Lead Platform Engineer – Cloud & Developer Platforms (Kubernetes Required)

Guardian Life Insurance•Holmdel Township, NJ

27d•$118,980 - $195,465•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Lead Platform Engineer – Cloud & Developer Platforms, you will design, build, and operate Guardian's enterprise cloud application platforms and automation ecosystems. You will own critical components of the Amazon EKS platform lifecycle while also acting as a broad platform generalist, supporting automation, system design, and operational tooling that enable application teams to deploy, operate, and scale production workloads safely and consistently. This role balances deep Kubernetes platform ownership with versatile engineering skills across scripting, Linux systems, automation, Helm charts, CI/CD, and serverless workflows. The focus is on operational reliability, security-by-default patterns, and disciplined platform lifecycle management that accelerates developer productivity while reducing operational risk.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in platform engineering, cloud engineering, DevOps, SRE, or closely related roles
Strong hands-on experience with Kubernetes and Amazon EKS, including real-world production operations and upgrades
Broad engineering depth beyond Kubernetes, including Linux systems troubleshooting, container runtimes and Docker, and automation and scripting for operational workflows
Hands-on experience with AWS Lambda, Step Functions, and serverless execution models
Strong proficiency in Infrastructure as Code using Terraform or equivalent tools
Experience building and operating CI/CD automation using Jenkins and/or GitHub Actions
Strong scripting and automation skills using Python and Shell
Solid understanding of how application architecture decisions impact reliability, security, and operations
Experience designing and operating platforms consumed by multiple application teams at enterprise scale
Proven ability to troubleshoot complex, cross-layer issues spanning Kubernetes platforms, Linux and containers, CI/CD and automation tooling, and security and observability systems

Responsibilities

Designing and maintaining automation and scripting solutions
Debugging Linux-level, container, and networking issues
Improving system reliability through tooling and standards
Cluster and environment architecture
Kubernetes and EKS version upgrades
Node, AMI, and add-on lifecycle management
Platform security controls and operational governance
Design and operate CI/CD and automation pipelines for platform and infrastructure components using Jenkins and Groovy, GitHub and GitHub Actions, Terraform, Python and Shell scripting
Lead the design and evolution of cloud platforms that support diverse workload patterns, including web services and APIs, long-running and background services, containerized workloads on Amazon EKS, and serverless and event-driven workflows using AWS Lambda and Step Functions
Embed validation controls, security gates, and safe promotion and rollback mechanisms directly into pipelines and workflows
Ensure platforms and workloads meet Guardian's observability standards by integrating with the enterprise observability and monitoring tooling, with telemetry and alerting aligned to workload criticality
Integrate approved security scanning tooling into delivery and platform pipelines for dependency and container image scanning
Act as a senior escalation point for platform-related production incidents, leading or contributing to root cause analysis and driving durable remediation
Partner closely with Application Engineering, Security Engineering, Observability, and Architecture teams to influence workload design, enforce secure-by-default patterns, and align with Guardian standards and future-state architecture
Mentor engineers and contribute to raising overall platform engineering, automation, and operational maturity