RHEL & OpenShift Platform Engineer
Job Description
We are looking for an experienced RHEL & OpenShift Platform Engineer to manage and support enterprise Linux platforms and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) environments.
The role will have a strong focus on RHEL system administration and OCP cluster administration, along with responsibility for enterprise application platforms, containerised workloads, security hardening, vulnerability remediation, and operational governance.
The ideal candidate should have strong hands-on experience in RHEL 8/9, OpenShift 4.x, Kubernetes, enterprise container architecture, and integration platforms such as IBM MQ.
Key Responsibilities
RHEL Platform Management
Own and maintain the enterprise RHEL OS fleet supporting OCP nodes and non-containerised application servers.
Plan and execute RHEL OS patching cycles, including EUS channel management, kernel upgrades, and reboot sequencing.
Perform RHEL package management using DNF/YUM and manage OS version upgrades.
Implement and validate OS hardening based on CIS/DISA benchmarks and enterprise security standards.
Configure and manage SELinux, firewalld, auditd, and cryptographic policies.
Troubleshoot system-level issues involving kernel parameters, resource limits, storage, networking, and system performance.
Manage storage mounts including NFS, iSCSI, and SMB/CIFS where required.
Manage RHEL subscriptions, entitlements, Satellite, repositories, and image registries.
Support image-based RHEL deployments, including exposure to RHEL Image Mode / Bootc.
OpenShift Container Platform Administration
Deploy, upgrade, configure, and maintain OpenShift 4.x clusters.
Perform OCP Day-2 operations including control-plane and worker-node lifecycle management.
Monitor and maintain etcd health, cluster health, certificates, and node availability.
Configure and manage the Machine Config Operator (MCO) for node-level OS customisation.
Implement MachineConfigs for NTP/chrony, SSH hardening, kernel arguments, and other OS-level configurations.
Manage OCP networking including Routes, Ingress, HAProxy configurations, and timeout tuning.
Administer persistent storage including PV/PVCs and StorageClasses.
Configure and manage RBAC, Security Context Constraints (SCCs), network policies, and resource quotas.
Manage OCP certificates and support certificate rotation and remediation.
Administer Quay/Mirror Registry, including image mirroring and vulnerability remediation.
Support image vulnerability scanning and remediation of vulnerabilities identified through tools such as Clair/VAPT assessments.
Support JVM and container resource tuning for Java-based workloads deployed on OCP.
Application Platform & Integration Support
Take ownership of enterprise application platforms such as Pega Infinity, WebSphere, and IBM MQ.
Support application platform setup, high-availability configurations, patching, upgrades, and operational support.
Collaborate with architecture and application teams on integration patterns and technical designs.
Support integration points involving Web Services, IBM MQ, SFTP, APIs, and API Gateways.
Support container provisioning, image lifecycle management, and deployment across DEV, SIT, UAT, and PROD environments.
Troubleshoot application and platform issues across infrastructure and container layers.
Security & Operational Governance
Define and execute operational processes covering OS/application patching, monitoring, housekeeping, backup, and recovery.
Support VAPT and vulnerability management activities by analysing Nessus findings and coordinating remediation.
Prepare remediation, risk acceptance, and security assessment reports as required.
Implement enterprise and government-grade security standards such as IM8, SSCT, CIS, and DISA benchmarks.
Contribute to DevSecOps, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), automation, and operational runbooks.
Support AWS administration activities including CloudWatch, IAM, S3, and hybrid cloud integrations.
Required Skills & Qualifications
1. RHEL System Administration – Must Have
Strong hands-on experience administering RHEL 8/9 in enterprise production environments.
Strong knowledge of OS patching, DNF/YUM, SELinux, firewalld, auditd, and system hardening.
Experience with RHEL Extended Update Support (EUS) and lifecycle management.
Experience with RHEL subscriptions, entitlements, and Red Hat Satellite.
Knowledge of CIS/DISA security benchmarks and enterprise Linux hardening.
Exposure to RHEL Image Mode / Bootc and image-based deployments is an advantage.
2. OpenShift Container Platform – Must Have
Hands-on experience deploying and administering OpenShift Container Platform 4.x.
Strong understanding of OCP Day-2 operations and cluster lifecycle management.
Experience with Machine Config Operator (MCO) and custom MachineConfigs.
Strong knowledge of OCP networking, including Routes, Ingress, HAProxy, and network policies.
Experience with PV/PVC, StorageClasses, RBAC, SCCs, and resource quotas.
Experience with OCP upgrades, node management, certificate rotation, and cluster troubleshooting.
Exposure to Quay/Mirror Registry, image mirroring, and vulnerability scanning.
Experience working with bare-metal or IaaS-based OpenShift environments is preferred.
3. Enterprise Container Architecture & Integration
Experience designing and operating multi-tier containerised architectures on OpenShift/Kubernetes.
Strong understanding of Kubernetes and container concepts.
Working knowledge of IBM MQ, including queue manager setup, channels, troubleshooting, and HA configurations.
Understanding of microservices architecture, API gateways, and container image lifecycle management.
Experience supporting Java/JVM workloads on OpenShift is an advantage.
Good to Have
Experience with AWS, particularly CloudWatch, IAM, and S3.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices.
Knowledge of Terraform or other IaC tools.
Experience supporting air-gapped or restricted network environments.
Exposure to Pega, WebSphere, IBM MQ, or other enterprise application platforms.
Experience with vulnerability management tools such as Nessus.
Familiarity with government or highly regulated security frameworks.
Key Competencies
Strong RHEL and OpenShift troubleshooting skills
Enterprise production support experience
Security and compliance mindset
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
Ability to work across infrastructure, application, cloud, and security teams
Good communication and stakeholder management skills
Ability to work in a complex, fast-paced enterprise environment
Strong ownership of platform reliability, security, and operational stability