Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer

job summary:

As a Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer supporting an enterprise Randstad client in the Washington, DC area, you will serve as a primary technical leader responsible for architecting, securing, and scaling multi-cloud Kubernetes infrastructure across AWS (EKS), Azure (AKS), and hybrid environments. In this role, you will own platform capabilities end-to-end-driving GitOps automation via ArgoCD, streamlining enterprise CI/CD with GitHub Actions Runner Controller (ARC), and creating seamless developer "golden paths" through hardened IaC modules and progressive delivery pipelines. Operating in a high-standards enterprise setting, you will champion platform reliability, write clear Architectural Decision Records (ADRs), enforce robust security controls (RBAC, Kyverno/Gatekeeper), and enable cross-functional engineering teams to deliver software safely, continuously, and efficiently.

location: Washington, Washington, D.C. job type: Contract salary: $75 - 85 per hour work hours: 9am to 5pm education: Bachelors

responsibilities:

Platform Architecture & Multi-Cloud Strategy: Design, build, and maintain production EKS and AKS platform standards, cluster lifecycles, cross-cloud networking, storage, disaster recovery, and multi-region portability.

GitOps & CI/CD Engineering: Architect enterprise GitOps deployment patterns using ArgoCD and implement GitHub Actions Runner Controller (ARC) to automate release workflows, progressive delivery (canary/blue-green), and fail-forward/rollback mechanisms.

Governance, Guardrails & Security: Establish enterprise RBAC, Network Policies, Pod Security Standards, and Kyverno or Gatekeeper policy enforcement; manage secret standards and automate release evidence capture for compliance.

Developer Experience (DX) & Golden Paths: Publish hardened base container images and reusable, golden Terraform modules to provide self-service platform capabilities and reduce cognitive load for application developers.

Reliability, Observability & Quality Gates: Define SLOs, error budgets, and central monitoring standards while integrating automated quality gates, security scans, and pre-production performance/chaos testing into CI/CD pipelines.

Technical Leadership & Collaboration: Own platform capabilities through their full lifecycle, mentor engineering teams on modern cloud-native practices, and author Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) to clarify design trade-offs.

qualifications:

Experience: 7+ years in DevOps, SRE, or Infrastructure/Platform Engineering, with at least 5+ years dedicated strictly to Kubernetes platform engineering at scale.

Core Technical Expertise: Deep hands-on experience with Kubernetes, AWS EKS, Azure AKS, ArgoCD, GitHub ARC, Terraform, and GitOps methodologies.

Security & Network Engineering: Proven background configuring cloud networking, ingress controllers, RBAC, network policies, and policy-as-code frameworks (Kyverno, OPA/Gatekeeper).

Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).

Preferred Certifications & Skills: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS), AWS/Azure Cloud Certifications, Service Mesh experience (Istio/Linkerd), Backstage IDP, and prior background working in highly regulated or enterprise environments.

skills:

AWS EKS,AWS,Azure AKS,cloud networking,Network Policies,Platform Architecture,CI/CD,DevOps,disaster recovery,GitHub Actions,GitHub,Computer Science,Information Technology,Service Mesh,Istio,Kubernetes Platform,Kubernetes infrastructure,Kubernetes,Kubernetes Security,Linkerd,Azure,Azure Cloud,Multi-Cloud,ArgoCD,policy-as-code,RBAC,Terraform,security scans,Reliability,Collaboration,AWS,architecting,automation,automate,automated,budgets,Azure Cloud,Certified Kubernetes Administrator,Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist,DX,Governance,Infrastructure,mentor,Network Engineering,policy enforcement,pre-production,Platform Engineering,Publish,Security,security controls,Technical Leadership,testing,workflows

Equal Opportunity Employer: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, National Origin, Age, Genetic Information, Disability, Protected Veteran Status, or any other legally protected group status.

At Randstad Digital, we welcome people of all abilities and want to ensure that our hiring and interview process meets the needs of all applicants. If you require a reasonable accommodation to make your application or interview experience a great one, please contact HRsupport@randstadusa.com.

Pay offered to a successful candidate will be based on several factors including the candidate's education, work experience, work location, specific job duties, certifications, etc. In addition, Randstad Digital offers a comprehensive benefits package, including: medical, prescription, dental, vision, AD&D, and life insurance offerings, short-term disability, and a 401K plan (all benefits are based on eligibility).

This posting is open for thirty (30) days.