Senior Platform Engineer

Senior Platform Engineer - GitLab Cloud Migration Lead

About the Project

This is a strategic initiative to modernize our build and deploy infrastructure by migrating from on-premises GitLab to GitLab Cloud. The role involves complex, interdependent infrastructure challenges spanning CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes orchestration, web application performance optimization, and observability implementation. You'll work on systems that require both technical depth and collaborative problem-solving skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and architect the complete migration strategy for GitLab and Helm infrastructure from on-premises to GitLab Cloud
• Design and implement robust CI/CD pipeline architectures optimized for GitLab Cloud execution
• Establish GitLab Runner infrastructure with autoscaling capabilities and cost optimization
• Architect and maintain Kubernetes cluster management using Rancher
• Design and optimize web application infrastructure including:

HTTP/HTTPS protocols, load balancers, and reverse proxies

SQL database performance tuning and high availability configurations

WAF implementation and security policies (Fastly or equivalent)

Caching strategies using CDN providers (Fastly preferred)

• Drive comprehensive observability strategy using Loki & Grafana for metrics, logs, and distributed tracing
• Implement security best practices including WAF rules, DDoS protection, and access controls
• Establish infrastructure as code practices and disaster recovery procedures
• Conduct capacity planning and performance optimization for build/deploy infrastructure and application layer

Required Skills

• 4-5+ years of experience in DevOps, Platform Engineering, or Site Reliability Engineering
• Expert-level Linux systems administration and troubleshooting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and/or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)

Advanced knowledge of systemd, SELinux/AppArmor

Performance tuning and kernel parameter optimization

Storage management (LVM, filesystems)

Network configuration and troubleshooting

• Deep expertise in GitLab administration including:

GitLab migration tools and procedures

GitLab API for automation

Runner configuration and optimization

GitLab Cloud (SaaS) architecture and limitations

• Advanced Kubernetes knowledge with production experience managing multiple clusters
• Production experience with Rancher for Kubernetes orchestration and management
• Comprehensive web application infrastructure expertise:

Deep understanding of HTTP/HTTPS protocols, TLS/SSL, and web security

Advanced SQL database administration (MySQL, PostgreSQL) including replication, backup/recovery

WAF configuration and management (Fastly WAF experience highly preferred)

Caching provider expertise (Fastly, Cloudflare, or Akamai) for performance optimization

• Strong proficiency in GoLang, Python, and Bash for building tools and automation
• Observability expertise with Loki & Grafana:

Log aggregation and analysis with Loki

Dashboard creation and alerting with Grafana

Metrics collection and visualization

• Extensive AWS administration experience including:

Compute: EC2, EKS, Auto Scaling

Storage: S3, EBS, EFS

Database: RDS, Aurora

Network: VPC, Route53, CloudFront, ALB/NLB

Security: IAM, Security Groups, KMS, Secrets Manager

• Proven track record of successful large-scale cloud migration projects

Primary Focus Areas

• GitLab Cloud Migration - Moving repositories, CI/CD pipelines, Helm charts, and container registries
• Build & Deploy Pipelines - Optimizing GitLab CI/CD and Helm deployments for cloud execution
• Web Application Infrastructure - Managing HTTP protocols, SQL databases, WAF (Fastly), and caching layers
• Kubernetes & Rancher - Container orchestration and cluster management
• Observability - Implementing Loki & Grafana for comprehensive monitoring and logging
• AWS Administration - Cloud infrastructure management and optimization
• Enterprise Linux Management - Red Hat or SUSE Linux systems administration

Work Arrangement

• Full-time position
• EST working hours required (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST)