Sr. Platform Engineer - Linux/Kubernetes

***We are unable to sponsor as this is a permanent full time role***

***Hybrid, 4 days onsite, 1 day remote***

An established financial firm in Chicago is looking for a Sr. Platform Engineer (Linux, Kubernetes). This engineer will focus on Linux system administration and must possess heavy experience with deploying & maintaining on premises Kubernetes clusters.

Responsibilities:

· Managing and improving our Linux-based infrastructure with a focus on performance, reliability, and scalability.

· Designing, deploying, and maintaining on-premises Kubernetes clusters and containerized workloads.

· Developing and maintaining system-level software, middleware, and APIs to support internal platforms and services.

· Automating system workflows and infrastructure tasks using Python, Bash, and configuration management tools like SaltStack.

· Building and maintaining RPM packages and internal software repositories.

· Collaborating with Application Support (SRE), Development, and Security teams to ensure secure, automated CI/CD and platform integration.

· Diagnosing and resolving complex system-level issues involving the OS, network, or container runtime.

· Implementing hardened security configurations, including system hardening, secure communications, and identity/access integration.

· Participating in an on-call rotation to support critical infrastructure services.

· Documenting architectures, tools, and operational processes to support long-term maintainability.

Qualifications:

· 5+ years of experience in Linux systems administration and infrastructure/platform engineering.

· Production experience managing Kubernetes, preferably in bare-metal or on-premises environments (e.g., with kubeadm, RKE, or OpenShift).

· Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform) in production environments.

· Strong scripting and automation skills in Python and Bash.

· In-depth knowledge of Linux internals, kernel tuning, and performance diagnostics.

· Hands-on experience with SaltStack (preferred), Puppet, or Ansible for configuration management.

· Familiarity with observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, or Loki.

· Solid understanding of core infrastructure protocols and services (TCP/IP, DNS, NTP/PTP, DHCP, etc.).

· Experience managing CI/CD pipelines with tools such as Jenkins, GitLab, or similar.