Professional Services Engineer – Kubernetes / Rancher / Harvester

Missionfirstcyber; Annapolis (MD); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term and Long-term Disability

Life Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

Flexible Time Off

Job summary

A cybersecurity solutions provider is seeking a Professional Services Engineer to manage Kubernetes environments and GitLab CI/CD pipelines. This role involves hands-on deployment, support for VM-to-container migrations, and leading customer interactions. Ideal candidates will have over 5 years in systems engineering, strong Kubernetes experience, and a solid background in technical consulting. The position offers competitive benefits including disability insurance, life insurance, 401(k), and flexible time off.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of Kubernetes (prefer RKE2).
• Experience with GitLab CI/CD deployment pipelines.
• Ability to troubleshoot infrastructure across Linux and networking.

Responsibilities

• Deploy and support Kubernetes clusters.
• Assist in VM-to-container migrations.
• Build and maintain GitLab CI/CD pipelines.

Skills

Kubernetes

GitLab CI/CD

Networking

Linux

Containerization

Education

5+ years in systems engineering, DevOps, or Professional Services

2+ years hands-on Kubernetes experience

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Rancher Manager

GitLab

Job description

Mission First Cyber is seeking a Professional Services Engineer with strong experience in Kubernetes (RKE2 preferred), GitLab CI/CD, and modern infrastructure automation. This engineer will help customers modernize their environments, integrate Rancher and Harvester into existing infrastructures, and support VM-to-container migration efforts. You will work directly with customers to architect, deploy, and integrate systems across Kubernetes, Rancher, virtualization platforms, networking, and automation tools. This is a hands‑on role requiring a broad technical background, a consulting mindset, and the ability to learn quickly in dynamic environments.
If you enjoy solving complex technical problems and integrating multiple technologies together, this role is for you.

Key Responsibilities

Deploy, configure, and support Kubernetes clusters, with a focus on RKE2 and Rancher‑managed environments.

Assist in VM-to-container migrations, workload modernization, and application delivery transformation.

Deploy and support Rancher Manager and Rancher Harvester, including cluster lifecycle operations.

Build and maintain GitLab CI/CD pipelines, including automation for Kubernetes deployments and infrastructure workflows.

Integrate NetBox into customer environments for IPAM and asset management; develop API‑driven automation where needed.

Provide hands‑on Professional Services across a broad set of tools and platforms.

Lead customer working sessions, requirements gathering, and architectural discussions.

Produce high‑quality documentation for deployments, runbooks, and customer handoff materials.

Troubleshoot complex issues across Linux, networking, virtualization, and container platforms.

Collaborate with internal engineering teams to validate designs and improve service offerings.

Qualifications

Core Technical Competencies

Strong Kubernetes experience (RKE2 preferred, but RKE1 or upstream Kubernetes acceptable).

Solid understanding of containers, Kubernetes networking, storage classes, HA control planes, and cluster operations.

Experience implementing or supporting GitLab CI/CD pipelines.

Working knowledge of NetBox for IPAM, DCIM, and automation integration.

Experience troubleshooting infrastructure issues across networking, storage, virtualization, and Linux.

Ability to integrate multiple systems and technologies into a cohesive deployment.

Comfortable leading customer‑facing deployments and technical workshops.

Strong communication and documentation skills.

Ability to work independently in ambiguous or multi‑vendor environments.

Adept at translating customer requirements into actionable deployments.

Preferred Skills

Experience with Rancher Manager, Rancher Harvester, Fleet, or Kubernetes cluster provisioning.

Experience with VM lifecycle operations within Harvester (KubeVirt‑based).

Experience with IaC tooling such as Terraform, Ansible, Helm, ArgoCD, Flux, or similar.

Familiarity with modernization or migration methodologies (VM → container).

Exposure to automation workflows using NetBox API.

Background in Professional Services, consulting, or customer‑facing engineering.

Education & Experience

5+ years in systems engineering, DevOps, infrastructure automation, or Professional Services.

2+ years Kubernetes hands‑on experience.

Certifications (nice to have):SUSE Rancher / Kubernetes certs
CKA/CKAD
GitLab certifications
Terraform / Ansible

Short-term and Long-term Disability

Life Insurance

401 (k) Retirement Plan

Flexible Time Off

About the Company

Mission First Cyber (M1 Cyber) is a U.S. Cyber Security Value‑Added Reseller and Professional Services provider that is committed to strengthening the security posture of Government and Commercial organizations. With trust being our top priority, we are dedicated in helping organizations achieve mission success by leveraging our comprehensive set of solutions and services.