Principal Systems Engineer - Containers (Remote)

First Citizens; Raleigh (NC); Remote; USD 170,000 - 199,000; Full time

Job summary

First Citizens is seeking a Principal OpenShift Engineer to lead the architecture, administration, automation, security, and operational excellence of enterprise Red Hat OpenShift platforms across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The ideal candidate will drive platform strategy, establish best practices, mentor engineering teams, and partner with architects, security, developers, and business stakeholders to deliver a world-class container platform.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent with 10+ years in leading system engineering teams.
• Alternative: High School/GED with 14+ years in hands-on leadership of system engineering teams.
• 10+ years of infrastructure/platform engineering experience.
• 7+ years Kubernetes/OpenShift administration experience.
• Experience managing large-scale production OpenShift environments.
• Proven experience supporting highly regulated, mission-critical applications.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement cloud architecture strategy aligned with business goals.
• Lead technical advisory on cloud infrastructure projects, guiding best practices in scale, resilience and performance.
• Coordinate end-to-end cloud projects with engineering, DevOps, security, and operations teams.
• Develop strategies for cost optimization and performance improvements.
• Maintain high-quality documentation, diagrams, and standards for cloud infrastructure.
• Provide mentorship to cloud engineers and 24/7 on-call support for cloud infrastructure.

Skills

Kubernetes Administration

OpenShift Administration

Cloud Architecture

Terraform

Ansible

Helm

ArgoCD

Security and Compliance Leadership

DevOps Methodologies

Monitoring & Observability

Education

Bachelor's Degree and 10 years of experience in Technical Hands-On Leader of System Engineering Teams

High School Diploma or GED and 14 years of experience in Technical Hands-On Leader of System Engineering Teams

Tools

OpenShift Container Platform

Kubernetes Administration

Prometheus

Grafana

Dynatrace

Splunk

OpenTelemetry

Terraform

Ansible

Helm

ArgoCD

Job description

Overview

This is a remote role open for multiple markets across the United States.

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal OpenShift Engineer to lead the architecture, administration, automation, security, and operational excellence of enterprise Red Hat OpenShift platforms. This role is responsible for designing and managing highly available, scalable, and secure Kubernetes/OpenShift environments supporting mission-critical applications across hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures.

The ideal candidate will serve as a technical leader, driving platform strategy, establishing best practices, leading engineering teams, and partnering with architects, security teams, developers, and business stakeholders to deliver a world-class container platform.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

• Cloud Architecture Strategy – Define and implement the overall cloud architecture and strategy, ensuring alignment with business goals and technology roadmaps.
• Technical Leadership and Innovation – Serve as the primary technical advisor for cloud infrastructure projects, guiding best practices in design, scalability, resilience, and performance. Identify and evaluate emerging cloud technologies and trends, recommending their application within the organization to drive efficiency and innovation.
• Project Oversight – Lead end-to-end cloud projects, from concept through deployment, by coordinating with engineering, DevOps, security, and operations teams.
• Optimization and Cost Management – Develop strategies for efficient cloud resource management, cost optimization, and performance enhancement, ensuring financial accountability.
• Documentation and Knowledge Sharing – Establish, review and maintain high-quality documentation, architectural diagrams, and operational standards for cloud infrastructure.
• Support – Provide technical mentorship to cloud engineers at all levels, fostering an environment of continuous learning and technical growth. Provide 24/7 on‑call support to ensure the availability and reliability of cloud infrastructure.

Position Specific Skills

• Cloud Services (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation)
• Policy as Code & Governance
• Programming & Advanced Automation (e.g., JavaScript, Python)
• Container Orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes)
• Monitoring and Observability
• Operating Systems (Windows, Linux)
• Advanced Cloud and Network Security
• Cloud Architecture Expertise
• Developer Enablement
• Agile and DevOps Methodologies
• Security and Compliance Leadership

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree and 10 years of experience in Technical Hands-On Leader of System Engineering Teams OR High School Diploma or GED and 14 years of experience in Technical Hands-On Leader of System Engineering Teams

Preferred Experience

• 10+ years of infrastructure engineering, systems administration, or platform engineering experience.
• 7+ years of Kubernetes/OpenShift administration experience.
• Experience managing large-scale production OpenShift environments.
• Proven experience supporting highly regulated, mission‑critical applications.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise platform initiatives.

Technical Skills

OpenShift & Kubernetes

• Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform (OCP), Kubernetes Administration, OpenShift Operators, OpenShift Service Mesh, OpenShift Pipelines, OpenShift GitOps, OpenShift Data Foundation (ODF)

Operating Systems

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Linux Administration, System Performance Tuning

Cloud Platforms

• One of the public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud Architectures

Automation & DevOps

• Terraform, Ansible, Helm, ArgoCD

Networking

• DNS, Load Balancers, TCP/IP, Ingress/Egress, VPN, Service Mesh, Istio

Storage Technologies

• Ceph, NFS, SAN/NAS, Persistent Volumes, CSI Drivers

Monitoring & Logging

• Prometheus, Grafana, Dynatrace/App Dynamics, Splunk, OpenTelemetry

Preferred Certifications

• Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift Administration
• Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)
• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
• Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect
• Azure Administrator Associate
• Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Additional Information

This job posting is expected to remain active for 45 days from the initial posting date listed above. If it is necessary to extend this deadline, the posting will remain active as appropriate. Job postings may come down early due to business need or a high volume of applicants.

The base pay for this position is generally between $170,000 and $199,000. Actual starting base pay will be determined based on skills, experience, location, and other non-discriminatory factors permitted by law. For some roles, total compensation may also include variable incentives, bonuses, benefits, and/or other awards as outlined in the offer of employment.

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at https://jobs.firstcitizens.com/benefits.