Principle DevOps Engineer

For 20- plus years Centroid has helped complex companies accelerate their digital transformation by implementing and managing Cloud-based business solutions. We specialize in advisory, deployment, migration, integration and managed services.  Our goal is to provide superior service to our clients while providing our employees with continued growth and success. 
About the Role

We are seeking a Principal DevOps Engineer to provide technical leadership and drive the strategic direction of our client’s cloud infrastructure and DevOps practices. This role goes beyond hands-on engineering — you will define best practices, mentor senior engineers, and influence architectural decisions that impact multiple client engagements across multiple concurrent projects.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned technologist with deep expertise in Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, and other modern DevOps technologies — coupled with a strong foundation in software engineering. You will collaborate with software development, SRE, cloud, and security teams to design and deliver highly scalable, reliable, and secure systems, while optimizing CI/CD pipelines and developer workflows.

As a consulting organization, we work across diverse domains and technology stacks — from traditional cloud automation to AI-driven solutions for business process optimization. You will often juggle multiple client projects, requiring adaptability, context switching, and the ability to quickly assess and integrate new tools or frameworks.
Location: Remote
Job type: Contract-to-Hire

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership – Define and evangelize infrastructure, cloud, and DevOps best practices across multiple projects and teams.
• Infrastructure as Code Strategy – Architect, implement, and optimize re-usable Infrastructure as Code solutions using Terraform, with configuration management in Ansible (or equivalent).
• Kubernetes Expertise – Lead the design, deployment, and optimization of Kubernetes clusters as well as applications to Kubernetes clusters across cloud and hybrid environments.
• CI/CD Excellence – Oversee and improve CI/CD workflows, introducing automation and GitOps methodologies to enhance reliability, velocity, and developer experience across whatever technology the client is using.
• System Reliability & Observability – Drive monitoring, alerting, and incident response strategies using tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK stack.
• Architectural Guidance – Contribute to system architecture reviews, focusing on scalability, cost optimization, performance tuning, and security.
• Hands-On Problem Solving – Triage and resolve complex production issues spanning infrastructure, networking, and application layers.
• Mentorship – Coach and mentor engineers, fostering growth and encouraging a culture of operational excellence.
• Adaptability – Occasionally take on software development tasks (including AI-assisted solutions) when it accelerates delivery or improves integration.

Required Skills & Experience

• 7+ years of diverse experience across DevOps, SRE, Software Development, or Infrastructure Engineering, with a proven track record of principal-level leadership and delivery in complex environments.
• Expert-level proficiency in Terraform, Ansible, and/or Kubernetes.
• Extensive Kubernetes experience, including production-grade deployments, scaling strategies, and performance optimization.
• Proven success in architecting and implementing CI/CD pipelines, GitOps workflows, and/or DevOps automation.
• Mastery of at least one major cloud provider (AWS, Azure, GCP, or Oracle Cloud), with multi-cloud experience preferred.
• Advanced containerization expertise with Docker and Kubernetes-native tools.
• Strong knowledge of networking, security, and system monitoring at scale.
• High-level scripting and automation skills in Bash, Python, or similar languages.
• Familiarity with observability ecosystems (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Datadog, etc.).
• Exceptional problem-solving ability, with a passion for automation and operational efficiency.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous professional experience as a full-stack software developer, enabling deep understanding of application and infrastructure integration.
• Experience designing for microservices architectures and distributed systems.
• Proficiency with relational (Oracle DB, SQL Server, Postgres) and NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Cassandra, Hadoop, etc.).
• Knowledge of service mesh solutions (Istio, Linkerd) and API gateways.
• Familiarity with security tools, compliance frameworks, and governance in cloud environments.

Why Join Us?

• Diverse Work – Solve complex technical challenges across industries, clients, and technology stacks.
• Impact at Scale – Influence the technical direction and infrastructure strategies of multiple organizations.
• Innovative Culture – Collaborate with a global team of top-tier engineers and thought leaders.
• Career Growth – Opportunities for leadership development, mentorship, and conference participation.
• Flexibility – Hybrid or remote work, with on-site options available.
• Competitive Compensation – Rates aligned with senior and principal-level expertise, based on skills and experience.

If you are a visionary engineer who thrives at the intersection of hands-on execution and strategic leadership, we’d love to hear from you.