About the Role :

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Platform Engineer to lead a complex infrastructure modernization initiative involving on-premises Kubernetes, Enterprise Linux, and GitLab CI/CD migration.

This role requires strong hands-on expertise in on-prem environments, deep technical ownership, and the ability to independently drive large-scale migrations end-to-end.

Key Responsibilities :

- Lead and execute RKE1 to RKE2 Kubernetes migration, including cluster setup, workload migration, and networking reconfiguration.

- Drive GitLab migration from on-prem to gitlab.com, including repositories, CI/CD pipelines, runners, and container registry transition.

- Design and implement end-to-end GitLab CI/CD pipelines (build, test, security scans, deployment, and rollback strategies).

- Manage and harden SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) environments.

- Act as a technical escalation point for post-migration issues, including application-level debugging inside containers.

- Deploy and manage Kubernetes components including Rancher, Longhorn, MetalLB, and Nginx Ingress.

- Implement observability solutions using Prometheus, Grafana, and Loki.

- Establish Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices using Terraform/Ansible.

- Create migration plans, documentation, and runbooks.

Must-Have Skills (Non-Negotiable) :

- Hands-on experience with RKE1 to RKE2 migration (mandatory).

- Strong experience with on-prem Kubernetes (VMware-based environments).

- Deep expertise in GitLab CI/CD pipeline design and GitLab administration.

- Proven experience in migrating GitLab from on-prem to gitlab.com.

- Production experience with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES).

- Ability to debug issues beyond Kubernetes (container/application-level troubleshooting).

Core Technical Skills :

- Kubernetes (RKE1, RKE2), Rancher Manager.

- GitLab CI/CD, GitLab Runner, Container Registry.

- SLES (zypper, systemd, security hardening).

- Networking & Storage : MetalLB, Nginx Ingress, Longhorn.

- Observability : Prometheus, Grafana, Loki.

- IaC : Terraform / Ansible.

- Scripting : Bash, Python.

- CI/CD practices, branching strategies, and deployment patterns (blue-green, canary).

Good to Have :

- Experience with air-gapped/on-prem Kubernetes environments.

- Exposure to AWS services (EKS, EC2, S3, IAM, etc.

- GitOps tools such as Argo CD.

- Experience with JFrog Artifactory migration.

- Knowledge of OpenShift migrations (OCP3 ? OCP4).

What Were Not Looking For :

- Candidates with only cloud-managed Kubernetes (EKS/AKS/GKE) experience.

- Limited exposure to GitLab (only deployment, not full CI pipeline design).

- No hands-on experience with SLES.

- Superficial or UI-level experience with Kubernetes upgrades.

Work Details :

- Type : Full-time Contract.

- Duration : 6 months+ (extendable).

- Location : Remote.

- Availability : Overlap with EST hours required.

- Joining : Immediate / Short notice preferred.