Kubernetes Engineer

The Aerospace Corporation•El Segundo, CA

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space. Job Summary The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a skilled Kubernetes Engineer (Technical and Cloud Computing Engineer Staff IV/V) with expertise in Kubernetes, Linux, programming, and automation. In this role, you will be responsible for maintaining both on-premise and cloud-based Kubernetes clusters, providing essential support to our engineering team. As part of a multidisciplinary infrastructure team, you will manage multiple clusters used for technical analyses, including space launch telemetry analysis. Collaborating closely with rocket scientists and engineers, you will contribute to the development of innovative solutions to complex challenges within the space enterprise, supporting critical national space assets. This position requires a strong sense of shared responsibility and ownership, working alongside cross-functional team members to achieve our mission objectives. The selected candidate will be required to work full-time on-site at our facility in El Segundo, CA or Chantilly, VA.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, STEM, or IT or equivalent experience is required
A minimum of (5) or more years of increasingly responsible and relevant professional experience supporting a high availability enterprise environment is required
A minimum of (2) years hands-on experience managing existing Kubernetes environments, with responsibilities of deployment, upgrade, patching, and backups is required
Full ownership and engineering responsibility of production AWS and Kubernetes services
Be able to identify and resolve engineering problems independently
Experience in Linux systems administration, including configuration, for an enterprise environment
Strong understanding of networking fundamentals
Experience automating repetitive tasks with scripting or DevOps tools
This position requires the ability to maintain a Secret security clearance and the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance
A minimum of (7) or more years of increasingly responsible and relevant professional experience in AWS, Linux, and IaC is required
Experience architecting and deploying secure AWS and/or Kubernetes environments from scratch is needed
Experience performance tuning and capacity planning AWS and/or Kubernetes environments is required

Nice To Haves

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), or Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) is preferred
Experience deploying Kubernetes clusters using Rancher is strongly desired
Experience deploying/supporting persistent container storage on Kubernetes (Portworx preferred)
Experience in Linux performance tuning, and security hardening for an enterprise DoD environment
Experience with VMWare, Hyper-V, or Harvester
Experience with automated provisioning, configuration management, Infrastructure-as-Code, GitOps (Examples: ArgoCD, Ansible, TerraForm, Puppet, Packer, Bash, Golang, Python)
Experience with Agile and Scrum is preferred
A current and active TS/SCI security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government, is strongly preferred. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance

Responsibilities

Manage Kubernetes for on-prem and in AWS production environments with end-to-end responsibilities of deployment, upgrade, patching, performance tuning, capacity planning & backups/DR.
Frequent full security patching of all layers of Kubernetes infrastructure while maintaining very high uptime
Ownership and engineering responsibility of production AWS and Kubernetes services
Identify and resolve full Kubernetes stack engineering problems independently
Ensure successful real-time analysis of telemetry data from space launch partners, such as SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA), and Blue Origin
Provide after-hours support for Kubernetes infrastructure troubleshooting during launch events
Support scientists and engineers running workloads and apps in Kubernetes
Provide Linux expertise and troubleshooting
Evaluate and test new products and technologies
Use code to enhance and automate operations

Benefits

Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
Flexible spending accounts
Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
Relocation assistance
Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
Education assistance programs
An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect