Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer – AI/ML Infrastructure

Cisco

Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer designing and operating large-scale Kubernetes infrastructure for AI/ML workloads. Leading technical direction and ensuring performance, reliability, and scalability within complex systems.

Posted 5/15/2026full-timeRTP • North Carolina, Texas • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $137,000 - $200,500 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Distributed SystemsGoKubernetesOpenShift

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Architect, build, and operate large-scale on-prem Kubernetes platforms (OpenShift/Anthos), including control plane and etcd lifecycle management
Define and evolve scalable, multi-tenant platform architecture supporting AI/ML and GPU-based workloads
Enable and optimize ML workloads including training, inference, and LLM deployment pipelines on Kubernetes
Build platform extensions using Kubernetes controllers, operators, CRDs, and Golang-based services
Implement Infrastructure as Code and automation to improve scalability, consistency, and operational efficiency
Drive AIOps capabilities using telemetry, automation, anomaly detection, and self-healing systems for platform reliability
Improve observability (metrics, logs, traces) and optimize resource utilization, scheduling, and cluster performance
Partner with ML engineers and data scientists to operationalize ML workflows and ensure platform readiness for AI workloads
Participate in on-call rotations, owning incident response, reliability, and continuous operational improvement
Mentor engineers and contribute to defining platform engineering standards and best practices

Requirements

What you’ll need

8+ years of software engineering experience
4+ years of hands-on Kubernetes production experience with control plane ownership
Strong experience operating on-prem or self-managed Kubernetes environments
Deep expertise in etcd management (backup, restore, recovery, upgrades)
Strong proficiency in Go with experience building Kubernetes controllers, operators, CRDs, and webhooks
Deep understanding of Kubernetes internals (API server, scheduler, controller loops, reconciliation)
Experience supporting AI/ML or GPU-based workloads on Kubernetes platforms
Proven experience operating and debugging large-scale distributed systems
Experience participating in on-call rotations and production incident management

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical, dental and vision insurance
401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution
Paid parental leave
Short and long-term disability coverage
Basic life insurance
10 paid holidays per full calendar year
1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
1 paid day off for employee’s birthday
Paid year-end holiday shutdown
4 paid days off for personal wellness
16 days of paid vacation time for non-exempt employees
Flexible vacation time off program for exempt employees
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter
Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

KubernetesOpenShiftAnthosetcd managementGolangInfrastructure as CodeAIOpsML workloadsKubernetes controllersdistributed systems

Soft Skills

mentoringincident responseoperational improvementcollaboration