Senior Staff Consulting Architect- Cloud Native

Job description

Nutanix is seeking a Sr. Staff Consulting Architect – Cloud Native to provide senior technical leadership in the architecture, design, and transformation of enterprise Kubernetes and cloud-native platforms based on the Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP), across virtualized, bare-metal, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. The role is intended for a highly experienced cloud-native architect who can operate as a trusted technical advisor to senior customer stakeholders, lead complex and strategic platform transformation initiatives, and define scalable architecture standards across large and distributed environments. The Sr. Staff Consulting Architect will combine deep hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, virtualization, platform engineering, automation, and cloud-native technologies with strong consulting, architecture governance, and technical leadership capabilities. The role will also be responsible for developing reference architectures, reusable delivery patterns, technical assets, and enablement programs, while mentoring Staff and Consulting Architects and raising the overall cloud-native capability of the consulting organization. Hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, virtualization, platform engineering, CI/CD, GitOps, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is mandatory. Key Responsibilities 1. Enterprise Architecture & Strategic Advisory • Provide end-to-end architecture leadership for complex enterprise Kubernetes and cloud-native transformation programs. • Define strategic platform architectures spanning: • Nutanix AHV • VMware vSphere • Bare metal • Public cloud platforms including AWS and Azure • Hybrid and multi-cloud environments • Edge and distributed infrastructure • Lead architecture strategy for large-scale and multi-cluster Kubernetes environments. • Translate business, application, infrastructure, security, and operational requirements into scalable and resilient cloud-native architectures. • Define target-state architectures and multi-phase transformation roadmaps covering platform adoption, application modernization, migration, automation, and operations. • Advise customer executives, enterprise architects, infrastructure leaders, platform engineering teams, and DevOps organizations on cloud-native adoption strategies. • Establish architecture principles, standards, and technology selection criteria for enterprise Kubernetes platforms. • Provide technical leadership for complex architectural decisions, trade-offs, and escalations. 2. Advanced Kubernetes & Platform Architecture • Architect enterprise NKP platforms at scale, including: • Multi-cluster and fleet architectures • Multi-tenancy and workload isolation • High availability and disaster recovery • Cluster lifecycle management • Platform scalability and capacity planning • Security and governance • Define advanced Kubernetes networking, storage, ingress/egress, and load-balancing architectures. • Design virtualization-aware Kubernetes platforms considering: • Compute and resource allocation • NUMA and CPU topology • Storage performance • Network architecture • Failure domains • Cluster density • Performance optimization • Define architecture patterns for GPU-enabled and AI/ML workloads where applicable. • Architect integration between Kubernetes and enterprise services including: • DNS • LDAP/Active Directory • PKI and certificate management • Load balancers • Backup and disaster recovery • Enterprise monitoring and logging • Establish architecture patterns for platform standardization across multiple business units, data centers, and geographies. 3. Complex Transformation & Delivery Leadership • Provide technical leadership for high-value and technically complex customer engagements from Day-0 architecture through Day-2 operations. • Lead architecture workshops, technical discovery sessions, design reviews, and transformation planning. • Provide technical oversight for: • Platform deployment • Cluster onboarding • Application migration • Application modernization • Platform integration • Operational transformation • Guide teams through complex implementation and troubleshooting scenarios spanning: • Kubernetes • Hypervisors • Networking • Storage • Security • Automation • CI/CD • Act as the senior technical escalation point for critical architecture and delivery challenges. • Ensure architectural decisions are translated into practical, supportable, and repeatable implementation patterns. • Review and provide technical governance for solution designs produced by Staff and Consulting Architects. 4. Automation, GitOps & Platform Engineering • Define enterprise automation strategies for Kubernetes and infrastructure platforms. • Establish standardized GitOps and CI/CD operating models using technologies such as: • GitHub Actions • GitLab CI • Jenkins • Argo CD • Tekton • Flux CD • Design Infrastructure as Code frameworks using: • Terraform • Ansible • Define automation patterns integrating: • NKP APIs • Kubernetes APIs • Nutanix APIs • VMware APIs • AWS/Azure APIs • Drive adoption of platform engineering principles, self-service infrastructure, and developer experience (DevEx) practices. • Establish reusable automation frameworks and reference implementations that can be adopted across customer engagements. • Promote secure, compliant, version-controlled, and auditable platform delivery practices. 5. Security, Governance, Resilience & Operations • Define enterprise security architecture across infrastructure, Kubernetes, and application platform layers. • Establish security and governance models covering: • RBAC • Network policies • Pod Security Standards • Secrets and certificate management • Policy-as-Code • Workload isolation • Multi-tenancy • Design policy and governance frameworks using OPA/Gatekeeper or equivalent technologies. • Define enterpr