Kubernetes Architect - Platform Architecture

Publix Super Markets•Lakeland, FL

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Publix Super Markets, Inc., the largest employee-owned company in the U.S., is driven by a dynamic technology team of 2,300+ professionals delivering innovative solutions to 1,400+ stores and 200,000+ associates across 8 states. From IT security and platform engineering to architecture, software development, and infrastructure, we offer career opportunities at every level—internships through technical leadership. Join a company consistently ranked among Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” and help us build more than great subs—build the future of technology at Publix. Publix is looking for a Kubernetes Architect to join its Platform Architecture team. In this role, you'll design, scale, and oversee Kubernetes platforms spanning cloud, datacenter, and edge environments. Responsibilities include setting enterprise standards, maintaining platform resilience and security, and supporting teams as they adopt and work with the Kubernetes ecosystem. Location: Hybrid (Lakeland, FL) Work Model: Enjoy the best of both worlds—collaborate in person and innovate remotely. Why Join Us? Hybrid Flexibility: Work remotely when you need focus time and join us onsite for high-impact collaboration and brainstorming sessions. Operational Efficiency: Ensure technology solutions support efficient workflows and enable automation to improve operational effectiveness. Empowered Culture: We value autonomy, creativity, and continuous learning—your ideas shape the future of technology in our organization.

Requirements

Must have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, or an analytical discipline, or equivalent experience.
8+ years of architecture experience
6+ years Kubernetes experience in largescale, multi‑tenant clusters (AKS, K3s, GKE, OpenShift).
6+ years building, managing, and troubleshooting multi‑cluster Kubernetes environments.
2+ years Cloud‑Native development experience.
Experience managing clusters in Azure or Google Cloud.
Strong skills in debugging Kubernetes workloads and containerized applications.
Experience building tooling and services that support application deployment to the platform.
CKA or CKAD certification.
Experience with Git, CI/CD pipelines (e.g., ArgoCD), and cloud‑native observability tools (e.g., OpenTelemetry).
Experience deploying applications with Helm.
Experience with OpenShift.
Understanding of Kubernetes DNS and external DNS interaction.
Experience of collaborating in Agile teams.
Experience with private registries (Docker, Artifactory, Nexus, ECR, Harbor).
Experience with monitoring tools (Datadog, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, ELK, Grafana, Prometheus).
Experience with container networking and security, vulnerability scanning, and security best practices.
Strong Linux operating experience (RedHat and Debian‑based distributions).
Strong debugging skills for Kubernetes and workloads.
Strong technical acumen and ability to quickly learn new technologies.
Strong communication, teamwork, facilitation, and leadership skills.
Experience with application development in .NET, Java, Go, or Python.

Responsibilities

Define the enterprise Kubernetes platform strategy and roadmap.
Establish architecture standards for multi‑cluster, multi‑region, and hybrid Kubernetes deployments.
Design cluster architecture, networking, storage, and supporting platform services.
Set standards for provisioning, configuration, multi‑tenancy, and governance.
Optimize platform performance, reliability, capacity, and resource efficiency.
Create and maintain reference architectures, patterns, and operational guidelines.
Define security, compliance, resiliency, and disaster‑recovery baselines.
Identify systemic issues and lead long‑term architectural improvements and automation.
Partner with Architecture, Engineering, Security, and Infrastructure teams.
Provide guidance to teams integrating with the Kubernetes platform.
Support Engineering in evolving cluster design and operational practices.
Lead workshops and technical sessions to promote platform standards.
Mentor architects and engineers on Kubernetes platform architecture.
Troubleshoot issues across the Kubernetes stack and guide teams to aligned solutions.