Cloud Infrastructure Engineer (Kubernetes / OpenTofu)

Pure Placements (PTY) LTD; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 720,000 - 960,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology recruitment firm in Cape Town is seeking an experienced Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to design and manage Kubernetes clusters. This on-site role focuses on building robust systems using modern tools like OpenTofu and GitLab CI/CD. Ideal candidates have over 5 years of experience in infrastructure engineering with a strong focus on Kubernetes in production environments.

Benefits

Medical Aid Contribution

Qualifications

• 5+ years of infrastructure engineering experience, focusing on Kubernetes.
• Experience managing Kubernetes on private cloud/bare-metal.
• Hands-on experience with OpenTofu for IaC and GitLab CI/CD.

Responsibilities

• Design and manage Kubernetes clusters on private cloud infrastructure.
• Develop and maintain automated deployments using OpenTofu.
• Implement secure secrets management practices.

Skills

Kubernetes

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Secrets Management

Monitoring & Reliability

Collaboration

Documentation

Networking

Automation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

OpenTofu (Terraform)

GitLab CI/CD

Prometheus

Grafana

OpenBao

Proxmox

Job description

Location: Cape Town (Century City), On-Site
Salary: R 720,000 – R 960,000 Annual CTC
Benefits: Medical Aid Contribution

The Role: Key Responsibilities & Daily Duties

We are seeking a seasoned Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to design, automate, and secure the core infrastructure platform. You will be instrumental in building robust, scalable, and efficient systems.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Kubernetes Cluster Management: Designing, deploying, and managing high-availability, scalable Kubernetes clusters on private cloud (Proxmox) infrastructure.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Developing and maintaining automated deployments using OpenTofu (Terraform), integrated with GitLab CI/CD pipelines to provision and manage clusters and underlying VMs.
• Secrets Management: Implementing and managing secure secrets storage and dynamic access for applications using OpenBao, ensuring compliance with security best practices.
• Networking & Ingress: Configuring and optimizing cluster networking using Antrea (CNI) and managing ingress with Project Contour.
• Monitoring & Reliability: Setting up comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting with tools like Prometheus and Grafana to ensure system health and performance.
• Collaboration & Documentation: Working closely with development and security teams to align infrastructure with application needs and documenting configurations and processes for knowledge sharing.

The Ideal Tech Stack & Experience

• Essential: 5+ years of infrastructure engineering experience, with at least 3 years focused on Kubernetes in production environments.
• Essential: Proven experience managing Kubernetes on private cloud/bare-metal (e.g., using Proxmox).
• Essential: Strong, hands-on experience with OpenTofu (or Terraform) for IaC and GitLab CI/CD for automation.
• Essential: Expertise in secrets management using OpenBao or HashiCorp Vault in a production setting.
• Highly Advantageous: Experience with GitOps tools (e.g., ArgoCD, Flux), Helm, and a deep understanding of security frameworks.
• Advantageous: Certifications such as Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD).

Qualifications & Skills

• A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, OR equivalent practical experience.
• Deep understanding of Kubernetes architecture, container runtimes (CRI-O), and orchestration.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills with a proactive approach to reliability and security.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to work effectively in cross-functional teams.
• Ability to clearly and concisely document complex systems.

Why Join Our Client?

• Deep Technical Challenge: Build and manage the critical infrastructure for advanced robotics systems, far beyond typical web applications.
• Master Modern Tools: Work with a leading-edge stack including Kubernetes, OpenTofu, OpenBao, and GitLab CI in a sophisticated private cloud environment.
• Ownership & Impact: Take full ownership of the infrastructure platform that is vital to the company's core operations and success.
• Pioneering Environment: Be part of a team that is solving complex, real-world problems with technology and has a tangible global impact.
• Focused Work Environment: An on-site role in Century City designed for deep collaboration and focused engineering work.