Lead Platform Engineer

Absa Group; South Africa; Remote; ZAR 600 000 - 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services provider in South Africa is seeking a skilled Platform Engineer to join their team. This role involves designing, deploying, and maintaining Kubernetes clusters both on-premises and in the AWS cloud. Candidates should have at least three years of experience with Kubernetes and relevant skills in infrastructure as code. This position offers a collaborative environment and the opportunity to lead technical initiatives within the organization.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years of experience in designing, deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters.
• Strong understanding of Kubernetes architecture, deployment, and management.
• Familiarity with AWS services and best practices for Kubernetes deployment in AWS.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters on-premises and in AWS cloud.
• Develop and maintain infrastructure as code to automate Kubernetes management.
• Continuously monitor and improve the performance, reliability, and security of the Kubernetes platform.

Skills

Kubernetes architecture

Infrastructure as code

Scripting languages (Python, Bash)

Analytical skills

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Informatics

Tools

Terraform

AWS services

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK stack

Job description

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

My Career Development Portal: Wherever you are in your career, we are here for you. Design your future. Discover leading-edge guidance, tools and support to unlock your potential. You are Absa. You are possibility.

Job Summary

We are seeking a skilled Platform Engineer with extensive experience in Kubernetes to join our team. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, deploying and maintaining Kubernetes clusters and associated tools both on‑premises and in AWS cloud. You will work collaboratively with other engineers and stakeholders to ensure high‑availability, reliability, scalability and security of our Kubernetes platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters on‑premises and in AWS cloud using industry best practices.
• Develop and maintain infrastructure as code to automate deployment, scaling, and management of Kubernetes clusters using GitOps practices.
• Collaborate with software development teams to ensure seamless integration of the Kubernetes platform with their applications.
• Continuously monitor and improve the performance, reliability, and security of the Kubernetes platform.
• Provide technical guidance and support to other members of the team and stakeholders in the areas of Kubernetes architecture, deployment and management.
• Troubleshoot and resolve any issues related to the Kubernetes platform.
• Stay up‑to‑date with industry trends and advancements in Kubernetes technology to ensure the platform is optimised for performance, cost‑effectiveness, and security.
• The ability to own your deliverable from end‑to‑end with minimal guidance on the process and best practice.
• Guide team members through both technical and behavioural aspects of the job.
• Provide 1‑on‑1 mentorship with juniors and intermediates in the area.
• Facilitate a thoughtful and inclusive environment for all fellows to learn and grow in their technical skills to achieve great results.
• Support, guide and assist in troubleshooting application teams issues as part of support duties on a rotational basis.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in Computer science or Informatics would be preferable but candidates with suitable and relevant experience will be acknowledged.
• At least 3 years of experience in designing, deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters.
• Strong understanding of Kubernetes architecture, deployment, and management.
• Experience in infrastructure as code (IaC) tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Familiarity with AWS services and best practices for Kubernetes deployment in AWS.
• Knowledge of networking concepts and security best practices in Kubernetes.
• Strong knowledge of scripting languages such as Python and Bash.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Ideal Certifications and Experience

• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) and Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) or Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS).
• Terraform Associate
• AWS certified cloud practitioner or AWS Associate level certifications.
• Experience with monitoring and logging tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK stack.
• Experience with GoLang (the Kubernetes operator model is highly desirable)
• Experience with Helm, Kustomize, Argo CD, Flux or related deployment tools.
• Experience with GitOps.

What would make you a good fit?

• Expand your Kubernetes knowledge
• Want experience with DevOps tooling
• Have a light‑hearted sense of humour
• Enjoy learning new technologies
• Can deal with the large cognitive load that platform engineering presents
• Love problem solving
• Want to solve technical problems for technical peers instead business problems for business
• Owners
• Have a positive can‑do attitude with matching enthusiasm
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Can work within a team and communicate effectively.
• Able to work within an autonomous self‑organising team.
• Do you have any standards or ways of working you could contribute that the team currently does not have?

Education

Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology