Principal Kubernetes Engineer

About the role

Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) delivers high-impact, technical solutions to complex national security issues. With over 50 years of business expertise and consistent growth, SPA is known for continuous innovation for government customers in the US and abroad. The Space and Intelligence Division provides professional services to the US Space Force, Combatant Commands, Intelligence Community, and NASA, including enterprise architectural assessments, systems engineering and integration, test, planning and execution, cost estimating and analysis, acquisition support, and cybersecurity. The Space Systems Group (SSG) focuses on key clients in the Space community including the US Space Force's Space Systems Command (USSF/SSC), providing integrated solutions based on information and communications throughout the chain of command.

SPA has an immediate need for a Principal Kubernetes Engineer to design, build, and evolve a secure platform as a service solution supporting software delivery for Space Systems Command. This role serves as the senior Kubernetes technical anchor for one of four platform environments, responsible for engineering platform capabilities that enable application teams to rapidly develop, deploy, and operate mission-critical software across a hybrid cloud environment. The ideal candidate is a hands-on engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges and building platforms that other engineers rely upon every day.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate enterprise Kubernetes platforms supporting secure hybrid cloud and on-premises environments.
• Architect scalable, highly available, and resilient platform services that enable secure software delivery across multiple mission environments.
• Develop reusable platform capabilities that simplify application deployment, operations, and lifecycle management for software development teams.
• Implement Infrastructure as Code, automation, and continuous delivery practices that improve platform consistency, reliability, and operational efficiency.
• Engineer secure Kubernetes services by implementing identity management, policy enforcement, workload isolation, secrets management, and platform hardening.
• Optimize platform performance, scalability, networking, storage, resource utilization, and overall operational health.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex production issues spanning Kubernetes, Linux, networking, storage, and distributed systems.
• Collaborate with platform engineers, cloud engineers, cybersecurity specialists, and software development teams to design and implement integrated platform solutions.
• Improve platform observability through metrics, logging, tracing, dashboards, and proactive monitoring.
• Evaluate emerging platform technologies and recommend improvements that enhance platform capabilities, developer experience, security, and operational excellence.
• Develop engineering standards, technical documentation, and architectural guidance that promote consistency and long-term maintainability.
• Provide technical leadership through architecture reviews, design discussions, mentoring, and engineering best practices.

Expected Outcomes

• Deliver secure, scalable, and highly available platform capabilities that accelerate software delivery and improve developer productivity.
• Increase platform reliability and operational efficiency through automation, standardization, and engineering best practices.
• Improve platform security, resilience, and observability while reducing operational complexity.
• Enable software development teams to successfully build, deploy, and operate mission applications using standardized platform services.
• Serve as the organization's trusted technical authority for Kubernetes and platform engineering.

Qualifications

Must-have requirements:

• Active Secret clearance at the time of application
• Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• Minimum 6 years of progressively responsible experience designing, building, and operating production Kubernetes platforms
• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
• Current CompTIA Security+ certification or equivalent Department of Defense approved Information Assurance certification
• Demonstrated expertise designing, building, securing, and operating enterprise Kubernetes platforms supporting highly available production workloads