Sr. Kubernetes Engineer / Platform Administrator (TS/SCI)

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a Senior Kubernetes Engineer / Platform Administrator to support mission‑critical systems for the Department of War in Washington, DC. This role leads the design, deployment, and sustainment of secure, highly available Kubernetes platforms supporting containerized workloads. The ideal candidate brings deep Kubernetes expertise, strong automation skills, and a platform‑engineering mindset to operate in high‑impact, classified environments.

Location: Washington D.C. - Joint Base Anacostia - Bolling (JBAB) - Onsite

Responsibilities:

• Design, deploy, and manage enterprise‑grade Kubernetes clusters supporting mission workloads.
• Administer core Kubernetes components including control plane services, worker nodes, networking (CNI), ingress, and service mesh technologies.
• Perform cluster upgrades, patching, performance tuning, and lifecycle management.
• Implement scaling policies, workload scheduling, and high‑availability strategies including fault tolerance and disaster recovery.
• Develop automation and infrastructure‑as‑code using Python and related tooling.
• Integrate Kubernetes platforms with CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps workflows.
• Implement Kubernetes security best practices including RBAC, network policies, secrets management, and container image scanning.
• Monitor and remediate vulnerabilities within the container ecosystem to meet security and compliance requirements.
• Support observability efforts including monitoring, logging, alerting, and performance dashboards.
• Collaborate closely with development teams to deploy and troubleshoot containerized applications.
• Optimize resource utilization and performance across distributed container environments.
  
  

Qualifications:

• Active Top Secret clearance required; TS/SCI preferred.
• 6 years of experience administering Kubernetes in production environments.
• Strong understanding of container technologies, Kubernetes architecture, and distributed systems.
• Experience with Linux system administration.
• Proficiency scripting and automating workflows using Python.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem‑solving skills in complex environments.
• Ability to operate independently in high‑responsibility, mission‑driven roles.
  
  

Preferred:

• Experience with observability tools such as Grafana.
• Experience with relational databases such as PostgreSQL.
• Experience with messaging systems such as RabbitMQ.
• Experience working in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or equivalent).
• Familiarity with service mesh technologies such as Istio.
• Security or similar certification.
  
  

Compensation:

• Pay range: $200,000 - $215,000 (Based on years of relevant experience)
  
  

Benefits:

• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, paid time off, federal holidays, and sick leave.
  
  

Application Period: Opens on 03/30/2026 and will be accepted for at least 30 days from the posting date.