DevOps Lead/Architect with Google Cloud Platform

Job Title: Technical lead / Architect (DevOps with Google Cloud Platform)

Location: Remote

Duration: Long Term

Papa Johns is seeking a highly skilled Senior resource with to join our platform engineering team and drive our cloud-native transformation.

You will play a critical role in modernizing our infrastructure through GitOps practices, leading cloud migration initiatives, and building scalable Google Cloud Platform-based platforms that enable rapid software delivery. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment and be part of a team that drives innovation, efficiency, and developer productivity within our organization.
Duties and Responsibilities:

Cloud-Native Platform Engineering

• Lead the migration of CI/CD pipelines from Jenkins to Harness, ensuring seamless transition and improved deployment capabilities.
• Design, implement, and maintain robust CI/CD pipelines using Harness as the primary deployment platform, with expertise in migrating legacy Jenkins workflows.
• Build and optimize GKE-based infrastructure with focus on scalability, reliability, and developer self-service capabilities.
• Lead technical initiatives to migrate Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) workloads to native Google Cloud Platform services and GKE platforms.
• Implement GitOps workflows using Harness and GKE, ensuring declarative infrastructure management and automated deployment processes.
• Design and implement infrastructure-as-code using Terraform and Ansible to automate and standardize Google Cloud Platform deployments.

Legacy System Migration & Modernization

• Lead technical initiatives to migrate legacy applications from on-premises infrastructure (VMS, traditional servers) and Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) to GKE cloud-native platforms.
• Drive the migration of existing Jenkins-based CI/CD pipelines to Harness, ensuring feature parity and improved deployment capabilities.
• Collaborate with application teams to assess, plan, and execute GCVE-to-GKE migration strategies that minimize business disruption.
• Develop standardized migration patterns and automation frameworks using Harness and GKE to accelerate application transformation efforts.
• Implement containerization strategies and Kubernetes deployment patterns for legacy workloads transitioning from GCVE environments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Leadership

• Lead projects across application teams to ensure adherence to best practices for GKE infrastructure and Harness-based deployment workflows.
• Collaborate with development teams to onboard applications from Jenkins to Harness and onto GKE, ensuring smooth integration and deployment processes while balancing developer productivity needs with enterprise requirements.
• Work closely with Technical Product Managers to translate business requirements into technical solutions using GKE and Harness platform capabilities.
• Collaborate with architecture teams in discussions and decision-making related to GKE architecture, Harness pipeline design, and GCVE migration strategies.
• Drive modern agile practices within platform engineering teams, including sprint planning, retrosClienttives, and continuous improvement methodologies to maintain team focus and delivery excellence.

Cloud Governance & Security

• Implement and manage comprehensive cloud governance strategies, including InsightCloudSec, Cost Governance, Compute Governance, and overall Cloud Governance for the Enterprise.
• Implement and enforce security best practices, including Workload Identity, Identity & Access Management (IAM), and other enterprise security initiatives.
• Configure auto-scaling, load balancing, and resource allocation for efficient cluster utilization and cost optimization.
• Enforce cluster policies using GKE Policy & Config Management and ensure compliance with enterprise standards.

Monitoring & Operational Excellence

• Continuously monitor and optimize the performance, security, and scalability of cloud infrastructure and applications.
• Implement comprehensive observability solutions and establish SLIs/SLOs for platform services.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues related to DevOps and cloud infrastructure, ensuring minimal downtime and maximum availability.
• Drive automation initiatives to eliminate manual processes and improve operational efficiency.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Stay current with the latest trends and best practices in platform engineering, cloud-native technologies, and GitOps practices.
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies and tools that enhance platform capabilities and developer experience.
• Contribute to the development of internal tooling and frameworks that accelerate engineering productivity.
• Champion modern agile methodologies and team practices, including establishing clear team ceremonies, metrics-driven development, and continuous feedback loops.
• Lead by example in promoting focused work practices, sprint accountability, and iterative improvement within the platform engineering organization.

Skills

• Advanced expertise in Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), including GKE standard, GKE Enterprise, and GKE Autopilot configurations.
• Proven experience with Harness platform for CI/CD, including pipeline design, deployment strategies, and GitOps workflows.
• Strong background in migrating CI/CD pipelines from Jenkins to Harness, with understanding of pipeline conversion strategies and best practices.
• Experience with Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) and expertise in migrating GCVE workloads to native Google Cloud Platform services and GKE.
• Significant knowledge of Infrastructure-as-Code principles using Terraform and Ansible for Google Cloud Platform and GKE automation.
• Experience leading cloud migration initiatives from legacy systems (VMS, GCVE, traditional infrastructure) to modern GKE-based platforms.
• Deep understanding of Google Cloud Platform services, with sClientific focus on GKE, Cloud Build, Artifact Registry, and networking.
• Proficiency in Harness-sClientific features including continuous verification, policy management, and deployment strategies (blue-green, canary, rolling).
• Experience with Cloud Governance practices, including cost optimization, security compliance, and resource management within GKE environments.
• Strong scripting capabilities (Python, Bash, Go) for automation and tooling development, particularly for Harness and GKE integrations.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with the ability to diagnose and resolve complex technical issues in GKE and Harness environments.
• Excellent collaborative skills with proven ability to work across diverse teams and communicate GKE and Harness technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong leadership capabilities for mentoring junior engineers, leading Jenkins-to-Harness migration initiatives, and driving modern agile team practices.
• Experience implementing and coaching agile methodologies, sprint planning, retrosClienttives, and team focus techniques within technical teams.
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools integrated with GKE and Harness (AppDynamics, Splunk, Prometheus, etc.) and establishing reliability practices.
• Continual learning mindset, staying updated with the latest GKE features, Harness capabilities, and modern platform engineering practices.