Kubernetes Architect

Job summary

Peraton is seeking a highly skilled Kubernetes Architect to support a federal government customer in designing, building, securing, and operationalizing enterprise Kubernetes platforms across both air-gapped and cloud-based environments. This role will serve as the technical lead for Kubernetes platform architecture, automation, infrastructure modernization, and container orchestration strategy supporting mission-critical government systems. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in Kubernetes platform engineering, cloud-native infrastructure, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), enterprise automation, and secure platform operations within highly regulated federal environments.

Benefits

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 10+ years of experience in infrastructure engineering, cloud architecture, DevOps, or platform engineering roles.
• 5+ years of hands-on Kubernetes architecture and administration experience in enterprise or mission-critical environments.
• Deep expertise with Kubernetes, Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP), Amazon EKS, Terraform, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), container orchestration, and cloud-native technologies.
• Experience designing and supporting Kubernetes platforms in both air-gapped and cloud-based environments.
• Strong experience with AWS networking and architecture, IAM and RBAC, VPCs, subnets, routing, security groups, Kubernetes networking and ingress, storage integrations and persistent volumes, and cluster lifecycle management.
• Experience implementing secure and compliant Kubernetes environments within federal or highly regulated organizations.
• Strong understanding of DevSecOps methodologies, CI/CD pipelines, automation frameworks, and container security best practices.
• Experience operationalizing shared enterprise Kubernetes platforms supporting multi-tenant workloads.
• Excellent troubleshooting, performance optimization, and platform reliability engineering skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Active TS/SCI or Q/SCI security clearance.
• Certifications such as Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS), AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Terraform Associate, or Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP).
• Experience supporting Department of Energy (DOE), Intelligence Community (IC), or civilian federal agency environments.
• Experience with Rancher, Helm, ArgoCD, GitOps workflows, Istio or service mesh technologies, Prometheus/Grafana, ELK/OpenSearch logging stacks.
• Familiarity with Zero Trust Architecture and federal cloud modernization initiatives.
• Experience supporting disconnected, classified, or high-security operational environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and long-term operational strategy of enterprise Kubernetes platforms supporting federal government missions and secure enterprise workloads.
• Architect, build, and maintain Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) environments across air-gapped on-premises infrastructure and AWS cloud environments.
• Establish secure Kubernetes cluster foundations including networking, storage integrations, identity management, cluster lifecycle management, and platform governance aligned with federal compliance requirements.
• Design and implement cloud-native Kubernetes infrastructure leveraging Terraform and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) methodologies to automate deployment and management processes.
• Architect and deploy Amazon EKS environments including VPC design and segmentation, subnets and routing, IAM integration and role-based access controls, cluster provisioning and node management, secure networking and ingress configurations, high availability and resiliency architectures.
• Develop repeatable, scalable, and compliant infrastructure deployment workflows aligned with enterprise standards and federal security requirements.
• Operationalize and maintain platform stability, tenant management, and shared services running within Kubernetes environments.
• Oversee Kubernetes platform operations including change management, cluster upgrades and patching, access controls and RBAC, monitoring and logging, security hardening, capacity planning, and performance optimization.
• Serve as the Kubernetes Subject Matter Expert (SME) providing architectural guidance, technical leadership, and best practices to engineering, DevSecOps, and application teams.
• Develop reference architectures, platform standards, operational procedures, and deployment patterns supporting scalable application onboarding and long-term platform sustainability.
• Translate complex Kubernetes and cloud-native concepts into actionable technical guidance for stakeholders, engineering teams, and operational leadership.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, infrastructure, networking, and development teams to ensure secure and compliant platform operations.
• Support modernization initiatives involving containerization, automation, DevSecOps, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-native transformation efforts.
• Ensure compliance with federal cybersecurity standards, configuration management requirements, and enterprise operational governance processes.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation including architecture diagrams, operational runbooks, deployment standards, and engineering procedures.

Skills

Certifications

Degrees

Security clearance

Relocation