Kubernetes Platform Junior Engineer

About the Role

The Kubernetes Junior Cloud Engineer contributes to Vanguard’s Kubernetes agenda through the buildout and support of the Kubernetes platform at Vanguard, and associated tools and add-ons, including ArgoCD, Karpenter, Amazon Managed Prometheus, OPA Gatekeeper, and others. This platform is a key part of Vanguard's managed cloud platforms, alongside ECS and our Lambda team (FaaS), and is the primary platform used for third-party and AI applications, among others. You'll work alongside architects, partner with a variety of different IT and security groups to solve problems related to observability, availability, and resiliency, and provide junior-level platform engineering services.

Responsibilities

• Provide junior-level IT services and direction for critical platform operational projects.
• Complete medium-to-complex development, design, implementation, and maintenance activities.
• Ensure the viability of IT deliverables and approve team pull requests (PRs).
• Conduct testing, including functionality, technical limitations, and security.
• Identify potential solutions and provide insights on technical solutions proposed by team members.
• Elevate complex technical issues to tech leads, architects, and IT experts.
• Resolve technical problems discovered by internal clients and respond to technical issues in a timely manner.
• Research issues and perform root cause analysis.
• Communicate with key stakeholders on project issues and implications.
• Evaluate the impacts of change requests on technologies and effectively persuade and influence others on ideas.
• Maintain a current and working knowledge of IT development methodology, architecture design, and technical standards.
• Mentor IT staff and identify training needs.
• Review and collaborate on documentation and diagrams created by IT team members.
• Write documentation, including technical standards and processes.
• Identify opportunities for continuous quality improvement of technical standards, methodologies, and technologies.
• Participate in design, code, and test inspections throughout the product lifecycle to identify issues.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3+ years related work experience, with at least 1 year of platform operation or development experience.
• Familiarity with AWS core concepts and services.
• Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience.

Skills

• Strong core development and problem-solving skills.
• Disposition for proactive solutioning with a preference for automation.
• Experience with modern software practices and automation.
• Experience with a scripting language, preferably Python/Go.
• Ability to troubleshoot effectively throughout the development lifecycle.
• Ability to self-train on emerging technologies and share knowledge with others.
• Focus on reducing Developer Cognitive Load.
• Passion for Cloud Native Observability and Resiliency Engineering.
• Experience building applications and services using AWS or Kubernetes.
• Collaborative mindset with a willingness to learn and teach.

Beneficial but Not Required Skills

• CKA Certification.
• Monitoring and alerting production workloads.
• Managing AWS infrastructure using tools like CloudFormation or Terraform.
• AWS Technical Certifications.

Special Factors

Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission. To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through products and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.