Azure DevOps Engineer
Roles & Responsibilities
Staff Engineer - Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) Platform Specialist
Position Summary
We are seeking a highly skilled Staff Engineer with deep expertise in Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) to lead the design, implementation, security, and optimization of enterprise-grade container platforms. This role will drive AKS architecture standards, cloud automation, platform reliability, and secure application delivery while partnering with engineering, architecture, and security teams to enable scalable cloud-native solutions.
Key Responsibilities
AKS Architecture & Platform Engineering
- Design, implement, and manage end-to-end Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) platforms for mission-critical applications.
- Architect highly available, scalable, and resilient Kubernetes environments aligned with enterprise standards.
- Optimize cluster performance through node pool design, autoscaling strategies, resource allocation, and workload tuning.
- Provision and manage Azure infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep, ARM, or similar tools).
- Implement automated environment provisioning and configuration management across development, testing, and production environments.
DevOps & Automation
- Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps, GitOps practices, and Helm charts to streamline application delivery.
- Manage container lifecycle processes, including image repositories, deployment automation, and release management.
- Integrate Azure Container Registry (ACR) and enforce image governance, vulnerability scanning, and security controls.
- Support Kubernetes batch processing workloads using Jobs and CronJobs.
Security & Compliance
- Implement and maintain AKS security controls, including RBAC, Azure Entra ID (Azure AD) integration, network segmentation, and Kubernetes security best practices.
- Secure workloads through secrets management, pod security standards, mTLS communication, and runtime protection controls.
- Partner with security teams to implement vulnerability management, compliance monitoring, and remediation activities using tools such as Wiz.io and Microsoft Defender.
- Design secure API communication patterns and integrate API gateways and service meshes where appropriate.
Networking & Connectivity
- Design and manage AKS networking using Azure CNI, Calico, ingress controllers, and Azure Application Gateway.
- Troubleshoot complex networking issues involving DNS, service discovery, ingress/egress traffic, and hybrid connectivity.
- Support integration of AKS workloads with Azure services including API Management (APIM), Key Vault, Application Gateway, and other platform services.
Observability & Reliability Engineering
- I mplement enterprise monitoring, logging, alerting, and observability solutions using Azure Monitor, Prometheus, Grafana, and distributed tracing tools.
- Develop dashboards, operational metrics, and health monitoring capabilities to ensure platform reliability and performance.
- Lead backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning for Kubernetes platforms.
- Monitor platform health, availability, capacity, and operational performance to meet established SLAs.
Technical Leadership
- Lead implementation of advanced Kubernetes capabilities such as service meshes (Istio, Linkerd) and platform modernization initiatives.
- Collaborate with architects, engineers, and product teams to establish AKS standards, patterns, and best practices.
- Provide technical mentorship and guidance to engineering teams on Kubernetes, containerization, cloud architecture, and DevOps practices.
- Partner with architecture and security teams to deliver scalable, secure, and compliant cloud-native solutions.
Required Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience in cloud engineering, platform engineering, DevOps, or Site Reliability Engineering.
- 5+ years of hands-on Kubernetes experience, including production AKS environments.
- Deep expertise in Kubernetes architecture, networking, security, ingress controllers, and workload management.
- Strong experience with Azure services including AKS, Azure Networking, Azure Monitor, ACR, Key Vault, APIM, and Application Gateway.
- Experience with CI/CD automation, Azure DevOps, GitOps, Helm, and Infrastructure as Code.
- Strong knowledge of observability, incident management, disaster recovery, and operational excellence practices.
- Experience implementing enterprise security controls, vulnerability management, and cloud compliance frameworks.
- Excellent troubleshooting, communication, collaboration, and technical leadership skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Microsoft Azure certifications (AZ-104, AZ-305, AZ-400, or related).
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS).
- Experience with service mesh technologies such as Istio or Linkerd.
- Experience supporting regulated environments within financial services or other highly regulated industries.
Salary Range- $110,000-$120,000 a year
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