Kubernetes Engineer

The Digital Modernization Sector has an exciting career opportunity for an Kubernetes Engineer

Colorado Springs, CO to support the US Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC), Operational Command and Control Acquisition Delta, known as Kobayashi Maru. This role is instrumental in the development and deployment of mission critical software for space defense, space domain awareness, and enabling data services. This role

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and maintain highly available Kubernetes clusters across cloud and on-prem environments. 
• Automate infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, and scaling using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and CI/CD pipelines. 
• Develop and manage Helm charts for application deployment and configuration management. 
• Deploy and manage applications on cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). 
• Monitor and troubleshoot Kubernetes workloads, networking, and persistent storage solutions. 
• Implement Kubernetes security best practices, including RBAC, network policies, and container runtime security. 
• Optimize performance and reliability of containerized applications in distributed systems. 
• Collaborate with development, security, and operations teams to enhance DevOps workflows and cloud-native application delivery. 
• Integrate Kubernetes with service meshes, logging, and observability tools such as Istio, Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK Stack. 
• Participate in system upgrades, disaster recovery planning, and compliance initiatives such as NIST, CIS Benchmarks, and FedRAMP. 
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to knowledge sharing within the organization. 

Basic Qualifications:

• Requires BS and 8+ years of prior relevant experience or Masters with 6+ years of prior relevant experience, additional years of experience will be accepted in lieu of a degree. Minimum 5+ years of experience working with Kubernetes in production environments. 
• Must have a DoD-8570 IAT Level 2 baseline certification (Security+ CE or equivalent) to start and maintain.
• Must have Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD), and Azure Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional or equivalent cloud certifications.
• Strong expertise in Kubernetes administration, troubleshooting, and performance tuning. 
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and their Kubernetes services (EKS, AKS, GKE). 
• Proficiency in containerization technologies like Docker and container runtime management. 
• Solid understanding of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation). 
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines using tools like GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, ArgoCD, or Tekton. 
• Deep knowledge of Kubernetes networking (Calico, Cilium, Istio, or Linkerd) and storage solutions (Ceph, Portworx, Longhorn). 
• Expertise in monitoring and logging with Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, or OpenTelemetry. 
• Strong scripting skills in Bash, Python, or Golang for automation. 
• Familiarity with Kubernetes security best practices, including Pod Security Standards, RBAC, and image scanning tools (Trivy, Aqua, or Falco). 
• Experience with GitOps methodologies (ArgoCD, FluxCD) 
• Knowledge of serverless computing and Kubernetes-based event-driven architectures 
• Familiarity with service meshes and API gateways (Istio, Envoy, Traefik) 
• Hands-on experience with AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform security tools and configurations.
• Proficiency in cloud security frameworks such as CSA CCM (Cloud Controls Matrix), FedRAMP, or similar.
• Experience embedding security in CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitLab, or GitHub Actions.
• Experience with automation tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation) and scripting languages (e.g., Python, PowerShell, or Bash).
• Extensive experience with containerization and orchestration platforms like Kubernetes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Knowledge of hybrid cloud networking (e.g., VPNs, ExpressRoute, Direct Connect).
• Experience with DevSecOps pipelines and integration
• Experience working in agile development and DevOps-driven environments.
• US Citizen and Possession of a current Active DoD TS/SCI Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in computer science
• Multi-Cluster & Hybrid Deployments – Experience managing federated or multi-cluster Kubernetes environments across hybrid and multi-cloud architectures.
• Custom Kubernetes Operators – Developing and maintaining Kubernetes Operators using the Operator SDK (Go, Python, or Ansible).
• Cluster API (CAPI) Expertise – Experience with Cluster API for managing Kubernetes lifecycle across cloud providers.
• Advanced Scheduling & Tuning – Custom scheduling, affinity/anti-affinity rules, and performance optimization for workloads.
• Kubernetes Hardening – Deep knowledge of CIS benchmarks, PodSecurityPolicies (PSP), and Kyverno or Open Policy Agent (OPA).

Original Posting Date:

While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range:

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.