Software Engineer - Kubernetes

Description of Task to be Performed:

AnaVation is seeking a Software Engineer - Kubernetes to support one of our cybersecurity programs in our San Antonio office. In this position, the right candidate will support engineering, hardening and continuously validating the security of Kubernetes and OpenShift platforms that host Government mission applications across value streams. The role designs, builds, and runs resilient, secure architectures using service-meshand loosely coupled design, and sustains Interim Authority to Test (IATT), Authority to Operate (ATO), and Continuous Authority to Operate (cATO) readiness aligned with the Government’s Cyber Assessment Roadmap.

Position Responsibilities: This position sets the technical standard for securing container orchestration platforms and hardened workloads while keeping control evidence continuously validated and audit-ready.

Responsibilities include:

• Design, build, and run Kubernetes/OpenShift clusters and manage providers (Amazon EKS/Fargate, Azure KS, Google KE) or self-managed clusters.
• Design network connectivity and provisioning strategy, and assess/design RBAC to keep the cloud foundation strong and compliant.
• Maintain, configure, and monitor containers using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Helm) across development, test, and live environments.
• Implement and validate security controls, security-relevant changes (SRCs), and Security Impact Assessments (SIAs) supporting IATT, ATO, and cATO readiness.
• Perform full-stack Kubernetes (K8s) risk assessments and apply STIGs, CIS Benchmarks, and Iron Bank hardened images.
• Advance control inheritance and automation aligned with the Government’s Cyber Assessment Roadmap.
• Support container vulnerability management against CVEs and open-source threat reporting, coordinating remediation with Value Stream engineering.
• Collaborate with ISSEs, ISSMs, DevSecOps engineers, COT, CPT, and Government stakeholders across Value Stream sprint cadences.
• Create and maintain documentation for implementations and supporting Bodies of Evidence (BOE).
• Support Zero Trust enforcement and cloud-native security best practices across mission environments.
• Maintain and validate A&A control evidence in eMASS (control implementation, SIAs, SRCs, POA&Ms) supporting continuous monitoring and cATO readiness.

Required Qualifications:

• Clearance: U.S. Citizen; TS/SCI.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, IT, or related field; software development background.
• Certification: DoD 8140/8570 IAT Level II and Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA).
• Location: Full-time on-site in San Antonio, TX.
• Experience and Knowledge:
• Senior level comprehensive knowledge across key tasks and high-impact assignments; plans and leads major technology assignments; functions as a technical expert across the team; may lead others.
• Demonstrated knowledge: Kubernetes, Istio, GitOps, custom Kubernetes Operators, custom Helm charts, custom Admission Controllers, custom CRDs and Controllers.
• Extensive Linux and networking; understands each component of the Kubernetes control plane.
• Experience building automation and configuration management with Ansible and Terraform; Docker, Terraform, and Helm.
• Security and compliance knowledge for Kubernetes; knowledge of Cloud (AWS, Azure, OCI).
• Experience working with a product that has end-users; creating and maintaining implementation documentation.
• Minimum years of experience - 4 years of relevant experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• Clearance: Active TS/SCI.
• Education: Advanced degree in a related technical field.
• Certification: Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS), Red Hat OpenShift, or CCSP.
• Experience and Knowledge:
• Mastery of the DoD Enterprise DevSecOps Reference Design; Kubernetes and Istio expert.
• Experience supporting software factory environments (Iron Bank, Big Bang) and hardened containers.
• Experience supporting Continuous Authority to Operate (cATO).
• Experience supporting IL4, IL5, or IL6 cloud environments.
• Experience supporting COT, CPT, or Security Control Assessors.
• Experience with Twistlock runtime defense, Anchore image scanning, container signing (e.g., cosign/sigstore), and micro-segmentation.