Kubernetes Services Architect (80% - 100%)

VSHN, pronounced like “vision,” is Switzerland's leading partner for enabling DevOps, cloud-native development, and agile IT operations. We empower software teams with self-service products like APPUiO and Application Catalog , as well as tailored solutions built on our Managed OpenShift product and standardized building blocks leveraging GitOps, CI/CD, VM-based services , and various support and operations subscriptions. Most of these services are provided as managed services by VSHN, ensuring applications are testable, deployable, scalable, and operable in any cloud or on-premise environment.

Your new role: Kubernetes Services Architect

As a Kubernetes Services Architect in our Application Catalog (AppCat) Team at VSHN, named Schedar, you will play a key role in designing, building, and maintaining reliable, distributed systems to support our AppCat services. You’ll contribute to both the development of new services and the enhancement of existing ones, with a focus on high availability and scalability.

Your expertise in Kubernetes architecture, Operators, and the Go programming language will enable you to deliver valuable contributions to the team. Working closely with Crossplane and leveraging tools like the Kubernetes Operator SDK and Jsonnet, you will design and implement innovative solutions to meet evolving requirements.

Beyond technical contributions, you’ll collaborate with your team and the broader organization to share knowledge, mentor colleagues, and lead continuous improvement. This role combines technical expertise with a collaborative approach, ensuring our services achieve high reliability and performance.

Responsibilities summarized

• Design and develop: Architect and configure highly available, distributed systems tailored to AppCat services. Use diagramming and documentation to communicate complex infrastructure designs clearly.

• Build and maintain services: Work with your team to develop new AppCat services while improving and maintaining existing ones.

• Daily Operations: Participate in alert handling, debug and resolve issues, identify potential bugs, and create follow-up tasks to address root causes. Also, participate in on-call rotations.

• Customer engagement: Support customers by troubleshooting and helping them to resolve issues.

• Quality and strategy: Review and analyze system documentation, drive strategic infrastructure and framework decisions, and ensure that solutions align with the highest quality standards.

• Mentorship: Share knowledge with your team, mentor colleagues, and help foster a culture of learning and self-organization.

• Continuous improvement: Leverage your expertise in Kubernetes and Operators, as well as your knowledge of networking and Go programming, to deliver valuable increments and foster team success.

Company culture

As an organization, we thrive on diversity and self-management, orienting ourselves on Agile and Sociocracy 3.0 principles. We emphasize transparency, collaboration, and common goals, valuing Scrum-like workflows in our tech teams. Decisions at VSHN are made collaboratively, valuing reasoned arguments over hierarchical positions - we trust in self-responsibility in everyone, in people who share the responsibility of their team, and that decisions happen with the subject-matter experts, in our teams where we face the day-to-day challenges while getting the best possible support from the wider organization.

Read more about how VSHN is unique in our handbook - one example of how much we value Transparency and live open source as an organization.

This job is for you if

You have

• Solid expertise in software development (especially Go) and Kubernetes Operators.

• Senior-level experience in designing and building highly available distributed systems.

• Strong knowledge of Kubernetes internals, networking, and architecture, with proven experience in configuring Kubernetes-based systems.

• Skills in requirements engineering, design, strategic thinking, and effectively explaining complex technical concepts clearly.

• Hands-on experience in the day-to-day operations of Kubernetes-based systems.

• Expertise in Linux environments and scripting for automation.

• Proficiency in English (near-native proficiency in either English or German).

• A university degree or equivalent higher education in a relevant field.

• A willingness to join the on-call rotation after onboarding.

You are

• Excited to work in a company with self-managed teams, where reasoned arguments hold sway over hierarchical mandates and your work can make a real impact.

• Passionate about translating customer needs into actionable tasks and driving value for customers.

• A strong leader, capable of uniting your team around a shared architectural vision.

• Committed to teaching, mentoring, and sharing knowledge with your team.

As a bonus, you have:

• Worked with services from various cloud providers.

• Experience or interest in Crossplane and Jsonnet.

• A background in database technologies such as PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Redis, or RabbitMQ.

• Experience with the Open Service Broker API.

• A Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) certification.

At VSHN, we are open to hiring motivated individuals with varying levels of experience who demonstrate a strong commitment to learning and quickly applying new skills on the job. The remuneration for this role will be in line with our fixed salary policy, which applies universally across all roles.

What we offer

• VSHN offers awesome benefits and great colleagues .

• If you’re interested, you can grow into new roles by taking on additional responsibilities, working within other roles, or even changing teams over time.

• We live in a culture that enables working remotely and from home (even before COVID-19), we have mandatory on-site events a few times a year, and in general, we also enjoy meeting at the office to connect and socialize.

• Like all VSHNeers, you’ll receive a fixed monthly salary and phantom stock options in the company in a fully transparent salary system.

Does this sound interesting? Then apply now, and let’s meet for a casual (virtual) cup of coffee soon!

Please note: we don’t work with recruitment agencies, and we’re looking for people with permission to work in Switzerland (Swiss/EU citizens and Swiss residents/work visa holders).