Staff Consulting Architect - Cloud Native

Job description

Nutanix is seeking a Staff Consulting Architect - Cloud Native to provide senior technical leadership in the architecture, design, and transformation of enterprise Kubernetes and cloud-native platforms based on the Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP), across virtualized, bare-metal, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.

The role is intended for a highly experienced cloud-native architect who can operate as a trusted technical advisor to senior customer stakeholders, lead complex and strategic platform transformation initiatives, and define scalable architecture standards across large and distributed environments.

The Staff Consulting Architect will combine deep hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, virtualization, platform engineering, automation, and cloud-native technologies with strong consulting, architecture governance, and technical leadership capabilities.

The role will also be responsible for developing reference architectures, reusable delivery patterns, technical assets, and enablement programs, while mentoring Staff and Consulting Architects and raising the overall cloud-native capability of the consulting organization.

Hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, virtualization, platform engineering, CI/CD, GitOps, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is mandatory.

Key Responsibilities:

• Enterprise Architecture & Strategic Advisory
  • Provide end-to-end architecture leadership for complex enterprise Kubernetes and cloud-native transformation programs.
  • Define strategic platform architectures spanning:
  • Nutanix AHV
  • VMware vSphere
  • Bare metal
  • Public cloud platforms including AWS and Azure
  • Hybrid and multi-cloud environments
  • Edge and distributed infrastructure
  • Lead architecture strategy for large-scale and multi-cluster Kubernetes environments.
  • Translate business, application, infrastructure, security, and operational requirements into scalable and resilient cloud-native architectures.
  • Define target-state architectures and multi-phase transformation roadmaps covering platform adoption, application modernization, migration, automation, and operations.
  • Advise customer executives, enterprise architects, infrastructure leaders, platform engineering teams, and DevOps organizations on cloud-native adoption strategies.
  • Establish architecture principles, standards, and technology selection criteria for enterprise Kubernetes platforms.
  • Provide technical leadership for complex architectural decisions, trade-offs, and escalations.
• Advanced Kubernetes & Platform Architecture
  • Architect enterprise NKP platforms at scale, including:
  • Multi-cluster and fleet architectures
  • Multi-tenancy and workload isolation
  • High availability and disaster recovery
  • Cluster lifecycle management
  • Platform scalability and capacity planning
  • Security and governance
  • Define advanced Kubernetes networking, storage, ingress/egress, and load-balancing architectures.
  • Design virtualization-aware Kubernetes platforms considering:
  • Compute and resource allocation
  • NUMA and CPU topology
  • Storage performance
  • Network architecture
  • Failure domains
  • Cluster density
  • Performance optimization
  • Define architecture patterns for GPU-enabled and AI/ML workloads where applicable.
  • Architect integration between Kubernetes and enterprise services including:
  • DNS
  • LDAP/Active Directory
  • PKI and certificate management
  • Load balancers
  • Backup and disaster recovery
  • Enterprise monitoring and logging
  • Establish architecture patterns for platform standardization across multiple business units, data centers, and geographies.
• Complex Transformation & Delivery Leadership
  • Provide technical leadership for high-value and technically complex customer engagements from Day-0 architecture through Day-2 operations.
  • Lead architecture workshops, technical discovery sessions, design reviews, and transformation planning.
  • Provide technical oversight for:
  • Platform deployment
  • Cluster onboarding
  • Application migration
  • Application modernization
  • Platform integration
  • Operational transformation
  • Guide teams through complex implementation and troubleshooting scenarios spanning:
  • Kubernetes
  • Hypervisors
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Security
  • Automation
  • CI/CD
  • Act as the senior technical escalation point for critical architecture and delivery challenges.
  • Ensure architectural decisions are translated into practical, supportable, and repeatable implementation patterns.
  • Review and provide technical governance for solution designs produced by Staff and Consulting Architects.
• Automation, GitOps & Platform Engineering
  • Define enterprise automation strategies for Kubernetes and infrastructure platforms.
  • Establish standardized GitOps and CI/CD operating models using technologies such as:
  • GitHub Actions
  • GitLab CI
  • Jenkins
  • Argo CD
  • Tekton
  • Flux CD
  • Design Infrastructure as Code frameworks using:
  • Terraform
  • Ansible
  • Define automation patterns integrating:
  • NKP APIs
  • Kubernetes APIs
  • Nutanix APIs
  • VMware APIs
  • AWS/Azure APIs
  • Drive adoption of platform engineering principles, self-service infrastructure, and developer experience (DevEx) practices.
  • Establish reusable automation frameworks and reference implementations that can be adopted across customer engagements.
  • Promote secure, compliant, version-controlled, and auditable platform delivery practices.
• Security, Governance, Resilience & Operations
  • Define enterprise security architecture across infrastructure, Kubernetes, and application platform layers.
  • Establish security and governance models covering:
  • RBAC
  • Network policies
  • Pod Security Standards
  • Secrets and certificate management
  • Policy-as-Code
  • Workload isolation
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Design policy and governance frameworks using OPA/Gatekeeper or equivalent technologies.
  • Define enterprise approaches for:
  • Observability
  • Logging
  • Monitoring
  • Backup and recovery
  • Disaster recovery
  • Business continuity
  • Establish operational models covering platform lifecycle, upgrades, patching, capacity management, and resilience.
  • Review platform performance, scalability, and operational maturity and drive continuous optimization.
• Technical Leadership, Mentoring & Capability Development
  • Serve as a technical authority and escalation point for the Cloud Native consulting organization.
  • Mentor Staff Consulting Architects, Consulting Architects, and other technical consultants.
  • Conduct architecture reviews and provide technical coaching on complex customer engagements.
  • Develop and deliver internal technical enablement programs covering Kubernetes, NKP, platform engineering, automation, and cloud-native architecture.
  • Define competency expectations and technical development paths for cloud-native architects.
  • Lead communities of practice and technical forums to drive knowledge sharing.
  • Identify capability gaps and work with leadership to establish targeted upskilling programs.
  • Promote engineering and consulting best practices across geographies and delivery teams.
• Reference Architecture, Innovation & Thought Leadership
  • Create and maintain enterprise-grade reference architectures, design patterns, deployment frameworks, and technical playbooks for cloud-native platforms.
  • Develop reusable consulting assets that improve delivery quality, consistency, and scalability.
  • Identify emerging technologies and evaluate their applicability to Nutanix cloud-native solutions.
  • Drive innovation in areas such as:
  • Kubernetes platform engineering
  • Multi-cluster management
  • GitOps
  • AI/ML platforms
  • GPU-enabled Kubernetes
  • Application modernization
  • Hybrid/multi-cloud
  • Developer platforms
  • Collaborate with Product Management, Engineering, Support, and other technical teams to provide field feedback and influence product direction.
  • Represent the consulting organization in technical forums, customer executive discussions, architecture communities, and industry events where appropriate.
  • Contribute to whitepapers, technical blogs, solution briefs, and other thought-leadership content.

The role involves performing duties requiring the application of professional expertise and the exercise of independent judgment/discretion, creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making in carrying out responsibilities, as applicable to the position. The specific responsibilities of the role may vary based on business needs and role requirements.

Employees can refer to the applicable guidelines and career frameworks for additional information regarding role expectations and responsibilities.

Technical Skills & Experience:

• Mandatory Skills - Must Have
  • 10+ years of experience across infrastructure, virtualization, cloud, Kubernetes, platform engineering, or related technologies.
  • Proven experience architecting and delivering large-scale enterprise Kubernetes platforms.
  • Deep expertise in Kubernetes architecture, operations, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management.
  • Strong hands-on experience with:
  • Nutanix AHV
  • VMware vSphere
  • Bare-metal infrastructure
  • Strong understanding of enterprise infrastructure architecture across:
  • Compute
  • Storage
  • Networking
  • Virtualization
  • Security
  • Strong experience with Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) or equivalent enterprise Kubernetes platforms.
  • Deep expertise in Kubernetes networking, storage, security, ingress/egress, and load-balancing architectures.
  • Deep expertise in:
  • Load balancers
  • SSL/TLS and certificate management
  • LDAP/Active Directory
  • DNS
  • Backup and DR
  • Enterprise observability
  • Proven experience designing and implementing CI/CD and GitOps platforms.
  • Strong expertise in Infrastructure as Code:
  • Terraform
  • Ansible
  • Strong understanding of Kubernetes APIs, infrastructure APIs, and automation frameworks.
  • Proven experience designing multi-cluster, highly available, resilient, and secure Kubernetes platforms.
  • Strong troubleshooting capability across Kubernetes, virtualization, networking, storage, automation, and application platform layers.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical engagements and architecture decisions.
  • Excellent customer-facing, consulting, presentation, and executive communication skills.
• Added Advantage - Good to Have
  • Strong experience with public cloud Kubernetes services:
  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
  • Amazon EKS
  • Experience with hybrid and multi-cloud architecture.
  • Experience with Kubernetes fleet/multi-cluster management.
  • Experience with platform engineering and internal developer platforms.
  • Experience with service mesh technologies.
  • Experience with GPU-enabled Kubernetes and AI/ML platforms.
  • Experience with Kubernetes operators and custom automation.
  • Experience with application modernization and containerization.
  • Experience with FinOps, capacity planning, and cloud cost optimization.
  • Experience influencing product strategy or working directly with product/engineering organizations.
• Trainable / Developable Skills
  • Advanced NKP capabilities and emerging Nutanix cloud-native technologies.
  • Advanced AI/ML platform architecture and GPU orchestration.
  • Emerging Kubernetes ecosystem technologies.
  • Advanced platform engineering and developer experience frameworks.
  • Advanced multi-cloud governance and FinOps.
  • New automation frameworks and cloud-native tooling.

Leadership & Consulting Expectations:

• The Staff Consulting Architect is expected to demonstrate the ability to:
• Operate effectively at C-level, executive, enterprise architect, and senior technical stakeholder levels.
• Lead architecture decisions across multiple technology domains and organizational boundaries.
• Influence without direct authority.
• Challenge existing architecture assumptions and recommend pragmatic alternatives.
• Balance technical excellence with business outcomes, delivery timelines, operational complexity, and cost.
• Establish technical direction for complex and strategic customer programs.
• Independently handle ambiguous and high-impact technical problems.
• Mentor other architects and elevate the technical maturity of the broader consulting organization.
• Convert field experience into reusable architecture patterns, methodologies, and intellectual property.

Education & Certifications:

• Education
  • Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent discipline.
  • Master's degree in a relevant technical discipline is an advantage.
• Preferred Certifications
  • Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
  • Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
  • Nutanix certifications:
  • NCP
  • NKP
  • NCX
  • VMware certifications:
  • VCP
  • VCAP/VCIX preferred
  • Terraform Associate or equivalent
  • Ansible Automation certification
  • Relevant AWS/Azure certifications

Location & Work Shifts:

• Pune - Work from Office
• Travel as required for customer assignments
• Willingness to work US and EMEA shifts based on customer and engagement needs

Skills

Ansible, Architect, Architecture, CI / CD, GitOps, IaC, Kubernetes, Terraform