Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer

Job Title:
Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer

Duration:
6 Months (Contract-to-Hire)

Location:
Hybrid (3 days onsite) Chicago, IL or Tempe, AZ

Job Summary

STAFFXPERT LLC is seeking a Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer on behalf of our client in Chicago, IL or Tempe, AZ.
This is a hands-on role supporting a large-scale, enterprise Kubernetes environment in production. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in maintaining, troubleshooting, and scaling Kubernetes platforms not just deploying them.

You will play a critical role in ensuring system stability, performance, and reliability across a complex multi-cluster environment in a fast-paced, high-impact setting.

Key Responsibilities

• Support and manage enterprise-grade Kubernetes clusters in production
• Troubleshoot cluster, application, and infrastructure-level issues
• Ensure platform availability, scalability, and optimal performance
• Participate in on-call rotation for critical production systems
• Collaborate closely with DevOps, SRE, and infrastructure teams
• Contribute to continuous improvement of platform reliability and operations

Required Skills

• Strong hands-on experience supporting Kubernetes in production environments
• Deep understanding of core Kubernetes concepts:
• Pods, Deployments, Services, Ingress, RBAC
• Experience with at least one Kubernetes platform:
• VMware Tanzu (preferred), OpenShift, AKS, or EKS
• Strong Linux system administration and troubleshooting skills
• Ability to work effectively in high-pressure, production environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with VMware Tanzu
• Scripting skills (Bash and/or Python)
• Experience managing large-scale, multi-cluster Kubernetes environments