OpenShift Platform Lead

Role         ::         OpenShift Platform Lead

Location ::          Cary, NC /Clarks Summit, PA  /Bridge Waters, NJ /Remote

Type        ::          Fulltime

Job Description

OpenShift Platform Lead

The OpenShift Platform Lead is accountable for the strategy, architecture, delivery, and operational readiness of the enterprise Red Hat OpenShift platform, spanning sandbox, proof of concept, and production environments.

This role serves as the single technical authority and vendor-facing leader for OpenShift, OpenShift Virtualization, and associated ecosystem components, ensuring the platform is delivered securely, reliably, and in alignment with enterprise infrastructure, security, and operating standards.

The role bridges Linux engineering, infrastructure, storage, networking, security, and automation teams, while acting as the primary counterpart to Red Hat Solution Architects and Professional Services.

Key Responsibilities

Platform Leadership & Ownership

•                          Own the end to end OpenShift platform lifecycle, including architecture, deployment models, scaling strategies, and Day 2 operational maturity.

•                          Define and maintain reference architectures, cluster topology standards (control plane, workers, infra nodes), and deployment patterns.

•                          Establish OpenShift as a strategic enterprise platform supporting both containerized workloads and OpenShift Virtualization (VMs).

Architecture & Engineering Authority

•                          Act as the final design authority for OpenShift platform decisions, including:

·                  Cluster design and sizing

·                  Storage integration (e.g., ODF and enterprise storage platforms)

·                  Networking and segmentation

·                  High availability, resilience, and disaster recovery patterns

•                          Ensure designs align with enterprise Linux, infrastructure, and security standards.

•                          Avoid anti patterns (e.g., unsupported boot methods, non-resilient architecture decisions).

Vendor & Partner Leadership

•                          Serve as the primary technical and delivery interface with Red Hat, including:

·                  Platform architecture reviews

·                  Proposal and roadmap validation

·                  POC and pilot governance

·                  Success criteria definition

•                          Coordinate Red Hat Professional Services and specialized consultants (OpenShift, GitOps, storage, security, automation).

•                          Drive accountable outcomes from vendors rather than tool-centric recommendations.

Delivery, POC, and Readiness Management

•                          Lead OpenShift POC, pilot, and phased production rollout activities.

•                          Define success criteria, entry/exit gates, and acceptance standards for each deployment phase.

•                          Ensure operational readiness across:

·                  Monitoring and logging

·                  Upgrade and lifecycle management

·                  Backup, recovery, and DR

·                  Access, RBAC, and security controls

Operational & Day 2 Enablement

•                          Establish Day 2 operating models for OpenShift, including:

·                  Patch and upgrade strategy

·                  Incident and problem management integration

·                  Capacity planning

·                  Platform SLOs and reliability expectations

•                          Partner with SRE, operations, and Linux teams to ensure OpenShift can be run sustainably at scale.

Cross Functional Leadership

•                          Coordinate across:

·                  Linux Engineering

·                  Infrastructure and Data Center teams

·                  Storage and networking teams

·                  Security and compliance stakeholders

·                  Automation and GitOps teams

•                          Translate platform capabilities into clear consumption models for application teams without exposing unnecessary complexity.

Risk, Governance, and Financial Awareness

•                          Identify and manage technical, operational, and vendor risks associated with OpenShift adoption.

•                          Ensure platform decisions support cost transparency, scalability, and long-term sustainability.

•                          Provide leadership-facing updates on platform posture, risks, and roadmap alignment.

Required Expertise

•                          Deep hands-on and architectural experience with Red Hat OpenShift (4.x).

•                          Strong understanding of Kubernetes fundamentals, even when abstracted by OpenShift.

•                          Experience integrating OpenShift with:

·                  Enterprise storage platforms (ODF concepts, CSI)

·                  Networking and load balancing

·                  Security platforms and enterprise IAM

•                          Proven experience operating platforms beyond install:

·                  Upgrades

·                  Scaling

·                  Troubleshooting complex systemic issues

Leadership Profile

•                          Acts as a technical executive, not just a product expert.

•                          Comfortable making opinionated, evidence based platform decisions.

•                          Able to challenge vendors constructively while maintaining partnership.

•                          Communicates clearly with engineering teams, executives, and external partners.

Success Measures

•                          OpenShift platform transitions successfully from POC to production with defined operating standards.

•                          Clear ownership and accountability model for OpenShift exists across teams.

•                          Red Hat engagement is outcome-driven, with measurable value delivered.

•                          The platform is stable, supportable, and trusted by infrastructure and application teams.