Senior Kubernetes Architect (Portugal / UK)

About the Role

This is a contractor position through X-Team. As a Senior Kubernetes Engineer / Architect, you will play a critical role in architecting, optimizing, and operating a massive-scale, multi-tenant Kubernetes platform that supports the high-traffic operations of a prominent American gambling and sports entertainment company.

You will work closely with the Principal Architect to review, enhance, and manage a complex ecosystem of approximately 200 Kubernetes clusters deployed across AWS Regions, Local Zones, and Outposts. Most Important 5+ years architecting and operating large-scale Kubernetes environments Deep experience with: AWS EKS, VPCs, IAM roles (IRSA), Outposts Ingress controllers (NGINX, AWS LB Controller, Traefik, Istio) Terraform, Helm, Git.

Ops (ArgoCD/Flux) Persistent storage: EBS, EFS, FSx Security: RBAC, OPA/Gatekeeper, container scanning Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Open. Telemetry Experience running multi-region and multi-tenant Kubernetes clusters Hands-on platform engineering (not just app deployment experience) Nice to Have Experience managing enterprise-scale operations with 100+ clusters and integrating AWS Outposts or Local Zones.

Familiarity with policy management tools (OPA/Rego) and service mesh architectures (Istio, Linkerd). Proficiency with modern observability and monitoring stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, Open. Telemetry). AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, or Kubernetes Certified (CKA/CKAD/CKS). Personal Traits Strong communication skills with the ability to articulate complex system design concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Problem-solving mindset focused on operational excellence, platform stability, and long-term scalability. High degree of autonomy with the ability to thrive and collaborate in a globally distributed team.