Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer

ZipStaff Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 117,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) + 401(k) matching

Paid time off

Referral Program

Job summary

ZipStaff is seeking a Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer to lead the architecture, security, and scaling of multi-cloud Kubernetes infrastructure for a major transportation organization in the Washington, DC area. You will own platform capabilities end-to-end, driving GitOps automation with ArgoCD, and implementing ARC to streamline CI/CD and progressive delivery.

You will publish reusable Terraform modules and establish enterprise security and RBAC baselines, while mentoring teams across the

Qualifications

• 7+ years in DevOps, SRE, or Infrastructure/Platform Engineering, with at least 5+ years dedicated strictly to Kubernetes platform engineering at scale.
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, AWS EKS, Azure AKS, ArgoCD, GitHub Actions Runner Controller, Terraform, and GitOps.
• Experience configuring cloud networking, ingress controllers, RBAC, network policies, and policy-as-code frameworks (Kyverno, OPA/Gatekeeper).
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Ability to work on-site in Washington, DC.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain production EKS and AKS platform standards, cluster lifecycles, cross-cloud networking, storage, disaster recovery, and multi-region portability.
• Architect enterprise GitOps deployment patterns using ArgoCD and implement GitHub Actions Runner Controller (ARC) to automate release workflows, progressive delivery (canary/blue-green), and fail-forward/rollback mechanisms.
• Establish enterprise RBAC, Network Policies, Pod Security Standards, and Kyverno or Gatekeeper policy enforcement; manage secret standards and automate release evidence capture for compliance.
• Publish hardened base container images and reusable, golden Terraform modules to provide self-service platform capabilities and reduce cognitive load for application developers.
• Define SLOs, error budgets, and central monitoring standards while integrating automated quality gates, security scans, and pre-production performance/chaos testing into CI/CD pipelines.
• Own platform capabilities through their full lifecycle, mentor engineering teams on modern cloud-native practices, and author Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) to clarify design trade-offs.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

AWS EKS

Azure AKS

ArgoCD

GitHub Actions

Terraform

GitOps

Job description

Job Title: Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer
Location: Washington, DC (On-site)
Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff — No C2C or 1099)

About the Opportunity

ZipStaff is seeking a Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer to serve as a primary technical leader responsible for architecting, securing, and scaling multi-cloud Kubernetes infrastructure for a major transportation organization in the Washington, DC area.

You will own platform capabilities end-to-end—driving GitOps automation via ArgoCD, streamlining enterprise CI/CD with GitHub Actions Runner Controller (ARC), and creating seamless developer “golden paths” through hardened IaC modules and progressive delivery pipelines. Operating in a high-standards enterprise setting, you will champion platform reliability, write clear Architectural Decision Records (ADRs), enforce robust security controls, and enable cross-functional engineering teams.

What You’ll Do:

• Design, build, and maintain production EKS and AKS platform standards, cluster lifecycles, cross-cloud networking, storage, disaster recovery, and multi-region portability.
• Architect enterprise GitOps deployment patterns using ArgoCD and implement GitHub Actions Runner Controller (ARC) to automate release workflows, progressive delivery (canary/blue-green), and fail-forward/rollback mechanisms.
• Establish enterprise RBAC, Network Policies, Pod Security Standards, and Kyverno or Gatekeeper policy enforcement; manage secret standards and automate release evidence capture for compliance.
• Publish hardened base container images and reusable, golden Terraform modules to provide self-service platform capabilities and reduce cognitive load for application developers.
• Define SLOs, error budgets, and central monitoring standards while integrating automated quality gates, security scans, and pre-production performance/chaos testing into CI/CD pipelines.
• Own platform capabilities through their full lifecycle, mentor engineering teams on modern cloud-native practices, and author Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) to clarify design trade-offs.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years in DevOps, SRE, or Infrastructure/Platform Engineering, with at least 5+ years dedicated strictly to Kubernetes platform engineering at scale.
• Deep hands-on experience with Kubernetes, AWS EKS, Azure AKS, ArgoCD, GitHub ARC, Terraform, and GitOps methodologies.
• Proven background configuring cloud networking, ingress controllers, RBAC, network policies, and policy-as-code frameworks (Kyverno, OPA/Gatekeeper).
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Ability to work on-site in Washington, DC.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS), or AWS/Azure Cloud Certifications.
• Service Mesh experience (Istio/Linkerd).
• Experience with Backstage IDP or similar internal developer platforms.
• Prior background working in highly regulated or enterprise environments.
• Experience supporting transportation or mission-critical systems.

Benefits:

• Health Insurance.
• Dental Insurance.
• Vision Insurance.
• 401(k) + 401(k) matching.
• Paid time off.
• Referral Program.

About ZipStaff

ZipStaff partners with leading organizations to connect skilled technology professionals with high-impact contract opportunities. We focus on quality matches, clear communication, and long-term success for candidates and clients.