Kubernetes Platform Architect-5

Realign Llc; Plano (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Realign Llc in Plano, Texas seeks a Senior Kubernetes Platform Architect to lead enterprise Kubernetes platforms, automation, security governance, and multi-cluster strategy for scalable cloud-native ecosystems.

You will design reference architectures, drive lifecycle management, and lead provisioning with Cluster API while mentoring platform teams to ensure resilience and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• CKA certification required.
• Experience with multi-cluster platform architectures.
• Strong background in Kubernetes security, RBAC and policy enforcement.
• Experience with disaster recovery and high availability strategies.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and govern enterprise Kubernetes platforms.
• Define Kubernetes reference architectures and lifecycle management processes.
• Lead cluster provisioning, upgrades, and scaling with Cluster API and automation frameworks.
• Design secure, highly available, multi-cluster Kubernetes environments.
• Establish GitOps practices for configuration management and deployment automation.
• Drive platform security initiatives including RBAC governance and secrets management.
• Implement monitoring, logging, and observability solutions for platform health.
• Develop capacity planning, scheduling, and resource optimization strategies.
• Lead root cause analysis of complex platform, networking, storage, and cluster issues.
• Design and validate backup, DR, and business continuity solutions for Kubernetes environments.
• Collaborate with development, security, and DevOps teams to onboard cloud-native applications.

Skills

Kubernetes architecture

Cluster API (CAPI)

Kubernetes workload management

Kubernetes networking

GitOps (Flux, Helm, Kustomize)

Infrastructure-as-Code

Kubernetes security

Observability

Storage (CSI, PV/PVC)

Disaster recovery & HA

Troubleshooting Kubernetes

Tools

Flux

Helm

Kustomize

Terraform

Job description

Job Type: Full Time

Job Description

Must Have Technical/Functional Skills

• 5+ years of hands‑on experience and deep expertise in Kubernetes architecture, including control plane, worker nodes, API server, etcd, resource lifecycle management, and reconciliation patterns.
• 10+ years of Infrastructure, Cloud, or Platform Engineering experience.
• Strong experience with Cluster API (CAPI) for Kubernetes cluster provisioning, scaling, upgrades, lifecycle management, and infrastructure automation.
• 7 + years of hands‑on experience and advanced knowledge of Kubernetes workload management including Pods, Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets, Jobs, ConfigMaps, Secrets, and container lifecycle operations.
• Strong expertise in Kubernetes networking including CNI, CoreDNS, Ingress Controllers, Gateway API, Load Balancers, Service Discovery, and Network Policies.
• Experience implementing GitOps‑based deployment models using Flux, Helm, Kustomize, and Infrastructure-as-Code practices.
• Hands‑on expertise in Kubernetes security, RBAC, Service Accounts, Secrets Management, certificate management, and policy enforcement frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of observability platforms including Prometheus, Grafana, centralized logging, monitoring, alerting, and performance management.
• Experience with persistent storage technologies including CSI drivers, Storage Classes, PV/PVC administration, and stateful workload management.
• Proven experience implementing disaster recovery, backup/restore strategies, high availability architectures, and platform resilience.
• Strong troubleshooting skills across Kubernetes clusters, nodes, networking, workloads, scheduling, storage, authentication, and infrastructure components.

Must-have Certification: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Nice to Have Experience: Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP)

Nice to Have Certification

• Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
• Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)
• AWS Solutions Architect Professional / Associate

The Kubernetes Platform Architect will serve as the technical leader responsible for defining and operating enterprise‑scale Kubernetes platforms. This role combines platform architecture, lifecycle automation, security governance, observability, and multi‑cluster strategy to deliver a secure, scalable, and resilient cloud‑native ecosystem that accelerates application delivery and operational excellence.

• Architect, design, and govern enterprise Kubernetes platforms supporting mission‑critical applications.
• Define Kubernetes reference architectures, platform standards, operational models, and lifecycle management processes.
• Lead cluster provisioning, upgrades, scaling, and decommissioning using Cluster API and automation frameworks.
• Design and implement secure, highly available, and scalable multi‑cluster Kubernetes environments.
• Establish GitOps practices for configuration management, deployment automation, and platform consistency.
• Drive platform security initiatives including RBAC governance, secrets management, admission controls, policy enforcement, and compliance standards.
• Implement monitoring, logging, alerting, and observability solutions to ensure platform health and operational excellence.
• Develop capacity planning, scheduling, workload placement, and resource optimization strategies.
• Lead root cause analysis and resolution of complex platform, networking, storage, security, and cluster availability issues.
• Design and validate backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions for Kubernetes environments.
• Collaborate with development, infrastructure, security, and DevOps teams to onboard and support cloud‑native applications.
• Establish governance, tenancy models, operational automation, and cost optimization practices across multiple Kubernetes clusters.
• Provide architectural leadership, mentoring, and technical guidance to platform engineering and operations teams.
• Evaluate emerging Kubernetes ecosystem technologies and drive continuous platform modernization initiatives.

Generic Managerial Skills, If any

• Product Strategy, Roadmap Development, and Cross‑Functional Stakeholder Leadership
• Experience in driving continuous improvement including design, and standardization of process and methodologies.
• Experience assessing feasibility, complexity and scope of new capabilities and solutions.
• Cross‑functional stakeholder collaboration and communication.
• Understanding of Agile methodologies and collaboration with global business and product teams.

Performance Architect