HPC Kubernetes Architect

The Company NorthMark Compute & Cloud (NMC²) is backed by dedicated leadership and investment, with a clear mission as it operates at the bleeding edge of technology. Its goal is to scale and enhance the high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud infrastructure that supports its clients' research, production, and delivery, enabling breakthroughs that shape the industries of tomorrow. Its engineers build critical infrastructure to eliminate friction in scientific research, simulations, analysis, and decision-making, accelerating discovery and driving faster innovation. The Position As an HPC Kubernetes Solutions Architect, you will act as a trusted advisor to customers, guiding them through the design, integration, and adoption of GPU-accelerated Kubernetes platforms purpose-built for high-performance computing (HPC), AI/ML training, simulation, and scientific workloads. This is a customer-facing architecture role with accountability across the entire solution lifecycle — from early discovery and requirements analysis, through reference architecture design, proof-of-concept delivery, and deployment, to long-term optimization and platform evolution. You will be responsible for creating architectural blueprints and integration strategies that enable customers to achieve measurable performance and scalability outcomes, while preparing them for future growth and technology shifts. In addition, you will collaborate closely with product, engineering, and operations teams, ensuring customer feedback informs roadmap priorities and helping define the next generation of Kubernetes-based HPC orchestration. This role is ideal for someone who combines deep technical expertise in Kubernetes and GPU orchestration with the ability to engage customers as a solution strategist, aligning today's workloads with tomorrow's innovation. Responsibilities: Act as the primary architectural point of contact for customers adopting GPU-accelerated Kubernetes platforms for HPC and AI/ML workloads. Partner with customers to capture workload requirements, performance objectives, scaling needs, and integration constraints, translating them into reference architectures and actionable solution designs. Architect and operate Kubernetes clusters optimized for GPU workloads, leveraging NVIDIA GPU Operator, Network Operator, DCGM, and device plugins. Integrate and tune Multi-Instance GPU (MIG), GPU sharing, and scheduler extensions (e.g., Volcano, Slurm integration, kube-scheduler plugins) to maximize efficiency in multi-tenant environments. Develop or extend custom Kubernetes operators and controllers in Go/Python to automate HPC infrastructure services. Design and recommend secure multi-tenant Kubernetes environments, implementing RBAC, OPA/Gatekeeper policies, namespace isolation, and workload quotas. Lead proof-of-concept and benchmarking engagements, using profiling tools, workload characterization, and telemetry to validate solution performance and scalability. Define and document integration strategies across compute, storage, networking, and orchestration layers, including CNI plugins (NVIDIA CNI, Multus, Cilium), storage systems (Lustre, GPFS, Ceph, VAST), and container runtimes (containerd, NVIDIA Container Toolkit). Drive observability and monitoring solutions with Prometheus, Grafana, DCGM Exporter, and OpenTelemetry, ensuring visibility into GPU health, cluster utilization, and workload performance. Support GitOps-driven CI/CD pipelines for Kubernetes infrastructure using ArgoCD, FluxCD, Helm, and Kustomize. Collaborate with HPC, ML, and DevOps teams to validate performance and scalability in hybrid or on-premise environments. Provide architectural leadership during onboarding and deployment, ensuring successful integration of Kubernetes clusters with HPC schedulers and enterprise IT systems. Build and maintain strategic relationships with ecosystem vendors (e.g., NVIDIA, Cisco, storage partners), incorporating emerging technologies into customer environments. Share future insights with customers on GPU roadmaps, interconnect advancements (e.g., InfiniBand, RoCE, NVLink), and container orchestration trends. Represent the organization in customer design sessions, technical workshops, and industry conferences, positioning yourself as a thought leader in Kubernetes for HPC. Requirements: Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience Extensive experience in Kubernetes architecture and operations for HPC or GPU-intensive environments. Strong technical expertise in: NVIDIA GPU stack (GPU Operator, device plugins, MIG, NVML, DCGM). Kubernetes internals (CRDs, RBAC, scheduler extensions, custom operators/controllers). Distributed and parallel storage integration with Kubernetes for HPC workloads. High-performance networking (InfiniBand, RDMA, RoCE) in containerized environments. Proven ability to design scalable, secure, and resilient Kubernetes-based architectures for HPC and AI/ML use cases. Proficiency in Go or Python for Kubernetes operator or controller development. Experience with workload profiling, benchmarking, and performance tuning. Strong customer engagement skills, capable of translating requirements into actionable architectures and presenting solutions effectively. Collaborative mindset with experience working across engineering, product, and operations teams. Preferred Experience Demonstrated success in end-to-end customer solution delivery, from requirements discovery to deployment and adoption. Familiarity with containerized HPC environments (e.g., Singularity/Apptainer). Exposure to automation and GitOps practices for Kubernetes platform management (e.g., ArgoCD, FluxCD). Contributions to open-source projects in the Kubernetes or NVIDIA ecosystem. Experience advising on future adoption strategies, helping customers prepare for emerging GPU, interconnect, and orchestration technologies. Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or related technical field. Relevant Kubernetes and container certifications such as CKA, CKAD, or CKS, alongside cloud certifications like AWS Solutions Architect or Azure Solutions Architect Expert. It is impossible to list every requirement for, or responsibility of, any position. Similarly, we cannot identify all the skills a position may require since job responsibilities and the Company's needs may change over time. Therefore, the above job description is not comprehensive or exhaustive. The Company reserves the right to adjust, add to or eliminate any aspect of the above description. The Company also retains the right to require all employees to undertake additional or different job responsibilities when necessary to meet business needs. Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future. Benefits & Perks: Company-Paid Lunch Stipend: Lunch is provided via GrubHub Company-Paid Benefits: 100% Employer-Paid Medical in our High Deductible Health Plan, Dental and Vision benefits for employees and their families, 16 weeks of Paid Parental Leave, Employee Assistance Program, Life insurance, Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability 401(k): Company will match 100% of your contributions up to 6% Optional Employee-Paid Benefits: Medical insurance in our PPO plan and a variety of other benefits such as Health Savings Accounts (with Company Contribution!), Flexible Spending Accounts, Supplemental Life Insurance, Wellhub and more. Time Off: 25 days of Paid Time Off plus 12 company holidays EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER NORTHMARK STRATEGIES LLC IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. THE COMPANY'S POLICY IS NOT TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY APPLICANT OR EMPLOYEE BASED ON RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, AGE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION, MARITAL STATUS, MENTAL OR PHYSICAL DISABILITY, AND GENETIC INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER BASIS PROTECTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE FIRM ALSO PROHIBITS HARASSMENT OF APPLICANTS OR EMPLOYEES BASED ON ANY OF THESE PROTECTED CATEGORIES. NorthMark Strategies is a leading strategic capital firm, combining capital, innovation, and engineering to drive long-term value. From operating complex businesses to backing breakthrough technologies, our mission is to deploy capital and build enduring businesses. Our team combines intelligent risk-taking, operational excellence, exceptional talent, and world-class computing capacity to create shareholder value. Our company offers a dynamic environment where individuals have the freedom to lead companies toward bold achievements by embracing innovation, leveraging technology, and fostering differentiated business strategies. Our values are Integrity, Ability, and Energy, and the company aims to hire individuals who possess those qualities. At NorthMark Strategies, we believe the future isn't something to hope for, it's something to build. We don't just invest, we create. Bringing together strategic insight and technical horsepower to deliver outcomes that endure.