APPLICATION SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT
This position is a member of the distribution operations applications team that provides software engineering and system administration support for the Advance Distribution Management System (ADMS) at Alabama Power. This candidate will be responsible for providing technical expertise working with Kubernetes-based applications, Linux systems, and technical teams to deliver reliable implementations. The position combines software deployment automation/validation, systems integration, data troubleshooting, scripting, documentation, and CI/CD practices.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
• Serve as the technical lead and subject matter expert for the GE's GridOS Kubernetes-based platform.
• Design, review, and guide Kubernetes architecture patterns, including Helm chart standards, Istio service mesh adoption, multi-cluster design considerations, and secure microservices deployment approaches.
• Troubleshoot deployment, configuration, networking, and Linux system issues.
• Support integrations using REST APIs, messaging, middleware, and file-based exchanges.
• Architect and design scalable, secure, and resilient integration solutions leveraging modern cloud technologies and integration patterns.
• Recommend and implement automation opportunities that improve productivity, reduce operational effort, enhance reliability, and support continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with enterprise architects, product owners, and business stakeholders to align integration solutions with strategic objectives.
• Work closely with infrastructure, cybersecurity, and operations teams to ensure seamless integration and compliance with enterprise standards.
• Oversee system design documentation, integration testing, and performance optimization.
• Establish observability standards using Prometheus, Grafana, AlertManager and ServiceMonitor configuration to improve monitoring coverage and actionable alerting.
• Stay current on emerging technologies and trends in cloud integration, data management, and utility systems.
• Provide technical leadership, coaching, and mentoring to engineers and support personnel.
• Apply strong communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills to identify, communicate, and resolve issues while maintaining a reliable 24x7 storm-critical platform.
JOB QUALIFICATIONS
Technical Skills/Experience
•Demonstrated experience designing, deploying, administering, and supporting enterprise Kubernetes platforms in highly available production environments. Experience with Rancher RKE2 or similar Kubernetes distributions preferred.
• Proven experience with cloud computing platforms (Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud) in on-premise / virtualized environments (Windows, Linux, VMware) and integration technologies such as APIs, microservices, and message queues.
• Experience implementing GitOps and CI/CD practices using technologies such as GitHub, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, Jenkins, or similar automation frameworks.
• Experience deploying and managing containerized applications using Kubernetes, Helm, Secrets, and Ingress Controllers.
•Experience with infrastructure automation and configuration management tools such as Ansible, Terraform, or similar Infrastructure-as-Code platforms.
•Understanding of secrets management, certificate management, and identity integration technologies including HashiCorp Vault, Active Directory, LDAP, OIDC, or similar solutions.
•Experience supporting mission-critical operational systems requiring high availability, disaster recovery, cybersecurity compliance, and 24x7 operational support. Experience supporting utility systems, ADMS, SCADA, DERMS, EMS, or other Operational Technology (OT) platforms is preferred.
• Internally motivated, able to work proficiently both independently and in a team environment.
• Experience with Istio or comparable service mesh capabilities, including traffic management, security policy concepts, service-to-service communication, and operational support considerations.
•Strong knowledge of Linux administration, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), system performance tuning, patching, troubleshooting, security hardening, and operational support.
• Working knowledge of Helm, Apache Arrow, SQL, and modern cloud-native tooling
• Knowledge of Kafka, TimescaleDB, or data streaming and time-series architectures
• Experience developing scripts, modules, or tools with Python, Java, Kotlin, or similar languages.
• Displays Southern Style: Unquestionable Trust, Superior Performance, and Total Commitment
Education
• BS/BA in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or related degree preferred.
• 8+ years of experience supporting enterprise Linux platforms, Kubernetes-based environments, automation and software delivery pipelines, or utility operational technology systems.
• Preferred certifications include Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD), Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP), Terraform Associate, or equivalent AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud professional certifications.
About Us
Southern Company invests in the well-being of its employees and their families through a comprehensive total rewards strategy that includes competitive base salary, annual incentive awards for eligible employees and health, welfare and retirement benefits designed to support physical, financial, and emotional/social well-being. This position may also be eligible for additional compensation, such as an incentive program, with the amount of any bonus/awards subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable incentive plan(s). A summary of the benefits offered for this position can be found here https://seo.nlx.org/southernco/pdf/SOCO-Benefits.pdf. Additional and specific details about total compensation and benefits will also be provided during the hiring process.
Skills Required
- Designing, deploying, administering, and supporting enterprise Kubernetes platforms in highly available production environments
- Experience with Rancher RKE2 or similar Kubernetes distributions
- Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud) and on-premise/virtualized environments (Windows, Linux, VMware)
- Implementing GitOps and CI/CD using GitHub, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, Jenkins, or similar
- Deploying and managing containerized applications using Kubernetes, Helm, Secrets, and Ingress Controllers
- Infrastructure automation and configuration management using Ansible, Terraform, or similar IaC tools
- Secrets management, certificate management, and identity integration (HashiCorp Vault, Active Directory, LDAP, OIDC)
- Experience supporting mission-critical operational systems with high availability, disaster recovery, cybersecurity compliance, and 24x7 support
- Experience supporting utility systems (ADMS, SCADA, DERMS, EMS) or other Operational Technology (OT) platforms
- Experience with Istio or comparable service mesh capabilities (traffic management, security policy, service-to-service communication)
- Strong Linux administration skills including RHEL: performance tuning, patching, troubleshooting, security hardening
- Observability and monitoring using Prometheus, Grafana, AlertManager and ServiceMonitor configuration
- Working knowledge of Helm, Apache Arrow, SQL, and modern cloud-native tooling
- Knowledge of Kafka, TimescaleDB, or data streaming and time-series architectures
- Experience developing scripts, modules, or tools with Python, Java, Kotlin, or similar languages
- Technical leadership, coaching, and mentoring of engineers and support personnel
- BS/BA in Computer Science, MIS, Engineering, Business, or related degree
- 8+ years of experience supporting enterprise Linux platforms, Kubernetes environments, automation and software delivery pipelines, or utility OT systems
- Preferred certifications (CKA, CKAD, RHCE, CCSP, Terraform Associate, or equivalent cloud certifications)
What We Do
Southern Company Services, Inc., headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is the shared services division of Southern Company.
