Staff Site Reliability Engineer - Kubernetes

Okta; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Okta is seeking a Site Reliability Engineer to build and manage scalable, secure Kubernetes platforms on AWS. You will drive platform creation, maintain high availability, and automate deployments using Helm and CI/CD pipelines. Expertise in Istio, Karpenter, and Terraform is essential, with strong scripting in Python, Bash, or Go.

This role requires on-site work in our U.S. offices and collaboration across teams.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of Kubernetes/Helm experience.
• 5+ years of AWS experience.
• Experience with multi-region cloud environments.
• Proven AWS services experience (EC2, RDS, S3, CloudFormation, IAM).
• Strong Kubernetes platform creation and management skills.
• Hands-on Helm deployment for production apps.
• Experience with Karpenter for dynamic scaling.
• Istio service mesh expertise for traffic management and observability.
• Proficiency with CI/CD tools: Jenkins, GitLab, CircleCI, Terraform, Ansible, Spinnaker.
• Strong scripting in Python, Bash, or Go.

Responsibilities

• Kubernetes Platform Creation: design and maintain highly available, scalable clusters.
• AWS Infrastructure Management: build, manage, and optimize cloud resources.
• Helm Management: automate deployment via Helm charts.
• Karpenter Implementation: scale clusters dynamically.
• Istio Service Mesh Management: configure traffic, security, and observability.
• Platform Automation & Scaling: CI/CD integration for smooth dev-to-prod flow.
• Incident Management & Troubleshooting: resolve performance and security issues.
• Security & Compliance: implement access controls and secure infra.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: maintain platform docs and best practices.

Skills

Kubernetes/Helm expertise

AWS architecture

CI/CD automation

Python/Bash/Go scripting

Cost optimization

Tools

Kubernetes

Terraform

AWS

Istio

Helm

Karpenter

Job description

Secure Every Identity, from AI to Human Identity is the key to unlocking the potential of AI. Okta secures AI by building the trusted, neutral infrastructure that enables organizations to safely embrace this new era. This work requires a relentless drive to solve complex challenges with real‑world stakes. We are looking for builders and owners who operate with speed and urgency and execute with excellence. This is an opportunity to do career‑defining work. We are all in on this mission. If you are too, let’s talk.

Workforce Identity Cloud

Okta Workforce Identity Cloud (WIC) provides easy, secure access for your workforce so you can focus on other strategic priorities—like reducing costs and doing more for your customers.

Position Overview

The Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) will play a key role in building and managing Kubernetes platforms that support cloud‑native applications and services. This position focuses on architecting and managing reliable, scalable, and secure Kubernetes‑based platforms on AWS, ensuring high availability and performance while optimizing costs and automation. The ideal candidate will have hands‑on experience with AWS infrastructure, Kubernetes platform creation, Helm charts, Karpenter scaling, and Istio service mesh.

Key Responsibilities

• Kubernetes Platform Creation: Design, implement, and maintain highly available, scalable, and fault‑tolerant Kubernetes platforms. Ensure clusters are optimized for production workloads, providing high resilience and operational efficiency.
• AWS Infrastructure Management: Build, manage, and optimize AWS cloud infrastructure, including EKS, ECS, S3, VPCs, RDS, IAM, and more. Implement best practices for cost management, scaling, and security within AWS.
• Helm Management: Utilize Helm to automate and streamline the deployment of applications and services to Kubernetes clusters. Create, maintain, and manage Helm charts for production‑ready deployments.
• Karpenter Implementation: Implement and manage Karpenter to dynamically scale Kubernetes clusters in response to workload demands.
• Istio Service Mesh Management: Configure and manage Istio to provide service‑to‑service communication, security, and observability within the Kubernetes clusters. Enable fine‑grained traffic management, service discovery, and policy enforcement.
• Platform Automation & Scaling: Automate the deployment, scaling, and management of infrastructure and applications. Work with CI/CD pipelines to ensure a seamless flow from development to production with minimal downtime.
• Incident Management & Troubleshooting: Respond to incidents, troubleshoot, and resolve system issues related to performance, availability, and security in a timely and effective manner.
• Security & Compliance: Design and implement secure cloud infrastructure with appropriate access controls, network security, and compliance frameworks.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Create and maintain detailed documentation for Kubernetes platform setup, operational procedures, and best practices. Promote knowledge sharing across teams.

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience with Kubernetes/Helm.
• 4+ years of experience with Terraform.
• 5+ years of experience with AWS.
• Experience with multi‑region cloud environments.
• Proven experience with AWS (EC2, RDS, S3, CloudFormation, IAM, etc.) and solid understanding of cloud‑native architectures.
• Strong expertise in Kubernetes platform creation, management, and optimisation (e.g., setting up highly available clusters, networking, and storage).
• Hands‑on experience with Helm for Kubernetes application deployment and management.
• Practical experience with Karpenter for dynamic scaling of Kubernetes clusters and optimising resource usage.
• Expertise in managing and securing Istio for service mesh, including traffic management, security, and observability features.
• Proficiency in CI/CD pipelines and automation tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab, CircleCI, Terraform, Ansible, Spinnaker).
• Strong scripting and automation skills in Python, Bash, or Go for infrastructure management and platform automation.
• Experience with monitoring, logging, and alerting tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch, and ELK Stack.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of security best practices for cloud platforms and Kubernetes (e.g., role‑based access control, encryption, and compliance frameworks).
• Familiarity with Docker and containerization principles.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• Certifications (Preferred): CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator), CKAD (Certified Kubernetes Application Developer), or AWS Certified DevOps Engineer are highly desirable.

Additional Requirements

• This position requires the ability to access federal environments and/or have access to protected federal data. As a condition of employment for this position, the successful candidate must be able to submit documentation establishing U.S. Person status (e.g. a U.S. Citizen, National, Lawful Permanent Resident, Refugee, or Asylee. 22 CFR 120.15) upon hire.
• Requires in‑person onboarding and travel to our San Francisco, CA HQ office or our Chicago office during the first week of employment.

Okta 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, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records, consistent with applicable laws.

If reasonable accommodation is needed to complete any part of the job application, interview process, or onboarding please use this Form to request an accommodation.

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