Job Title: Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer
Location: Washington, DC (On-site)
Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff — No C2C or 1099)
About the Opportunity
ZipStaff is seeking a Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer to serve as a primary technical leader responsible for architecting, securing, and scaling multi-cloud Kubernetes infrastructure for a major transportation organization in the Washington, DC area.
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, and enable cross-functional engineering teams.
What You’ll Do:
- Design, build, and maintain production EKS and AKS platform standards, cluster lifecycles, cross-cloud networking, storage, disaster recovery, and multi-region portability.
- 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.
- Establish enterprise RBAC, Network Policies, Pod Security Standards, and Kyverno or Gatekeeper policy enforcement; manage secret standards and automate release evidence capture for compliance.
- Publish hardened base container images and reusable, golden Terraform modules to provide self-service platform capabilities and reduce cognitive load for application developers.
- 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.
- 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.
Required Qualifications:
- 7+ years in DevOps, SRE, or Infrastructure/Platform Engineering, with at least 5+ years dedicated strictly to Kubernetes platform engineering at scale.
- Deep hands-on experience with Kubernetes, AWS EKS, Azure AKS, ArgoCD, GitHub ARC, Terraform, and GitOps methodologies.
- Proven background configuring cloud networking, ingress controllers, RBAC, network policies, and policy-as-code frameworks (Kyverno, OPA/Gatekeeper).
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
- Ability to work on-site in Washington, DC.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS), or AWS/Azure Cloud Certifications.
- Service Mesh experience (Istio/Linkerd).
- Experience with Backstage IDP or similar internal developer platforms.
- Prior background working in highly regulated or enterprise environments.
- Experience supporting transportation or mission-critical systems.
Benefits:
- Health Insurance.
- Dental Insurance.
- Vision Insurance.
- 401(k) + 401(k) matching.
- Paid time off.
- Referral Program.
About ZipStaff
ZipStaff partners with leading organizations to connect skilled technology professionals with high-impact contract opportunities. We focus on quality matches, clear communication, and long-term success for candidates and clients.
To apply, submit your resume highlighting your Kubernetes platform engineering experience (5+ years at scale), multi-cloud EKS/AKS work, ArgoCD/GitOps, Terraform, and security/policy-as-code background. Pure research or junior experience will not be considered.