Sr. DevOps Engineer in Irvine, California at EKN Engineering

Senior DevOps Engineer

At EKN Engineering, we solve challenging problems with innovative engineering and configurable software solutions. We use an engineering-first approach, combined with data-driven strategies, to improve overall compliance, risk management, and design accuracy tailored to the specific needs of each client.

With decades of experience in engineering, our team of over 170 professionals in Irvine, California is dedicated to building a safer and more efficient tomorrow through engineering and technological innovation.

Role Overview: As a Senior DevOps Engineer, you'll join EKN's software development team — responsible for architecting, implementing, testing, deploying, and supporting SaaS solutions that align with customer and product requirements — to design and maintain scalable cloud infrastructure and implement best practices for CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), logging, monitoring, and automation. Bringing strong technical expertise and a product mindset, you'll take a hands-on approach to driving engineering best practices and staying current on emerging technologies, platforms, and applications to help keep our business secure and efficient.

Key Responsibilities

• Influence the development and architecture of EKN's DevOps platform, providing technical leadership and guidance to development teams

• Assess and identify risks that may affect the team's larger goals

• Document best practices and strategies for application deployment and infrastructure maintenance

• Partner with software development teams and leaders to identify and implement optimal cloud-based solutions for the company

• Drive implementation of functionally appropriate and technically sound solutions that meet all quality and security standards

• Identify and resolve technical problems using strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Participate in all aspects of the software development lifecycle for cloud-based solutions, including planning, defining requirements, developing, and testing

• Evaluate new technologies, tools, and platforms to manage, control cost, and secure the cloud platform

• Contribute to collective team goals by providing regular feedback and driving continuous improvement

• Respond quickly to production outages, performance drops, and pipeline failures

• Participate in after-hours on-call rotation to triage and fix system alerts

• Execute planned off-hours maintenance, database migrations, and critical security patching

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

• 5+ years of hands-on DevOps or Site Reliability Engineering experience, primarily supporting production workloads in AWS

• Strong experience designing, deploying, and managing cloud infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform or AWS CloudFormation

• Solid working knowledge of core AWS services (e.g., EC2, EKS, S3, RDS, SQS, SNS, Lambda) and how they are securely operated at scale

• Proven experience with containers, containter orchestration, and deployment technologies, such as Docker, Kubernetes and ArgoCD

• Experience building, operating, and improving CI/CD pipelines using platforms such as GitHub Actions or equivalent

• Working knowledge of Git-based workflows and version control best practices

• Strong understanding of cloud networking fundamentals, security best practices, and identity and access management (IAM)

• Ability to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve complex infrastructure, deployment, and reliability issues

• Practical scripting and automation experience (e.g., shell scripting) to support infrastructure and operational workflows

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across engineering teams

Preferred Skills

• Prior experience as a software engineer or cloud-native application developer, enabling strong collaboration with product and development teams

• Hands-on experience building or supporting modern applications using languages such as TypeScript or Python

• Experience designing and operating monitoring, logging, and observability solutions (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, Sentry) to improve system reliability and visibility

• Working knowledge of database technologies, performance tuning, backups, and operational best practices

• Experience implementing advanced GitOps, DevSecOps, or platform engineering practices

• Familiarity with cost optimization strategies, cloud governance, and operational maturity at scale

• Experience mentoring engineers or influencing DevOps standards and best practices across teams

• Experience with AI Safety Guardrails and Secure Agent Sandboxing

• Experience with AI-Driven Observability and Telemetry

Why Join Us:

At EKN Engineering, you’ll be part of a company that values innovation and accountability and supports our employees' professional growth and personal development. Here, you’ll work with teams that push the boundaries of engineering to create solutions that enhance our communities and the environment by making utilities safer.

Benefits & Perks

• 100% Company-Paid Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance – Comprehensive coverage to support your health and well-being.

• 401(k) with Company Match – We invest in your future with a dollar-for-dollar match on contributions.

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – Set aside pre-tax dollars for qualified healthcare and dependent care expenses.

• Exclusive Employee Discounts – Access our BenefitsHub for savings on travel, rental cars, hotels, theme parks, and more.

• Monthly Catered Lunches & Daily Office Snacks – Enjoy a well-stocked kitchen and regular team meals to keep you fueled throughout the day.

• Employee Engagement & Wellness – We value connection and balance. Our team enjoys a variety of events and activities throughout the year, including hiking outings, summer BBQs, sports games, holiday celebrations, and dedicated team-building days.

• JOYA Health Membership – Access to over $1,000 in annual skin health and wellness benefits, including complimentary facials or peels, aesthetic service credits, priority skin cancer screenings, teledermatology services, and discounts on skincare products.

• Wellness Perks & Support Programs – Access a variety of wellness resources including discounted gym memberships through One Pass, mental health and self-care tools via AbleTo and Calm, and monthly rewards for healthy activities through Rally.

Public Warning: Recruitment Phishing Scam Impersonating EKN Engineering

EKN Engineering has become aware of a phishing scheme targeting individuals with fraudulent interview requests and job offers. EKN’s secure IT systems and private applicant information have not been compromised; scammers are impersonating EKN employees, using the company name and branding to mislead and engage potential job seekers in fake recruitment processes. Scammers might reference real job openings or describe fake opportunities that generally match individuals’ professional backgrounds, with the goal of establishing communication and eventually obtaining private financial information to defraud people. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Trade Commission warn that employment scams such as this are a growing cyber threat. EKN urges anyone who is contacted about employment opportunities to exercise caution and know that:

• All communication from EKN Engineering will be from an EKN employee using the @eknengineering.com email domain. We do not use third-party recruiters.

• EKN Engineering recruiters will only schedule interviews for candidates who have applied for a position through our secure portal.

• No corporate or IT systems at EKN are affected by this scam. The scammers are using EKN’s logo and employee names to impersonate the company.

• You can directly contact us at TalentAcquisition@eknengineering.com with any questions or concerns.

EKN is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our community. We caution individuals to be vigilant in protecting personal data and vetting communication with new contacts from any company. Do not respond or provide any personal information if contacted by someone claiming to represent a company to which you did not submit a job application or profile. This scam can be perpetrated against any business and individuals who recognize and trust its name.

For information on EKN recruitment practices and policies, please visit our career page or email TalentAcquisition@eknengineering.com. To report a scam, visit: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov//.