Senior Kubernetes Engineer

Software Guidance & Assistance, Inc., (SGA), is searching for a Senior Kubernetes Engineer for a CONTRACT assignment with one of our premier Regulatory clients in the DMV area or NY/NJ area.

We are seeking an expert Kubernetes engineer to configure, deploy, and operate mission-critical Amazon EKS infrastructure supporting petabyte-scale data processing workloads. This role requires deep technical expertise in Kubernetes internals, large-scale cluster management, and Apache Spark optimization to support thousands of concurrent jobs processing large volumes of Big data.

Responsibilities :

• Design, deploy, and maintain production-grade Amazon EKS clusters architected for petabyte-scale data processing with high availability and fault tolerance
• Operate in air-gapped private VPC environments without internet access, managing secure package repositories and container registries
• Debug and resolve complex distributed systems issues across EKS, Karpenter, and Spark, including scheduling bottlenecks, node scaling delays, and cascading failures under heavy load
• Implement Karpenter consolidation and disruption policies balancing cost optimization with job resiliency
• Manage spot and on-demand instance strategies with robust node interruption handling
• Define and enforce ResourceQuotas, LimitRanges, and PriorityClasses to ensure fair resource distribution and prevent resource starvation
• Configure persistent volume claims and provision container-native storage using Amazon EBS CSI driver for block storage and Amazon EFS CSI driver for shared file access
• Optimize storage configurations for resiliency, high-throughput data processing workloads
• Implement logging, alerting, and anomaly detection to identify provisioning failures, executor loss, and throughput degradation before broader system impact
• Design fault-tolerant architectures with retry strategies, checkpointing, and graceful degradation patterns minimizing re-computation on failure
• Develop and manage configs in a private VPC without internet access

Required Skills :

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related discipline with at least eight (8) years of related experience, or equivalent training and/or work experience; Master's degree and past Financial Services industry experience preferred.

Preferred Skills :

• Kubernetes certification (CKA, CKAD, or CKS) & AWS certifications
• Active contributions to open-source Kubernetes, Karpenter, or Spark projects
• Familiarity with FinOps practices and cost optimization at scale
• Background in data engineering or analytics platforms

SGA is a technology and resource solutions provider driven to stand out. We are a women-owned business. Our mission: to solve big IT problems with a more personal, boutique approach. Each year, we match consultants like you to more than 1,000 engagements. When we say let's work better together, we mean it. You'll join a diverse team built on these core values: customer service, employee development, and quality and integrity in everything we do. Be yourself, love what you do and find your passion at work. Please find us at .

SGA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of Race, Color, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Religion, National Origin, Disability, Veteran Status, Age, Marital Status, Pregnancy, Genetic Information, or Other Legally Protected Status. We are committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, and our services, programs, and activities. Please visit our company to request an accommodation or assistance regarding our policy.