Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer

Position Summary

The Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer is a hands-on technical role responsible for the design, implementation, and ongoing operation of a multi-tenant AWS EKS platform. This position focuses on building, automating, and maintaining a secure, scalable, and highly available Kubernetes environment supporting mission-critical workloads.

The engineer will work closely with application teams, cloud operations, and automation teams to deliver platform capabilities including tenant onboarding, infrastructure as code (IaC), networking, security, and continuous platform improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Administer Kubernetes clusters (AWS EKS), including provisioning, upgrades, node group management, and patching
• Manage and maintain Kubernetes platform components including Cilium, Karpenter, and related tooling
• Configure and maintain Kubernetes networking (DNS, ingress, firewall/TIC 3.0 alignment, VPN/tunnels)
• Implement and support load balancing solutions (public and internal ingress controllers)
• Design, build, and maintain Terraform modules and Helm charts for platform and tenant environments
• Support and enhance GitOps workflows (ArgoCD) for consistent and repeatable deployments
• Develop automation for provisioning, scaling, and platform lifecycle management
• Contribute to reusable deployment patterns and self-service capabilities ("golden paths")
• Support tenant onboarding: repo setup, CI/CD pipeline configuration, Helm chart deployment.
• Collaborate with application teams to ensure proper platform usage, standards, and best practices
• Implement and maintain platform security aligned with FedRAMP/NIST and TIC 3.0 requirements
• Manage container image lifecycle including base image updates, patching, and distribution
• Support vulnerability remediation and platform-level security incident response
• Execute and support backup/restore procedures and disaster recovery operations
• Monitor platform health using Prometheus and Grafana
• Troubleshoot complex Kubernetes, networking, and application integration issues
• Optimize cluster performance, reliability, and cost efficiency
• Develop and maintain platform documentation including SOPs, runbooks, and security procedures
• Participate in after-hours maintenance, patching windows, and on-call rotations

Minimum Qualifications

• BS/BA + 12 years of experience, including:
• 5+ years of hands-on Kubernetes experience (EKS strongly preferred)
• Strong experience with:
• AWS EKS in production environments
• Helm, Terraform, ArgoCD
• AWS IAM, RBAC, IRSA
• Hands-on experience with:
• Cilium (required)
• Karpenter (required)
• Solid understanding of:
• Kubernetes networking, ingress, and service exposure
• Container registry management (ECR or equivalent)
• Platform security and compliance (FedRAMP/NIST preferred)
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools:
• Prometheus, Grafana
• Scripting and automation skills:
• Bash, Python (Go is a plus)
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills in distributed systems
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work nights and/or weekends for patching and deployments
• Ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance
• Must be a US Citizen

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees do the can't be done by solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit peraton.com to learn how we're keeping people around the world safe and secure.