Sr. Platform Engineer - Linux/Kubernetes

Job Description

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

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

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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.

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Responsibilities:

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

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

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

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

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• Building and maintaining RPM packages and internal software repositories.

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

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

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

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

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

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Qualifications:

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

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

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• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure or GCP) in production environments.

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• Strong scripting and automation skills in Python and Bash.

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

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

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

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

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

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