Sr. Software Engineer (Go & Kubernetes Expertise)

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Rancher Government Solutions (RGS) is specifically designed to address the unique security and operational needs of the U.S. Government and military as it relates to application modernization, containers, and Kubernetes.

Rancher is a complete open-source software stack for teams adopting containers. It addresses the operations and security challenges of managing multiple Kubernetes clusters at scale, while providing DevOps teams with integrated tools for running containerized workloads.

RGS supports all Rancher products with U.S. based American citizen with the highest security clearances who are currently supporting programs across the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and civilian agencies.

POSITION SUMMARY

We are seeking a motivated Senior Software Engineer with expertise in Kubernetes and Go to join our Federal Product Engineering Team. This team is dedicated to developing and deploying industry-leading cloud-native technologies tailored to the unique operational, security, and compliance requirements of the United States federal government. As part of this team, you will help design scalable, secure systems that enable federal agencies to modernize their infrastructure, adopt zero-trust architectures, and accelerate mission delivery through automation and innovation. You will work at the intersection of software engineering and operations, contributing to solutions that are built for resilience and performance in highly regulated environments.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop robust Golang applications and microservices, applying modern Kubernetes design patterns such as controllers, operators, and custom resource definitions.
• Understand CI/CD flows and pipelines to automate application testing, packaging, and deployment to Kubernetes clusters in secure environments.
• Work as part of an agile, iterative team, participating in daily standups, sprint planning, and retrospectives.
• Build and maintain infrastructure-as-code and GitOps solutions using tools such as Helm and Kustomize to manage Kubernetes infrastructure.
• Collaborate with product managers, security teams, and other engineers to deliver software that meets federal compliance standards (e.g., FedRAMP, NIST 800-53).
• Troubleshoot complex issues across the stack, including application performance, networking, and container orchestration.
• Lead by example: Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers.
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 4 years working with Go.
• Highly proficient in Golang, with a demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable, and idiomatic code.
• Deep understanding of Kubernetes deployment and development patterns, including manifests, controllers, Helm charts, and RBAC.
• Deep familiarity with containerization technologies, processes, and patterns.
• Experience working in Linux-based environments.
• Strong grasp of Git-based workflows and version control best practices.
• US Citizenship.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience implementing secure software development practices in regulated environments.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS GovCloud, Azure Government, or other federal clouds).
• Knowledge of networking concepts, including ingress controllers, service meshes (e.g., Istio), and load balancing.
• Experience developing user interfaces with Vue.js, NuxtJS, or other Javascript frameworks.