Devops Engineer/Administrator.

Job Title: Devops Engineer/Kubernets Engineer.
Location: Need to be local to Charlotte, NC; Hybrid - 2 days a week from client location

We are seeking an experienced Kubernetes Engineer/Administrator. This role focuses on managing and scaling our enterprise-grade Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) infrastructure. You will be responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining production Kubernetes clusters that support critical enterprise workloads across multiple Azure regions.

Primary Responsibilities

• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Management
• Design, deploy, and manage enterprise-scale AKS clusters across multiple Azure regions
• Implement and maintain private AKS clusters with advanced networking configurations
• Configure and manage customer-managed encryption keys (CMK) for cluster disk encryption
• Implement blue/green deployment strategies for zero-downtime cluster upgrades
• Manage AKS cluster lifecycle including upgrades, node pool scaling, and disaster recovery
• Optimize cluster performance, cost, and resource utilization
• Implement AKS Fleet Manager for multi-cluster management and orchestration
• Configure AKS Automatic for simplified cluster operations and auto-scaling
• Manage AKS Managed Namespaces for improved multi-tenancy and resource isolation

Security & Compliance

• Implement and maintain private networking architectures with Azure Private Endpoints
• Configure and manage Workload Identity (OIDC) and user-assigned managed identities
• Integrate Azure Policy for governance, compliance, and security enforcement
• Implement Kubernetes RBAC and Azure RBAC integration
• Manage secrets integration with Azure Key Vault using CSI drivers
• Ensure secure communication between AKS and Azure PaaS services
• Implement network policies and pod security standards

Service Mesh & Advanced Networking

• Deploy and manage Linkerd service mesh for secure service-to-service communication
• Implement mTLS between services with automatic certificate rotation
• Configure traffic splitting, load balancing, and observability with Linkerd
• Troubleshoot service mesh networking and performance issues
• Integrate service mesh metrics with Azure Monitor

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

• Develop and maintain Terraform modules for AKS and supporting Azure infrastructure
• Build reusable, production-ready Terraform patterns following Azure best practices
• Implement infrastructure automation and GitOps workflows
• Manage Terraform state, version control, and module lifecycle
• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for infrastructure patterns

GitOps & CI/CD

• Design and implement GitOps workflows using ArgoCD for application deployments
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions for Kubernetes workloads
• Integrate AKS with Azure Container Registry (ACR) for container image management
• Implement automated testing and validation for infrastructure and application changes
• Manage deployment strategies (rolling updates, blue/green, canary)
• Maintain GitHub Actions workflows for infrastructure provisioning and testing

Azure Platform Integration

• Integrate AKS with Azure services including
• Configure and maintain private endpoints for all Azure services
• Implement VNet integration and subnet delegation patterns
• Design and implement service connectivity across Azure regions

Monitoring, Observability & Operations

• Implement comprehensive monitoring and alerting with Azure Monitor
• Configure Log Analytics workspaces and integrate with AKS
• Build dashboards and alerts for cluster health, performance, and security
• Leverage Linkerd metrics and distributed tracing for service observability
• Troubleshoot complex cluster, networking, and application issues
• Conduct capacity planning and cost optimization
• Participate in on-call rotation for production support
• Perform post-incident analysis and implement preventive measures

Required Qualifications

• Technical Skills - Azure & Kubernetes
• 5+ years of hands-on Kubernetes experience in production environments
• 2+ years of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) experience required
• Strong Terraform expertise with proven ability to build reusable, production-ready modules
• Deep understanding of Kubernetes architecture, networking, storage, and security
• Experience with private AKS clusters and Azure Private Link/Private Endpoints
• Proficiency with Azure networking: VNets, subnets, NSGs, private DNS zones, VNet peering
• Strong understanding of Azure managed identities, Workload Identity, and RBAC
• Experience with Azure Key Vault integration (CSI driver, disk encryption sets)
• Hands-on experience with customer-managed encryption keys in Azure
• Experience with Azure Container Registry including geo-replication and vulnerability scanning
• Knowledge of AKS advanced features (Fleet Manager, AKS Automatic, Managed Namespaces) is
• a plus

Infrastructure as Code & Automation

• Advanced Terraform skills with module development experience
• Git version control and branching strategies (GitHub)
• GitOps tools: ArgoCD
• GitHub Actions for CI/CD pipelines
• Infrastructure testing and validation practices

Platform & Tools

• Azure CLI and Azure PowerShell
• kubectl, helm, kustomize
• Linux system administration
• Scripting: Bash, Python, or PowerShell
• Container technologies: Docker, containerd
• GitHub workflows and Actions

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting abilities
• Excellent documentation skills with focus on knowledge sharing
• Collaborative team player with mentoring capabilities
• Effective communication for both technical and business audiences
• Self-motivated with ability to manage complex projects

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced Kubernetes & Cloud Skills
• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)
• Experience with Linkerd service mesh - deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting
• Experience with AKS Fleet Manager for multi-cluster orchestration
• Familiarity with AKS Automatic and managed namespace patterns
• Experience with Kubernetes operators and Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs)
• Service mesh implementations (Linkerd preferred; Istio, Open Service Mesh)
• Advanced CNI configurations (Azure CNI, Calico, Cilium)
• Multi-cluster management and federation
• Experience with other cloud platforms (Google Cloud Platform GKE, AWS EKS) is a plus

• Azure Certifications
• Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)
• Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500)
• Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)

Platform Engineering Experience

• Building internal developer platforms on Kubernetes
• Policy-as-code implementation (Azure Policy, OPA, Kyverno)
• Cost optimization and FinOps practices for Kubernetes
• Chaos engineering and reliability testing
• Multi-region disaster recovery patterns