Senior Kubernetes Administrator

Entangled Future; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

QuEra Computing in Boston is seeking a Sr. Kubernetes Administrator to manage production clusters across on-prem and cloud environments. The role emphasizes automation, IaC, and secure, scalable Kubernetes operations within the Test and Engineering Infrastructure team.

The ideal candidate will implement automated workflows, monitor systems with Prometheus/Grafana, and contribute to CI/CD integration with Jenkins/GitHub Actions. Equity grants are offered with a competitive salary range.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of software development and/or *nix Administration experience with 3+ years of hands-on experience managing Kubernetes clusters in production.
• Strong background in automation and scripting (Python, Go, or Bash).
• On-prem and cloud OS administration experience to include Talos, Ubuntu and Debian.
• Expertise with IaC tools such as Terraform, Ansible, or Pulumi.
• Practical experience with container orchestration and packaging (Docker, Helm, and/or Kustomize).
• Solid knowledge of CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI, and/or GitHub Actions).
• Proficiency in cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Strong understanding of networking, load balancing, and ingress controllers in Kubernetes.
• Debugging of large, multi-layered systems, including network troubleshooting, application tracing, alerting systems, and logging from both hardware and software sources

Responsibilities

• Cluster Management: Deploy, configure, upgrade, and maintain Kubernetes clusters across on-prem and cloud environments.
• Automation & IaC: Design and implement automated workflows for provisioning, scaling, and monitoring using Terraform, Ansible, Helm, or FluxCD.
• Monitoring & Observability: Implement and maintain logging, monitoring, and alerting solutions (Prometheus, Grafana, EFK).
• Security & Compliance: Apply best practices for cluster security, RBAC, secrets management/SOPS-encrypted secrets, and vulnerability scanning.
• CI/CD Integration: Collaborate with DevOps and development teams to optimize Kubernetes for continuous delivery pipelines.
• Performance Optimization: Proactively monitor resource utilization, troubleshoot bottlenecks, and ensure high availability and disaster recovery.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Maintain clear operational documentation and mentor team members on Kubernetes best practices.

Skills

Kubernetes administration

Automation scripting

Troubleshooting

Networking basics

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Pulumi

Docker

Helm

Kustomize

Jenkins

GitLab CI

GitHub Actions

Prometheus

Grafana

EFK stack

SOPS

Talos

Job description

Senior Kubernetes Administrator at QuEra Computing, Boston, MA, USA. A senior-level full time position in the QPU Testing and Engineering Infrastructure team, listed under software engineering.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Sr. Kubernetes Administrator with a strong background in automation, infrastructure-as-code, and cloud-native technologies. The ideal candidate will be responsible for managing, scaling, and optimizing Kubernetes clusters while implementing automation frameworks to reduce manual effort and improve system reliability. As a member of the Test and Engineering Infrastructure team, this role is critical in ensuring our containerized workloads run securely, efficiently, and consistently across environments.

Salary range is $180,000-$220,000. We consistently monitor external market data and update base salary ranges accordingly. We determine base compensation decisions on several factors, including as geographic placement, role-specific knowledge, skills, and/or experience. In addition to our base salary offerings, we also provide equity grants for all new hires.

Responsibilities

• Cluster Management: Deploy, configure, upgrade, and maintain Kubernetes clusters across on-prem and cloud environments.
• Automation & Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Design and implement automated workflows for provisioning, scaling, and monitoring using tools like Terraform, Ansible, Helm, or FluxCD.
• Monitoring & Observability: Implement and maintain logging, monitoring, and alerting solutions (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, EFK stack).
• Security & Compliance: Apply best practices for cluster security, RBAC, secrets management/SOPS-encrypted secrets, and vulnerability scanning.
• CI/CD Integration: Collaborate with DevOps and development teams to optimize Kubernetes for continuous delivery pipelines.
• Performance Optimization: Proactively monitor resource utilization, troubleshoot bottlenecks, and ensure high availability and disaster recovery.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Maintain clear operational documentation and mentor team members on Kubernetes best practices.

Requirements

• 7-10 years of software development and/or *nix Administration experience with 3+ years of hands-on experience managing Kubernetes clusters in production.
• Strong background in automation and scripting (Python, Go, or Bash).
• On-prem and cloud OS administration experience to include but not be limited to Talos, Ubuntu and Debian.
• Expertise with IaC tools such as Terraform, Ansible, or Pulumi.
• Practical experience with container orchestration and packaging (Docker, Helm, and/or Kustomize).
• Solid knowledge of CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI, and/or GitHub Actions).
• Proficiency in cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Strong understanding of networking, load balancing, and ingress controllers in Kubernetes.
• Debugging of large, multi-layered systems, including network troubleshooting, application tracing, alerting systems, and logging from both hardware and software sources
• Excellent problem-solving, troubleshooting, and analytical skills.

Nice to Have

• CKA/CKAD/CKS certification.
• Experience with service mesh technologies (Istio, Linkerd).
• Familiarity with policy enforcement frameworks (OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno).
• Background in GitOps practices.
• Experience supporting hybrid systems involving embedded devices, custom hardware, or real-time control systems.
• Knowledge of secure software deployment in mixed cloud/on-prem environments.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop pipelines or distributed lab/test automation environments.
• Exposure to scientific computing, HPC, or quantum software stacks a plus.