Kubernetes Engineer

Do you have a strong passion for containers and Cloud Native technologies. Do you understand the value containers and Kubernetes brings to managing applications deployments As a Kubernetes Engineer you will be responsible for one of our Computing Platforms most critical components our Kubernetes cluster. You will help streamline the deployment maintenance monitoring and expand its capabilities to meet LLNLs intensive scientific workloads. If you are ready to drive meaningful change and make a real impact from the ground up this opportunity is for you.

We have an opening for an experienced Kubernetes Engineer to develop and support a 24x7 large-scale bare-metal Kubernetes environments. As a member of the team youll bridge the gap between hardware and high-performance software ensuring our scientific teams have the reliable secure platforms needed to build world-class products. This is a high-impact mission where your expertise in on-prem automation and cluster orchestration directly accelerates our product innovation. This position is within the Global Security Computing Applications Division (GS-CAD) of the Computing Directorate matrixed to the Global Security Directorate.

This position requires part-time on-site presence due to the nature of the work.

This position will be filled at either level based on knowledge and related experience as assessed by the hiring team. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if hired at the higher level.

You will

• Contribute to the design and deployment of large-scale bare-metal clusters integrating control planes with VAST Storage arrays to deliver high-performance persistent storage.
• Contribute to the implementation of advanced cluster networking to ensure seamless low-latency communication across multi-rack and multi-site topologies.
• Participate in building and maintaining automated self-healing workflows using CI/CD pipelines to manage cluster lifecycles ensuring zero-touch deployments and consistent platform health.
• Support rigorous SLIs/SLOs by engineering robust observability stacks (Prometheus Grafana) and enforcing airtight security through RBAC OIDC and network isolation.
• Partner with internal business units to onboard moderately complex workloads while elevating the technical bar for the team through design reviews and mentorship.
• Collaborate with team members on integrating AI agents to assist with troubleshooting and automating cluster management operations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Additional job responsibilities at the SES.3 level

• Collaborate with researchers on developing repeatable software stacks used for research and automate deployment and configuration across multiple environments.
• Partner with security teams to incorporate security checks and audits for Kubernetes deployments into our Gitlab CI/CD system.
• Extend Kubernetes to help simplify usage operations and user applications.

Qualifications :

• Ability to secure and maintain a U.S. DOE Q-level security clearance which requires U.S. citizenship
• Bachelors degree in computer science software engineering or a related technical discipline or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Comprehensive knowledge of and experience distributing standard configurations for clusters leveraging configuration management tools such as Ansible or Puppet.
• Broad experience performing Kubernetes administration in a moderately complex to complex environment including tasks such as installation networking security troubleshooting and monitoring.
• Broad experience with software development or system administration using scripting languages (e.g. Python Bash Perl Ruby Groovy etc.).
• Strong understanding of core Kubernetes concepts such as: Pods Deployments Services and/or PVCs.
• Proficient interpersonal skills necessary to interact with all levels of personnel and ability to work independently under limited direction in a multi-disciplinary team environment.
• Proficient verbal and written communication skills necessary to effectively collaborate in a team environment and present and explain technical information.
• Ability to set priorities and independently resolve moderately complex problems in a fast-paced environment.

Additional qualifications at the SES.3 level

• Advanced knowledge of and experience with Kubernetes internals such as networking kubelet function/responsibility etcd and/or control plan architecture.
• Advanced experience managing Kubernetes clusters in production environments such as on-premises or in the cloud.
• Experience delivering advanced projects achieving positive results and driving projects to closure on time and on budget with advanced analytical skills to analyze complex systems and networks.

Qualifications We Desire

• Certification in container orchestration systems (i.e. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) and/or Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA).
• Experience with configuration management systems such as Ansible Puppet Chef or Salt.
• Experience in creating managing and deploying production Kubernetes clusters to on-prem hardware and/or cloud environments (AWS Azure GCP).
• Experience utilizing AI to assist with IaC code development troubleshooting clusters and/or streamlining work.

Pay Range

$146340 - $222564 Annually

$146340 - $185544 Annually for the SES.2 level

$175530 - $222564 Annually for the SES.3 level

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting; pay will not be below any applicable local minimum wage.  An employees position within the salary range will be based on several factors including but not limited to specific competencies relevant education qualifications certifications experience skills seniority geographic location performance and business or organizational needs.

Additional Information :

#LI-Hybrid

Position Information

This is a Flexible Term appointment which is for a definite period not to exceed six years.  If final candidate is a Career Indefinite employee Career Indefinite status may be maintained (should funding allow).

Why Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

• Included in 2026 Best Places to Work by Glassdoor!
• Flexible Benefits Package
• 401(k)
• Relocation Assistance
• Education Reimbursement Program
• Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)
• Our values - visit  Clearance

  This position requires a Department of Energy (DOE) Q-level clearance.  If you are selected we will initiate a Federal background investigation to determine if you meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information or matter. Also all L or Q cleared employees are subject to random drug testing.  Q-level clearance requires U.S. citizenship. 

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  Remote Work :

  No

  
  

  Employment Type :

  Full-time