DevOpsil
⚙️

Kubernetes Engineer

Design, deploy, and manage containerized workloads on Kubernetes clusters at scale.

Levels
4
Entry Salary
$75k-$100k
Senior+ Salary
$185k-$250k+
Total Skills
26
Junior
0-2 years
Mid-Level
2-5 years
Senior
5-8 years
Staff / Principal
8+ years

Career Progression

1

Required Skills

  • Pod lifecycle and basic YAML manifests
  • kubectl CLI proficiency
  • Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, Secrets
  • Container fundamentals (Docker)
  • Basic networking (ClusterIP, NodePort)
  • Namespace isolation

Tools to Master

  • kubectl
  • Docker
  • Minikube / kind
  • Lens IDE
  • Helm (basic)

Responsibilities

  • Deploy and update applications in existing clusters
  • Monitor pod health and restart failing workloads
  • Write and maintain Kubernetes manifests
  • Assist with CI/CD pipeline Kubernetes steps
  • Triage basic pod scheduling issues

Recommended Certifications

  • CKAD (Certified Kubernetes Application Developer)
2
3
4

Expert / Distinguished

Beyond the ladder: open-source maintainer, conference speaker, industry thought leader. The path continues as far as you take it.

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