Senior Kubernetes Node Lifecycle Architect

NVIDIA Corporation; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 184,000 - 357,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

NVIDIA in Santa Clara, CA, seeks a Senior Systems Software Engineer to lead the node layer of NVIDIA Kubernetes Engine (NKE). You will design and refine CAPI providers, support bring-your-own-node workflows, and ensure secure, scalable OS image pipelines for DGX Cloud and NCP environments.

The role requires deep Kubernetes, OS image build, and cloud-infra expertise, with CI/CD for node images, kernel/driver packaging, and large-scale nodepool management.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in systems software, cloud infrastructure, or Kubernetes node engineering.
• Deep expertise in Cluster API (CAPI) and full machine lifecycle management.
• Experience with OS image build pipelines and node image delivery systems such as image-builder, containerd, cloud-init, and packer.
• Proficiency in Golang and/or Python and hands-on cloud experience (GCP/AWS/Azure/OCI).

Responsibilities

• Direct the building and refinement of CAPI providers for NVIDIA Kubernetes Engine across DGX Cloud and NCP environments.
• Develop and maintain bring-your-own-node workflows for diverse NVIDIA hardware in NKE clusters.
• Coordinate OS image generation, packaging, deployment, and updates for NKE nodes with security and compliance.
• Develop node image hardening pipelines with CIS benchmarks and CVE remediation.
• Create automated node image tests to validate Kubernetes compatibility across versions and hardware.
• Manage nodepool lifecycle at scale including provisioning, upgrades, drains, and replacements.
• Investigate and resolve node-layer faults in production NKE clusters and optimize the node layer for high-scale scenarios.
• Collaborate with upstream communities (Cluster API, Kubernetes, CNCF) to set provisioning standards and share findings.

Skills

Golang

Python

Kubernetes

Cluster API

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering

Tools

image-builder

containerd

cloud-init

packer

Karpenter

Job description

NVIDIA in Santa Clara, CA, seeks a Senior Systems Software Engineer to lead the node layer of NVIDIA Kubernetes Engine (NKE). You will design and refine CAPI providers, support bring-your-own-node workflows, and ensure secure, scalable OS image pipelines for DGX Cloud and NCP environments.

The role requires deep Kubernetes, OS image build, and cloud-infra expertise, with CI/CD for node images, kernel/driver packaging, and large-scale nodepool management.