Senior DevOps Engineer (Contract to hire)

Initech Global; Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Initech Global is seeking a Senior DevOps Engineer for a contract role in Grand Rapids, MI on-site Monday-Thursday through 2026 with potential extension. The engineer will design, implement, and maintain scalable cloud infrastructure, focusing on Kubernetes, AWS, IaC, and modern CI/CD practices.

The role collaborates with cross-functional teams to improve deployment processes, reliability, and efficiency, using Terraform, AWS CDK, and automated pipelines.

Qualifications

• Hands-on Kubernetes administration and container orchestration.
• Deep knowledge of AWS cloud services and architectures.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code using Terraform and CDK.
• Strong CI/CD experience with pipelines like CodePipeline or Jenkins.
• Familiarity with distributed messaging (Kafka).
• Proficient in monitoring/observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch).
• Scripting in Python or Bash for automation.
• Solid understanding of Git workflows and version control.

Responsibilities

• Kubernetes clusters design, deployment, and optimization for scalable workloads.
• Implement security controls, resource management, and deployment best practices.
• Integrate Kubernetes with automated build, test, and deployment pipelines.
• Troubleshoot cluster, application, networking, and performance issues.
• Design and manage AWS-based infrastructure with EC2, S3, VPC, RDS, Lambda, IAM, CloudWatch.
• Maintain consistent infrastructure standards across environments.

Skills

Kubernetes

AWS Services

Cloud Infrastructure

Terraform

CI/CD pipeline

Apache Kafka

Python/Bash

Cloud security

GitOps

Helm

Container security

Job description

We are looking for a Senior DevOps Engineer for our client in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is a contract role through the end of the year 2026 with the possibility of extension. Position is on-site (Monday-Thursday). We are seeking an experienced Senior DevOps Engineer to design, implement, and maintain scalable, reliable, and secure cloud infrastructure solutions. The ideal candidate is proactive, detail-oriented, and highly skilled in Kubernetes, AWS, Infrastructure as Code, and modern CI/CD practices. This role will partner closely with development, quality assurance, product, and infrastructure teams to improve deployment processes, system reliability, operational efficiency, and overall platform performance.

Responsibilities

• Kubernetes and Container Orchestration
• Design, deploy, manage, and optimize Kubernetes clusters supporting scalable and highly available workloads.
• Implement container orchestration standards, security controls, resource management, and deployment best practices.
• Integrate Kubernetes environments with automated build, testing, and deployment pipelines.
• Troubleshoot cluster, application, networking, and performance-related issues.
• Architect, implement, and manage cloud infrastructure using AWS services, including EC2, S3, VPC, RDS, Lambda, IAM, CloudWatch, and related technologies.
• Design cloud-native solutions focused on scalability, availability, security, cost efficiency, and operational resilience.
• Use AWS CDK and Terraform to automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration.
• Maintain consistent infrastructure standards across development, testing, and production environments.

• CI/CD and Automation
• Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines using AWS CodePipeline, Jenkins, or similar tools.
• Automate build, testing, deployment, and infrastructure management processes.
• Monitor and troubleshoot pipeline failures, performance issues, and deployment risks.
• Develop automation and operational tooling using Python, Bash, or similar scripting languages.

• Monitoring, Reliability, and Optimization
• Implement and maintain monitoring, alerting, logging, and incident-management solutions using Prometheus, Grafana, Dynatrace, CloudWatch, or similar platforms.
• Improve system performance, scalability, availability, and fault tolerance.
• Participate in incident response, root-cause analysis, and the implementation of preventive actions.
• Identify opportunities to improve infrastructure costs, operational processes, and system reliability.

• Collaboration and Technical Leadership
• Partner with development, QA, product, security, and infrastructure teams to define DevOps strategies and engineering best practices.
• Provide technical guidance on cloud architecture, automation, deployment, and operational readiness.
• Support knowledge sharing, documentation, and the continuous improvement of engineering standards.
• Promote a culture of automation, ownership, reliability, and continuous learning.

• AI-Enabled Engineering
• Use Claude and other approved AI tools to accelerate troubleshooting, scripting, documentation, infrastructure design, and operational analysis.
• Apply AI responsibly to enhance technical capabilities, improve delivery efficiency, and increase the quality and consistency of engineering work.

Education and Experience:

• Strong hands-on experience with Kubernetes administration, deployment, and container orchestration.
• In-depth knowledge of AWS services, cloud infrastructure, and cloud-native architecture.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code using AWS CDK and Terraform.
• Strong experience developing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines using AWS CodePipeline, Jenkins, or comparable platforms.
• Working knowledge of Apache Kafka or similar distributed messaging technologies.
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, Dynatrace, or CloudWatch.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation using Python, Bash, or similar languages.
• Strong understanding of Git workflows, branching strategies, and version-control practices.
• Knowledge of cloud security, networking, identity and access management, and infrastructure reliability principles.
• Strong troubleshooting, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS, Kubernetes, or DevOps-related certifications.
• Experience supporting enterprise-scale, highly available production environments.
• Familiarity with GitOps, Helm, service mesh technologies, and container security.
• Experience with incident management, disaster recovery, and business continuity practices.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, including AI-assisted engineering tools.

Company Summary

Initech Global is a leader in the staffing industry, providing consulting, recruiting, and staffing solutions in the field of information technology. Since 2001, Initech Global has been helping companies around the world accomplish their most critical business objectives through our disciplined client service approach, and our unique talent management model. Both client and talent retention continue to surpass 90% since the company’s inception fifteen years ago, and we’ve been recognized by Inc. 5000ä as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the US for the last two years. Our clients and employees are the key to our success, and people are at the heart of everything we do. We are Initech Global, and we are Powered By Peopleä.

Required Skills

Kubernetes, AWS Services, Cloud Infrastructure, Terraform, CI/CD pipeline, Apache Kafka, Dynatrace, Python/Bash, Cloud security, GitOps, Helm, container security