Staff Forward Deployed Engineer - Kubernetes

fde; Raleigh (NC); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Stacklok seeks a Staff Forward Deployed Engineer - Kubernetes in Raleigh, NC. You will lead end-to-end engagements, define reference architectures, and own the most challenging Kubernetes and platform calls as the escalation anchor.

Expect to drive Go/RBAC work, land upstream fixes, and serve as the technical gate for hiring while collaborating across teams to deliver customer deployments. This is a high-impact, hands-on role embedded with enterprise customers.

Qualifications

• Experience leading forward-deployed engagements end-to-end with enterprise customers.
• Deep Kubernetes internals knowledge, RBAC, and Go programming.
• Ability to act as a technical gate for hiring and reference architectures.

Responsibilities

• Scope customer's technical goals and define reusable reference architectures.
• Own region Kubernetes and platform escalation calls and ship changes upstream.
• Coordinate across teams to land deployments at customer sites.

Skills

Go

Kubernetes

RBAC

Job description

Lead forward-deployed engagements end to end — scope each customer's technical goals, own the region's hardest Kubernetes and platform calls as the escalation anchor, define reusable reference architectures, and ship deployment changes back upstream. Go, RBAC, deep K8s internals; also serves as the technical gate for hiring. Stacklok is an AI-first company connecting enterprise data and systems to agentic AI. Verified live on Stacklok's own Greenhouse board.

Craig McLuckie — who co-created Kubernetes — is putting a Staff FDE at the center of Stacklok's enterprise motion: the person who invented the platform still needs someone embedded to land it in customers. $200K–$300K employer-provided, Go/RBAC, upstream fixes expected. When even that infra pedigree hires an “in-region anchor” for the last mile, it says the deployment gap doesn't care how good your platform is.

Staff Forward Deployed Engineer - Kubernetes at Stacklok. Location: Raleigh, NC. Compensation: $200K–$300K (Employer provided). Posted August 1, 2026.