Senior OpenShift / Kubernetes Administrator

Job Title: Senior OpenShift / Kubernetes Administrator

Location: Chennai

We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced Senior OpenShift / Kubernetes Administrator to join our dynamic engineering team. This critical role involves ensuring the stability, performance, and security of our container orchestration platforms.You will be responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle management of our Docker and Kubernetes environments, maintaining high availability, scalability, and operational excellence. Leveraging your deep expertise in Kubernetes, cloud platforms, and automation, you will proactively manage our infrastructure to empower development teams and ensure continuous service delivery. If you are an automation expert with deep container experience and a passion for building robust, scalable, and compliant infrastructure in a demanding environment (especially BFSI if applicable), we encourage you to apply.

Roles and Responsibilities

Platform Administration & Architecture Oversight:

Take overall responsibility for the setup, configuration, and architecture of Docker and

Kubernetes environments.

Design, deploy, configure, and maintain highly available and scalable OpenShift/Kubernetes

clusters across various environments (on-premise/cloud).

Perform regular upgrades, patching, and security hardening of Kubernetes/OpenShift

clusters and underlying infrastructure to ensure operational integrity and compliance.

Manage cluster resources, network policies, storage classes (CSI), and role-based access

control (RBAC).

Implement and manage Kubernetes Operators for automated application lifecycle

management from an infrastructure perspective.

Operational Management & Troubleshooting:

Configure, maintain, and provide advanced support for large-scale Docker-based

environments using Kubernetes.

Troubleshoot and swiftly resolve complex and critical issues within the Docker and

Kubernetes ecosystem.

Ensure robust operational aspects, including comprehensive monitoring, detailed reporting,

and reliable backup solutions for both Docker hosts and associated images/containers.

CI/CD Toolchain Administration & Support:

Administer and optimize our CI/CD toolchain, including GitHub for source code

management and GitOps workflows, Jenkins for build and deployment automation, and

JFrog Artifactory/Xray for artifact management and security scanning.

Maintain robust Jenkins pipelines (declarative/scripted) to support automated application

builds, testing, and deployments to Kubernetes/OpenShift.

Automation & Infrastructure as Code (IaC):

Develop and maintain automated processes, tools, and clear documentation in support of

Docker and Kubernetes operations.

Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles using tools like Terraform or Ansible for

cluster provisioning and configuration management.

Automate routine operational tasks, monitoring, and self-healing capabilities within the

container platform.

Microservices Infrastructure Support:

Collaborate with development teams to optimize microservices deployments, scaling

strategies, and resource utilization on the Kubernetes platform.

Provide expert guidance on containerization best practices, image optimization, and runtime

configurations for microservices to ensure platform stability.

Troubleshoot complex issues related to microservices connectivity, performance, and

stability within the containerized environment from an infrastructure standpoint.

Monitoring, Logging & Alerting:

Implement and manage comprehensive monitoring solutions (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana)

for cluster health, application performance, and resource utilization.

Configure centralized logging solutions (e.g., ELK stack, Splunk) to collect, analyze, and

visualize logs from containers and cluster components.

Define and manage alerting mechanisms to ensure proactive identification and resolution of

issues.

Security & Compliance (BFSI Focus if applicable):

Enforce security best practices for container images, registries, and Kubernetes

deployments.

Implement network segmentation and policies to secure inter-service communication within

the platform.

Manage secrets and sensitive data securely within the Kubernetes environment (e.g., using

Kubernetes Secrets, Vault).

Ensure the container platform and associated processes adhere to BFSI regulatory

requirements and internal security policies (e.g., PCI DSS, SOC2, data residency).

Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments of the container platform.

Collaboration & Documentation:

Work closely with development, operations, and security teams to ensure seamless

integration and operational excellence of the platform.

Utilize Jira for agile project management and issue tracking related to platform tasks.

Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for cluster architecture, operational

procedures, and troubleshooting guides.

Deeply engage with stakeholders to understand their architecture and operations,

continuously working to improve their overall Kubernetes support experience.

Skills Requirements

Container Orchestration Expertise:

Deep expertise in containerization technologies (Docker, containerd) and

orchestration (Kubernetes, OpenShift).

Proven experience in creating and managing production-scale Kubernetes clusters.

Deep understanding of Kubernetes core concepts including Deployment, ReplicaSet,

DaemonSet, StatefulSets, Jobs, Managing Kubernetes secrets, Managing Kubernetes

storage (PV, PVC, Storage Classes, Provisioners), Managing resource quotas.

Expertise in Ingress Controllers (e.g., Nginx, Istio) and cloud-native load balancers.

Deep understanding of Kubernetes Networking (Services, Endpoints, DNS, Load Balancers,

CNI).

Cloud Platform Specialization:

Should specialize in and have hands-on experience with at least one of the major cloud

platforms: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform

(GCP).

Experience in securely managing Kubernetes Clusters on at least one of these cloud

providers.

Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and hybrid cloud deployments is a plus.

Automation & Scripting:

Strong proficiency with scripting and automation using languages such as Python, Go,

Bash, Shell, and PowerShell.

Experience with configuration management and IaC tools (e.g., Ansible, Terraform).

Monitoring & Logging:

Extensive experience in setting up and managing monitoring and alerting for Kubernetes

clusters using open-source monitoring tools like Grafana and Prometheus.

Experience with centralized logging solutions (e.g., ELK stack).

Infrastructure & Microservices Knowledge:

Strong knowledge of broader infrastructure concepts (process, tools, networking, Virtual

Machines, Databases, Elastic, SaaS services).

Solid understanding of microservices architecture and patterns to effectively support

application deployments.

CI/CD Toolchain:

Strong proficiency in CI/CD pipeline administration with hands-on experience in Jenkins,

GitHub (including GitOps), and JFrog Artifactory/Xray.

Security & Compliance:

Strong understanding of security practices relevant to container platforms and CI/CD

processes.

Experience in the BFSI sector or other highly regulated industries is highly desirable, with a

strong understanding of security and compliance requirements.

Candidate Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; equivalent

practical experience will be considered.

8-10+ years of experience in DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or Infrastructure

Engineering, with at least 6+ years specifically administering OpenShift or Kubernetes in a

production environment.

Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and troubleshooting skills for complex distributed systems.

Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively at all

levels of management and with technical/non-technical stakeholders.

Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

Relevant certifications (e.g., CKA, CKAD, CKS, Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift

Administration) are a significant advantage.