Advanced Kubernetes SME

This is a U.S. based position. All of the programs we support require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. All work must be conducted within the continental U.S.

Who we are:

Raft (https://goraft.tech) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in Reston, VA. Our range of clients include innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting edge tech stack, and cloud native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

We’re looking for an experienced Advanced Kubernetes SME to support our customers and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers. This is a unique opportunity to help build and shape a game-changing organization where we put our customers and people first. 

About the role:

As an Advanced Kubernetes SME, you will join a small team that is building and maintaining the premier Platform for Space Force. The platform will be used by several developers and operators in the Space Force to build modern capabilities desired by the Space Operators. The platform will push the envelope on reducing the friction between developers and platform engineers. This project will involve Platform One’s big Bang on AWS EKS with several custom capabilities built on top of it to make lives of developers easier.  

A strong candidate shall have demonstrable industry experience at an Individual Contributor Level. A successful candidate would be a well-rounded Kubernetes engineer with strong Flux and Helm skillsets with experience in AWS and Linux. The engineer will possess effective communication skills to interact with various stakeholders, internal and external to the organization. 

In this awesome role, your voice will be heard, and you will be able to take ownership of several aspects of the platform. You will support the development and implementation of end-to-end cluster and application lifecycles. You will develop and implement custom CLI written in GoLang that abstracts, as much as possible, the technical details of Kubernetes away from developers. 

What we are looking for:  

• 4+ years of valuable industry experience 
• Strong expertise in Kubernetes (3+ years) - managing production clusters and ensuring compliance 
• Agile Team experience with a preference for Scrum methodology 
• Proficiency in Kubernetes, Istio, Helm, Terraform, Ansible, GitOps Tools (FluxCD & ArgoCD), and Continuous Deployment in hybrid environments 
• Experience with Custom Kubernetes Operators, Admission Controllers, Resource Definitions (CRDs), and Controllers 
• Strong experience in building custom Kubernetes Operators 
• Strong experience in build CLIs using Golang 
• all work must be completed within the US

Highly preferred: 

• Experience with Big Bang and/or Platform One 
• Kubernetes and AWS certifications 
• Eagerness to showcase your work through demos to the team and stakeholders 
• Current USAF CAC 

Clearance Requirements:  

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. SECRET Security Clearance 

Work Type:  

• Remote 

What we will offer you:  

• Highly competitive salary 
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage 
• 401(k) and company match 
• Unlimited PTO + 11 paid holidays 
• Education & training benefits 
• Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs 
• Monthly box of yummy snacks to eat while doing meaningful work 
• Team off-site in fun places! 
• Generous Referral Bonuses 
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:  

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successf