Kubernetes Administrator

Role : Kubernetes Engineer/Administrator

Location: Charlotte, NC Mode: Hybrid - 2 days a week onsite

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