DevOps Engineer (Kubernetes Specialist)

Job Title: DevOps Engineer (Kubernetes Specialist)

Location: Charlotte, NC (Hybrid)

Position Type: Contract-to-Hire (Long-Term)

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated DevOps Engineer with deep expertise in Kubernetes to join our growing infrastructure team in Charlotte, NC. This is a long-term, contract-to-hire opportunity where you will play a pivotal role in scaling, securing, and optimizing our containerized applications and CI/CD pipelines.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in automating infrastructure, managing enterprise-grade Kubernetes clusters, and collaborating closely with development teams to ensure seamless application delivery.

Key Responsibilities

·         Kubernetes Orchestration: Design, deploy, manage, and scale enterprise Kubernetes clusters across cloud and/or on-premises environments.

·         CI/CD Automation: Build, maintain, and optimize robust Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to automate application deployments.

·         Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Standardize and automate infrastructure provisioning using tools like Terraform or CloudFormation.

·         Monitoring & Observability: Implement and maintain comprehensive logging, monitoring, and alerting systems to ensure high availability and proactive issue resolution.

·         Security & Compliance: Implement security best practices within the container ecosystem, including network policies, RBAC, and vulnerability scanning.

·         Collaboration: Partner with software engineering teams to containerize legacy applications and optimize cloud-native workflows.

Required Skills & Qualifications

·         Experience: 5+ years of dedicated experience in a DevOps, SRE, or Systems Engineering role.

·         Kubernetes Expertise: Proven, hands-on experience managing production-grade Kubernetes environments (EKS, AKS, GKE, or OpenShift). Strong understanding of K8s architecture, Helm charts, and Ingress controllers.

·         Cloud Platforms: Strong proficiency with major cloud providers, preferably AWS or Azure.

·         Infrastructure as Code: Advanced experience writing clean, reusable Terraform code.

·         CI/CD Tools: Deep familiarity with tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, or ArgoCD.

·         Scripting & Automation: Proficiency in at least one scripting language (e.g., Python, Bash, or Go).

·         Linux Administration: Solid understanding of Linux internals, networking concepts (DNS, TCP/IP, Load Balancing), and security.

Preferred Qualifications

·         Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) is highly desirable.

·         Experience with Service Meshes (e.g., Istio, Linkerd).

·         Experience with Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK/EFK stack.

Soft Skills

·         Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive mindset toward troubleshooting.

·         Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively within an agile environment.

·         Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.