGINX

Traefik

Helm

Kustomize

Kubernetes Operators

OPA/Gatekeeper

Kyverno

Falco

Ansible

Terraform

YAML

CI/CD

DevOps

Governance/Compliance

Education

BS Degree in relevant technical field

CompTIA Security+ CE

Professional Scrum Developer or Certified Scrum Developer

Tools

AKS

EKS

GKE

Docker

Podman

Buildah

Argo CD

Flux

Istio

Linkerd

NGINX

HAProxy

Traefik

Jenkins

Git

Job description

Looking for a career where hard work is valued, and your ideas and feedback are part of the way we operate daily? Want to bring your skills to a company that encourages teamwork and champions continued education and process improvement?

Atlas Tech, a veteran-owned IT company serving multiple DoD customers in support of America's warfighters, is seeking an experienced Subject Matter Expert (SME) specializing in Kubernetes and cloud native infrastructure. The ideal candidate will bring deep hands on knowledge of container orchestration, cluster operations, automation frameworks, and modern DevOps practices. Experience with multi cluster environments, service mesh, and cloud provider Kubernetes platforms is highly valuable. This role focuses on designing, implementing, and optimizing enterprise grade Kubernetes environments to drive scalability, reliability, and operational excellence.

This position allows for telework up to 2 days per week. However, Atlas reserves the right to adjust the schedule, if required to meet the needs of our customer.

Travel Up To - 10%

You Will

• Serve as the primary technical authority for Kubernetes strategy, operations, and best practices.
• Architect, deploy, and manage Kubernetes clusters across bare-metal, virtualized, and multi-cloud environments.
• Leverage GitOps delivery pipelines using Argo CD (or Flux) to automate infrastructure state, cluster add-ons, and workload deployments across multi-cluster environments.
• Configure, tune, and troubleshoot cluster networking, including Container Network Interfaces, ingress controllers and service mesh architectures.
• Build and optimize enhance monitoring, logging, and tracing frameworks to ensure cluster reliability and workload visibility.
• Troubleshoot complex cluster issues, including networking, scheduling, performance tuning, and node health.
• Collaborate with application teams to onboard workloads, design deployment patterns, and optimize resource usage.
• Drive documentation, standards, and reusable automation templates for repeatability across environments.
• Provide knowledge transfer, training, and mentorship to junior engineers and cross functional teams

You Have

• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must currently possess and maintain a Department of Defense (DoD) Secret Level Security Clearance.
• Extensive hands-on Kubernetes experience, including cluster operations, workload deployment, and infrastructure components.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms providing managed Kubernetes (AKS, EKS, GKE).
• Excellent communication and documentation skills.
• Solid understanding of containers and container build processes (Docker, Podman, Buildah, etc.).
• Strong troubleshooting skills for cluster networking, storage, and control plane issues.
• Experience with service mesh technologies (Istio, Linkerd) or ingress controllers (NGINX, HAProxy, Traefik)
• Experience with Helm charts, Kustomize, and Kubernetes Operators templating/packaging mechanism.
• Knowledge of Kubernetes security tooling (OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno, Falco).
• Strong skills with automation tooling (Ansible, Terraform, or similar).
• Proficiency with Git, Jenkins, YAML, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps workflows.
• Familiarity with DoD/DoW compliance automation (DISA STIGs, SCAP, RMF)
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex concepts clearly

We’d Be Impressed If You Had

• Certifications such as Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
• Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)
• Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)

Education/Experience

• BS Degree in relevant technical field or combination of education and experience
• Ability to obtain the following certs within 3 months of start date:
• CompTIA Security+ CE
• Professional Scrum Developer certification or Certified Scrum Developer certification
• 3+ years of dedicated, hands-on experience designing, provisioning, and administering production Kubernetes environments.
• 5+ years experience working with a wide range of IT products

In addition to a great culture at Atlas Tech, we pride ourselves on our Core Values of Learning; Teaching; Passion; and Flexibility. We have been recognized in the top 25 in both South Carolina and Virginia as one of the Best Places to Work for three straight years. We have also been honored with the US DOL Hire Vets Gold Award since 2020.

Want to hear more? Read on to see what our Team Members say about their experience:

“From day 1, I knew Atlas Tech was where I wanted to be. Atlas’ culture embraces creativeness, community involvement, and taking care of their employees. If you’re looking for a great place to work, come join us!” - Blane

“I could not have asked for a better company to transition from Active-Duty military to civilian life. Atlas not only provides opportunities for professional growth, but it’s also highly encouraged. The passion and appreciation for what we do that is displayed every day, makes it exciting for me to come to work each day.” - Laurence

Atlas Tech is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, or protected veteran status. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where diverse perspectives are valued and respected.

Accessibility & Accommodations

Atlas Tech strives to make our website, accessible to all users. If you need assistance completing the application process or require a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail].

This contact information is designated for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of an application. Atlas Tech is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Atlas Tech offers a competitive salary, generous benefits package, and an opportunity to make a positive impact in your own community.