Staff/Lead Platform-DevOps Engineer

Armada • Bellevue, WA

16h • Onsite

About The Position

About the Company
Armada is an edge computing startup that provides computing infrastructure to remote areas where connectivity and cloud infrastructure is limited, as well as areas where data needs to be processed locally for real-time analytics and AI at the edge. We’re looking to bring on the most brilliant minds to help further our mission of bridging the digital divide with advanced technology infrastructure that can be rapidly deployed anywhere.
About the role
We are looking for an experienced and detail-oriented Lead Platform Engineer to join our growing Edge team. This is a critical role where you will leverage deep technical expertise in cloud infrastructure and Kubernetes while valuing mentorship, collaboration, and open communication.
You will be responsible for the overall architecture, design, automation, optimization, and operation of our Kubernetes-based platform, supporting our Galleon mobile data centers and cloud integration. You will work on building and managing resilient, secure, and scalable Kubernetes environments across diverse edge locations and cloud infrastructure, ensuring the reliability of our distributed computing platform.
Location. This role is office-based at our Bellevue, Washington office.

Requirements

• At least 12+ years of experience in DevSecOps/SRE and platform engineering, with a significant focus on building and managing complex production environments.
• Minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience designing, deploying, and administering production Kubernetes clusters, with experience specifically in on-premises and bare-metal deployments.
• Deep expertise in Linux administration and troubleshooting, demonstrated through at least 5+ years of hands-on experience managing complex Linux environments.
• Deep understanding of Kubernetes architecture, core components, operational best practices, and lifecycle management.
• Strong understanding and proven experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions, particularly Terraform and/or Ansible.
• Proficiency in scripting languages (e.g., Python, Bash) for automation.
• Experience configuring and managing monitoring/logging tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack).
• Solid understanding of Linux operating system, networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, Load Balancing, Firewalls, VPNs) and container networking (CNI).
• Strong understanding of Kubernetes security concepts and implementation (RBAC, Network Policies, Secrets).
• Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively with others to debug and solve problems.
• A bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, Information Technology, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.
• Experience deploying and maintaining CI/CD solutions for DevSecOps, such as GitLab CI or Jenkins.
• Strong development experience using Docker, docker-compose, and/or Kubernetes.
• Experience developing Ansible playbooks for process automation.
• Kubernetes certifications (CKA, CKS, CKAD).
• Experience with Kubernetes operators and Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs).
• Experience with service mesh technologies like Istio or Linkerd.
• Experience managing Kubernetes in edge computing or resource-constrained environments.

Responsibilities

• Architect and Lead the design, deployment, configuration, and management of highly available Kubernetes clusters on-prem (Galleon data centers) and cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) environments. This includes designing the cluster layout, resource allocation, and storage configurations.
• Mentor and Guide team members in administering, maintaining, and monitoring the health, performance, and capacity of Kubernetes clusters and underlying infrastructure.
• Implement and manage Kubernetes networking solutions (CNI plugins, Ingress controllers) and storage solutions (PV/PVC, Storage Classes, CSI drivers).
• Design, deploy, configure, and manage Microsoft Azure Local and HCI environments.
• Maintain and monitor containerized platform services running within the clusters and robust monitoring, logging, and alerting systems (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack).
• Drive Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) initiatives using tools like Terraform, Ansible, Helm, and potentially Kubernetes Operators, promoting automation, repeatability, and reliability.
• Support and troubleshoot complex issues related to the Kubernetes platform, containerized services, networking, and infrastructure.
• Implement and enforce Kubernetes security best practices (RBAC, Network Policies, Secrets Management, Security Contexts, Image Scanning).
• Automate cluster operations, deployment pipelines (CI/CD integration), and infrastructure provisioning using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible).
• Lead the optimization of Kubernetes clusters for performance, scalability, and resource utilization, particularly in edge environments.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation for cluster architecture, configurations, operational procedures, and runbooks.
• Work in collaboration with software engineering, DevOps, security teams, and product managers to ensure seamless integration, deployment, and secure operation of applications on Kubernetes.
• Lead the evaluation and integration of new technologies from the Kubernetes ecosystem.
• Contribute to the operational excellence of the platform, including participating in on-call rotations, incident management, and building self-healing capabilities.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary and equity
• Medical, dental, and vision (subsidized cost)
• Health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), and dependent care FSAs (DCFSA)
• Retirement plan options, including 401(k) and Roth 401(k)
• Unlimited paid time off (PTO)
• 14 paid company holidays per year

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level