Sr Infrastructure Engineer I (Kubernetes EKS Engineer)

Principal International; Des Moines (IA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Time Off

Pension Eligible

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

Principal International in Des Moines, IA seeks a Senior Infrastructure Engineer (Kubernetes EKS) to design, deploy, and manage Kubernetes clusters on AWS, aligning with DevOps and security teams to ensure high availability, security, and performance.

The role emphasizes hands-on Kubernetes, Terraform, Helm, ArgoCD, and cloud services expertise, with a focus on scalable architectures and secure operations. Hybrid work and competitive compensation are offered.

Qualifications

• Associate's or bachelorʼs degree in a related field with 8+ years of experience.
• 2+ years hands-on with Kubernetes, ideally AWS EKS.
• Expertise in container orchestration, microservices, and Docker.
• Proficiency with AWS services (EC2, S3, IAM, VPC).
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, or Ansible.
• Proficiency in Helm for running Kubernetes apps.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (ArgoCD).
• Solid understanding of Kubernetes security (RBAC, network policies, secrets).

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and lead Kubernetes clusters on AWS EKS.
• Integrate with CI/CD pipelines for containerized apps.
• Automate Kubernetes management tasks using Helm, Terraform, and other IaC tools.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Kubernetes cluster performance and resource allocation.
• Implement security best practices for EKS, including RBAC and network policies.
• Collaborate with development and operations teams to integrate Kubernetes into the SDLC.
• Run cluster scaling, upgrades, and capacity planning for production environments.
• Ensure high availability and disaster recovery readiness of critical applications running on Kubernetes.
• Develop and maintain documentation for Kubernetes architecture, processes, and best practices.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship.

Skills

Kubernetes

AWS EKS

CI/CD

Terraform

Helm

RBAC

Networking

Prometheus

Grafana

Cloud security

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Ansible

ArgoCD

Helm

Docker

Git

Prometheus

Grafana

Job description

What You’ll Do

As a Senior Infrastructure Engineer I (Kubernetes EKS Engineer), you will be responsible for the design, implementation, and management of Kubernetes clusters on AWS using Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS). You will work closely with our DevOps, development, and security teams to ensure that our cloud infrastructure is highly available, secure, and optimized for performance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, deploy, and lead Kubernetes clusters on AWS EKS
• Integrate with CI/CD pipelines for containerized applications
• Automate Kubernetes management tasks using Helm, Terraform, and other infrastructure-as-code tools
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Kubernetes cluster performance and resource allocation
• Implement security best practices for EKS, including role-based access control (RBAC) and network policies
• Collaborate with development and operations teams to integrate Kubernetes into the software development lifecycle
• Run cluster scaling, upgrades, and capacity planning for production environments
• Ensure high availability and disaster recovery readiness of critical applications running on Kubernetes
• Develop and maintain documentation for Kubernetes architecture, processes, and best practices
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship

Operating at the intersection of financial services and technology, Principal builds financial tools that help our customers live better lives. We take pride in being a purpose-led firm, motivated by our mission to make financial security accessible to all. Our mission, integrity, and customer focus have made us a trusted leader for more than 140 years.

As Principal continues to modernize its systems, this role will offer you an exciting opportunity to build solutions that will directly impact our long-term strategy and tech stack, all while ensuring that our products are robust, scalable, and secure!

Who You Are

• Associate's or bachelor's degree (preference in a computer science, technology, engineering or math-related field) and 8+ years’ work experience or equivalent experience
• 2+ years of hands‑on experience with Kubernetes, ideally with AWS EKS
• Expertise in container orchestration, microservices architecture, and Docker
• Strong proficiency with AWS services such as EC2, S3, IAM, and VPC
• Experience in DevOps, cloud engineering, or a related field
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, or Ansible
• Proficiency in Helm for running Kubernetes applications
• Experience with CI/CD pipeline tools (e.g. ArgoCD)
• Solid understanding of Kubernetes security, including RBAC, network policies, and secrets management
• Proven knowledge of networking concepts, including load balancing, DNS, and firewalls
• Experience with monitoring tools such as Prometheus and Grafana
• Familiarity with agile and DevOps methodologies

Skills That Will Help You Stand Out

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect or Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
• Familiarity with GitOps workflows using ArgoCD
• Strong problem‑solving skills and the ability to work in a fast‑paced environment

Salary Range Information

Salary ranges below reflect targeted base salaries. Non‑sales positions have the opportunity to participate in a bonus program. Sales positions are eligible for sales incentives, and in some instances a bonus plan, whereby total compensation may far exceed base salary depending on individual performance. Actual compensation for all roles will be based upon geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and/or skill level and will be finalized at the time of offer.

Salary Range (Non‑Exempt expressed as hourly; Exempt expressed as yearly)

$105000 - $165000 / year

Salary Details

The following locations are examples of market‑specific salary ranges across different geographies.

• Wichita, KS: $105,000 - $123,000 / year
• Des Moines, IA: $110,000 - $130,000 / year
• Charlotte, NC: $116,000 - $136,000 / year
• Chicago/Minneapolis: $127,000 - $150,000 / year
• Los Angeles/New York City: $140,000 - $165,000 / year

Time Off Program

Flexible Time Off (FTO) is provided to salaried (exempt) employees and provides the opportunity to take time away from the office with pay for vacation, personal or short‑term illness. Employees don’t accrue a bank of time off under FTO and there is no set number of days provided.

Pension Eligible

Yes

Work Environment

This role offers in‑office, hybrid (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek), and remote work arrangements (only if residing more than 30 miles from Des Moines, IA, Raleigh, NC, or Charlotte, NC). You’ll work with your leader to figure out which option may align best based on several factors.

Work Authorization/Sponsorship

At this time, we're not considering candidates that need any type of immigration sponsorship now or in the future or those needing work authorization for this role. (This includes, but is not limited to students on F1-OPT, F1-CPT, J-1, etc.)

Nonimmigrant Workers and Green Card for Employment‑Based Immigrants

Investment Code of Ethics

For Principal Global Investors positions, you'll need to follow an Investment Code of Ethics related to personal and business conduct as well as personal trading activities for you and members of your household. These same requirements may also apply to other positions across the organization.

Experience Principal

At Principal, we value connecting on both a personal and professional level. Together, we're imagining a more purpose‑led future for financial services – and that starts with you. Our success depends on the unique experiences, backgrounds, and talents of our employees. And we support our employees the same way we support our customers: with comprehensive, competitive benefit offerings crafted to protect their physical, financial, and social well‑being. Check out our careers site to learn more about our purpose, values and benefits.

Principal is an Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.