Lead Associate Principal, Cloud Engineering

The Options Clearing Corporation; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 143,300 - 228,200; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition Reimbursement

Student Loan Repayment Assistance

Technology Stipend

Generous PTO and Parental leave

401k Employer Match

Health, dental, and vision benefits

Job summary

The Options Clearing Corporation is hiring for a Kubernetes Engineer in Chicago, IL, to manage and automate a cloud computing environment. In this role, you will design and implement Kubernetes clusters, manage operational workloads with cloud-native technologies, and provide cross-departmental technical guidance. The ideal candidate has extensive Kubernetes experience, strong coding skills in Go or Python, and a background in AWS cloud services. This position provides a hybrid work setup with great benefits including tuition reimbursement and a competitive salary range.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in IT systems with significant Kubernetes expertise.
• Production-level experience with AWS cloud services and Kubernetes.
• Strong coding skills in Go or Python for Kubernetes development.

Responsibilities

• Manage Kubernetes clusters and automate workflows.
• Develop Kubernetes operators and custom resources.
• Ensure reliability of Kubernetes platforms to meet SLAs.

Skills

Consultative skills

Communication

Analytical skills

Team player

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline

Tools

AWS

Terraform

Kubernetes

Docker

CI/CD tools (Jenkins, GitHub Actions)

Job description

To be considered for this position, applications and resumes are accepted only through our careers site by directly applying to the posted job. We do not accept unsolicited resumes or sales solicitations from staffing agencies.

What You'll Do

This role will perform a range of activities required to maintain and continuously automate a large, complex Kubernetes‑based cloud computing environment. You will provide technical guidance to the team and serve as a technical liaison between internal departments, utilizing best practices for the management, architecture, configuration, high availability, disaster recovery, administration, and automation of Kubernetes clusters and containerized workloads with cloud‑native technologies.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Reports to the Director of Platform Automation and Cloud Engineering
• Design, configure, implement, and manage Kubernetes clusters and maintain a fully automated workflow for provisioning and managing a complex, highly available container orchestration environment using infrastructure as code
• Develop and maintain Kubernetes operators, controllers, and custom resources to extend cluster functionality and automate application lifecycle management
• Manage DevOps development activities and complex development tasks involving tools such as Docker, Kafka, container runtimes, and Kubernetes ecosystem tools
• Lead and participate in Kubernetes cluster build‑outs, upgrades, software installation, maintenance, and support, including patches, security fixes, end‑of‑life preparation, and version upgrades
• Implement and manage Kubernetes networking solutions, service mesh architectures, runtime security policies, and RBAC configurations to ensure secure and efficient cluster operations
• Ensure the reliability of Kubernetes platforms and containerized services to meet SLAs and internal and external quality standards
• Assess and plan capacity needs within Kubernetes clusters and forecast accordingly
• Implement and manage initiatives with accountability for results and compliance with all controls and security requirements
• Lead development of technology roadmaps and end‑of‑life technology plans for Kubernetes versions, container runtimes, and related cloud‑native technologies
• Write and maintain documentation of relevant Kubernetes architectures, systems, procedures, and processes
• Effectively communicate project and operational service issues to senior management promptly with observations, decisions, and recommendations for corrective measures
• Manage and participate in the implementation of production changes during defined maintenance windows and support on call rotation
• Maintain appropriate work/personal balance within your team
• Serve as a point of escalation within the team for Kubernetes and containerization support issues
• Implement and manage rotational support schedules for after‑hours and weekend work for area of responsibility
• Foster an atmosphere of trust, respect, and high performance while displaying strong ethics and integrity
• Manage project and daily task planning and prioritization, meet project deadlines while maintaining a high quality of work
• Institute corrective actions to address audit and other regulatory or compliance findings
• Operate within budget; establish and assure adherence to schedules, work plans, and performance requirements
• Other duties as assigned

Supervisory Responsibilities

• None

Qualifications & Experience

• [Required] Good consultative, communication, team player, and analytical skills are must; regular interaction between teams across the US
• [Required] Working knowledge of Kubernetes architecture, container orchestration, and cloud‑native infrastructure design and components such as etcd, networking, storage, and container runtimes
• [Required] Extensive hands‑on experience with Kubernetes cluster creation, maintenance, support, and administration in production environments
• [Required] Deep understanding and practical implementation experience with Kubernetes networking (CNI plugins, service types, ingress controllers), runtime security (Pod Security Standards, OPA/Gatekeeper, network policies), and RBAC
• [Required] Experience with architecting, implementing, and maintaining highly available mission‑critical Kubernetes environments for 24/7 availability
• [Required] Experience working in an environment with a defined production change control process
• [Required] Demonstrated history of working within deadlines and ability to work well under pressure

Technical Skills & Background

• [Required] Production‑level hands‑on experience with AWS cloud services and implementing Kubernetes on AWS (EKS or self‑managed clusters)
• [Required] Extensive experience with Infrastructure as Code using Terraform for provisioning and managing cloud infrastructure and Kubernetes resources
• [Required] Strong hands‑on development skills with demonstrable coding experience in Go or Python (Go strongly preferred for Kubernetes operator/controller development)
• [Required] Hands‑on experience with Kubernetes ecosystem tools including Helm, kubectl, container runtimes (containerd, CRI‑O), and monitoring/observability tools
• [Required] Experience with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions
• [Required] Experience with version control using GitHub or similar platforms
• [Required] Experience with configuration management tools such as Ansible, Puppet, or Chef
• [Strongly Preferred] Hands‑on experience with Kubernetes operator/controller development using operator frameworks (Kubebuilder, Operator SDK, or similar); contributions to open‑source CNCF projects or in‑house operators are preferred
• [Preferred] Experience with Rancher and RKE2 (Rancher Kubernetes Engine 2) distribution
• [Preferred] Experience with service mesh technologies (Istio, Linkerd) and Envoy proxy configuration and management
• [Preferred] Experience designing and implementing multi‑tenancy architectures in Kubernetes environments
• [Preferred] Experience with GitOps‑based continuous deployment using FluxCD, ArgoCD, or Rancher Fleet
• [Preferred] Experience with Kafka and event‑driven architectures

Certifications

• [Preferred] CKA, CKS certifications
• [Preferred] AWS Solutions Architect Associate Certification or higher
• [Preferred] Relevant industry certifications such as Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform

Education & Training

• [Required] Bachelor's degree, preferably in a technical discipline (Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, etc.) or equivalent combination of education and experience
• [Required] 7+ years of experience in IT systems installation, operations, administration, and maintenance of cloud systems / virtualized servers with significant experience in Kubernetes and container orchestration platforms
• [Preferred] Experience working in a financial services or highly regulated environment

Benefits

• Hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work
• Tuition Reimbursement to support continued education
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance
• Technology Stipend to use a device of your choice for remote work
• Generous PTO and Parental leave
• 401k Employer Match
• Competitive health, dental, and vision benefits

Compensation

• Salary range: $143,300.00 - $228,200.00
• Incentive range: 8% to 15% of base salary
• Potential discretionary bonus based on performance