Platform Engineer

Job Title: Platform Engineer Industry: IT Location: Remote (US) — must be able to work 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST Shift: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST. Contract duration: 3 months, with possible extension based on business need. Interview Process: One interview, a Teams call with the manager and additional team members Client Overview This role sits within a global materials science and technology company's computing technologies group, supporting the cloud and Kubernetes platform that underpins internal engineering and business systems. Top 3 Skills AWS cloud infrastructure and Terraform (Infrastructure as Code)Kubernetes platform operationsCI/CD pipelines and GitOps workflows What You'll Do Design, implement, and operate AWS cloud infrastructure and automation using TerraformOwn EKS and Kubernetes platform operations, including cluster lifecycle, upgrades, and capacity planningBuild and improve core Kubernetes platform capabilities such as networking, RBAC, and secrets managementDevelop and maintain deployment workflows using Helm, Kustomize, and GitOps tools such as Argo CD or FluxDeploy and evolve observability capabilities, including metrics, logging, alerting, and dashboardsStrengthen security across infrastructure, pipelines, and Kubernetes environmentsSupport the reliability and operational performance of PostgreSQL and RDS environmentsMonitor system health, investigate incidents, and drive timely resolution through root cause analysisLead technical decision making within the scope of the role, prioritizing work and evaluating tradeoffsUse modern AI tools to accelerate infrastructure design, troubleshooting, and documentation, while validating outputs for correctness and security What We Need From You 7 or more years of experience in DevOps, platform engineering, SRE, or a related roleStrong hands on experience with AWS services and core networking and security conceptsAdvanced experience with Kubernetes, including cluster operations, autoscaling, and production workload managementStrong experience with Terraform for infrastructure as codeStrong scripting and automation skills in Python, Bash, or similar languages Preferred / Bonus Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related fieldCertifications in AWS, Kubernetes, or TerraformExperience with additional cloud platforms such as GCP or AzureExperience with observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, or LokiFamiliarity with compliance and governance requirements in regulated environments About Elevait Elevait Solutions was founded by veterans who believe that how you treat people is the only thing that actually matters in this industry. We're a team that stays in your corner before, during, and after placement. We show up for the communities we work in, we tell you the truth, and we work hard to make sure every placement is a good fit for both sides. If that sounds like the kind of team you want behind you, we'd like to talk. Elevait is a certified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, has over 100,000 LinkedIn followers, and was named a top company for hiring veterans by U.S. Veterans Magazine. We'd encourage you to check us out directly on our website and LinkedIn rather than just taking a recruiter's word for it. Buzzwords AWS, Terraform, Kubernetes, DevOps, infrastructure, cloud, CICD, GitOps, automation, deployment Top 3 LinkedIn Job Titles Senior DevOps EngineerPlatform EngineerSite Reliability Engineer Internal Market Recap (Client: Corning, Remote/US, EST hours) Pay Positioning This req's candidate facing range, $66.51 to $89.79/hr, sits meaningfully above the general remote DevOps engineer market average of $60.53/hr ($50.72 to $69.47/hr typical range), which tracks with this role's senior specialization (7+ years, deep AWS, Kubernetes, and Terraform expertise) rather than a general DevOps position. Independent contracting rate guides for this specialization suggest experienced senior DevOps, Kubernetes, or SRE specialists can command $150 to $350+/hr in the open freelance market, so while this req's range is strong relative to typical staffing/W2 postings, a highly specialized candidate comparing it against freelance consulting rates may see it as a step down from what they could earn independently. Competitive Landscape HashiCorp, Datadog, MongoDB, Snowflake, Cloudflare, GitLab, Red Hat, Elastic. Contractor to FTE Trends This is explicitly a short, 3 month contract with possible extension based on business need, not stated as a contract to hire path. Frame it to candidates as a defined scope engagement. Selling Points and Watch Outs Fully remote, candidates can live anywhere in the US as long as they can work core EST hours, a strong draw for candidates who want geographic flexibilityGenuinely hands on, high ownership platform engineering work, leading technical decisions with limited oversight, rather than a purely execution focused roleA live "Spotlight call" is scheduled for Wednesday 8/26 at 10:30am EST, worth flagging to strong candidates as a fast, direct path to visibility with the hiring teamThis is a short, 3 month engagement with extension only "possible," not guaranteed, worth setting expectations early for candidates hoping for something longer termInterview process is a single Teams call but includes the manager plus additional team members, so candidates should be prepared for a panel style conversation in one sitting Candidate Profile A senior DevOps, platform engineering, or SRE professional with 7+ years of experience, deep hands on AWS, Kubernetes, and Terraform expertise, comfortable operating independently in ambiguous situations and making infrastructure decisions with limited oversight. Sourcing Channels Target current senior DevOps and platform engineers at the competitor cloud infrastructure and SaaS companies listed above, LinkedIn searches combining AWS, Kubernetes, and Terraform experience with SRE or platform engineering language, and remote first tech community groups. LinkedIn Location Coverage Not applicable. This role is fully remote with candidates able to live anywhere in the US, subject to core EST hours, so there is no commute radius to build a coverage table around. Boolean Search String ("DevOps engineer" OR "platform engineer" OR "site reliability engineer" OR SRE) AND (AWS OR Terraform OR Kubernetes OR EKS OR "CI/CD" OR CICD OR GitOps) AND (Helm OR Kustomize OR "Argo CD" OR ArgoCD OR Flux OR Prometheus OR Grafana OR PostgreSQL OR RDS OR Python OR Bash)