Manager, Platform Engineering & DevEx

Job description

We are seeking a GKE Platform Engineer with a strong focus on Developer Experience (DevEx) to design and operate scalable, secure Kubernetes infrastructure on GCP.

You will manage GKE environments, build CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions, and implement self-service tools to streamline developer workflows.

This role drives DevEx across onboarding, observability, and deployment by building internal platforms, automating infrastructure with Terraform and Helm, and integrating with tools like Jira, GitHub, and Dynatrace.

Ideal candidates have deep GCP/GKE experience, strong DevOps skills, and a passion for improving how developers build and ship software.

• **Developer Experience Leadership** : Lead DevEx strategy across the GKE platform and related developer workflows.

Design and implement intuitive self-service tools, onboarding accelerators, golden paths, and streamlined CI/CD workflows that enable developers to go from code to production with minimal friction.
• **GKE Platform Management at Scale** : Manage and optimize large-scale GKE environments across multiple SDLC stages and business units, ensuring the platform is highly available, secure, and cost-efficient.
• **CI/CD Platform Enablement** : Build, maintain, and standardize CI/CD pipelines using tools like GitHub Actions and Terraform to drive deployment automation, testing, and compliance.

Partner with developer teams to simplify pipeline creation and reduce lead time.
• **Developer Onboarding & Self-Service** : Build and support self-service solutions for namespace provisioning, app onboarding, and resource management to accelerate developer productivity while maintaining security and governance controls.
• **Platform Product Thinking** : Act as a product owner for the internal platform.

Gather developer feedback, analyze friction points, and continuously improve the developer journey with data-driven enhancements.
• **Workload Identity & Security** : Implement identity-aware infrastructure using GCP IAM, Workload Identity, and Kubernetes RBAC to enforce secure access and least-privilege principles.
• **Enterprise GKE Governance** : Leverage ACM (Anthos Config Management), KCC (Kubernetes Config Connector), and GitOps practices to govern clusters and workloads across environments using policy-as-code.
• **Custom Operators & Controllers** : Develop and maintain Kubernetes controllers and operators to automate platform operations and improve resiliency and usability for developers.
• **Observability & Feedback Loops** : Build a unified observability experience for developers using Prometheus, Dynatrace, Splunk, and OpenTelemetry.

Ensure actionable telemetry is available throughout the SDLC to improve debugging and performance monitoring.
• **Zero Trust Security Integration** : Ensure all platform services and clusters adhere to Zero Trust principles, including workload authentication, service-to-service communication, and VPC isolation.
• **Multi-Cluster Ingress Design** : Design and operate secure, scalable, and highly available ingress patterns across multi-cluster and multi-region environments.
• **Developer Support & Troubleshooting** : Serve as an escalation point and support channel for developers using the platform.

Help diagnose and resolve issues with deployments, configurations, and platform integrations.
• **Platform Automation & Integration** : Automate lifecycle operations such as upgrades, scaling, and patching using Terraform, Helm, and APIs. Integrate developer tooling with Jira, SonarQube, GitHub, and ServiceNow to close feedback loops.
• **Continuous Improvement & Learning** : Stay current on Kubernetes, GKE, DevEx tools, and platform engineering trends.

Continuously improve platform capabilities and developer productivity using industry best practices.

+ Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent work experience
+ 8+ years of experience in cloud platform engineering, infrastructure management, or DevOps, preferably within enterprise environments.
+ 3+ years of experience with GCP, including designing, deploying, and managing GKE clusters and related services.
+ 3+ years of experience driving Developer Experience initiatives, such as building self-service platforms, golden paths, onboarding automation, and CI/CD templates.
+ Hands-on experience with GitHub Actions or similar CI/CD systems for automating build, test, and deploy workflows.
+ Experience developing internal tooling or CLI/UX layers that abstract infrastructure complexity for application developers.
+ Experience collaborating with developers to understand pain points and drive adoption of internal platform features.
+ Strong background in observability practices and tools, with a focus on surfacing actionable insights to developers.
+ Google Cloud Certified – Professional Cloud Architect or Kubernetes Engineer certification preferred.

**Technical Skills**

**Must Have**

+ **Developer Experience Platforms** : Experience building or contributing to internal developer platforms (IDPs), with a focus on usability, self-service, and paved paths.
+ **Kubernetes (GKE) at Scale** : Expertise managing GKE clusters across SDLC stages, including security, multi-tenancy, and cost controls.
+ **CI/CD & GitOps** : Deep experience with GitHub Actions, GitOps practices, and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Kustomize, Helm).
+ **GCP Native Services** : Strong hands-on knowledge of GCP services like IAM, Cloud Logging, Cloud Monitoring, Artifact Registry, and Pub/Sub.
+ **Workload Identity & IAM** : Familiarity with workload identity, service accounts, OPA/Gatekeeper, and Kubernetes RBAC in secure enterprise environments.
+ **Observability Tooling** : Experience with Dynatrace, Prometheus, Splunk, or OpenTelemetry to implement developer-friendly observability patterns.
+ **Service Integration** : Experience integrating cloud platforms with developer ecosystem tools (e.g., Jira, GitHub, ServiceNow, SonarQube) for enhanced feedback and workflow automation.

**Nice to Have**

+ Experience with Backstage, Port, or other developer portal tooling.
+ Familiarity with Open Policy Agent (OPA) and policy enforcement in Kubernetes.
+ Knowledge of enterprise software development lifecycles, DORA metrics, and value stream mapping.
+ Exposure to Platform as a Product or SRE principles.

**Soft Skills**

+ **Empathy for Developers** : A strong sense of what makes developer workflows efficient, intuitive, and productive.
+ **Collaboration** : Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills with platform, security, and application teams.
+ **Communication** : Clear written and verbal communication tailored to both technical and non-technical audiences.
+ **Initiative & Ownership** : Self-starter who takes ownership of platform initiatives and drives them to completion.
+ **Problem-Solving** : Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills with a bias for simplicity and automation.

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice.

You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home?

Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills?

Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above?

No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:



• Immediate medical, dental, and prescription drug coverage

• Flexible family care, parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more

• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members, and management leases

• Tuition assistance

• Established and active employee resource groups

• Paid time off for individual and team community service

• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day

• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

For a detailed look at our benefits, click here: Benefit Summary (https://corporate.ford.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en-us/documents/careers/2025-benefits-and-comp-gsr-sal-plan-2.pdf)



**_This role is remote unless you are located within 50 mile radius of a Ford Hub, which you will be required to commute on site 4x a week_**



**_*Visa Sponsorship is NOT provided for this specific role_** *****

**_*Relocation assistance IS NOT provided for this specific role*_**



Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status.

In the United States, If you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.



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**Requisition ID** : 48752

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