Job description
Freelance IT Automation Engineer
Location: Maastricht Area (80% Remote / 20% Onsite)Contract Type: Freelance
Contract Duration: 1 year with option for extension
Working Hours: 08:00 – 17:00 CET
On-Call Requirement: 1-hour response time for critical incidents
Role Overview
Our client is seeking a highly experienced Freelance IT Automation Engineer to support enterprise cloud-native infrastructure and hybrid platform automation initiatives. The consultant will be responsible for lifecycle management, Infrastructure as Code implementation, GitOps deployment models, security hardening, and continuous platform evolution within a high-security, mission-critical environment.Key Responsibilities
- Maintain and perform lifecycle updates of OpenShift and MicroShift environments.
- Maintain and update bare-metal provisioning software and deployment engines.
- Administer and secure enterprise secrets management platforms (e.g., Vault).
- Maintain Kafka environments (Strimzi-based).
- Automate containerised workloads using GitOps principles (FluxCD).
- Execute hybrid cloud automation tasks across Nutanix AHV, VMware, and on-prem OpenShift environments.
- Assist with application containerisation and onboarding to OpenShift.
- Develop Infrastructure as Code coverage using Terraform and Ansible.
- Develop CI/CD automation pipelines using Tekton framework.
- Manage configuration deployments with Helm and Kustomize.
- Implement Kubernetes policies using policy engines (e.g., Kyverno).
- Harden OpenShift clusters (security, monitoring, observability, policy enforcement).
- Implement monitoring using Prometheus, Grafana, and OpenTelemetry.
- Manage logging stack using Elastic and Kibana.
- Manage load balancing using HAProxy and MetalLB.
- Build and manage container images using Podman.
- Support incident response and provide expert analysis for critical infrastructure components.
Mandatory Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in ICT, Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.
- Minimum 2 years demonstrated experience with OpenShift (enterprise level).
- Minimum 2 years experience with Nutanix AHV and/or VMware environments.
- Minimum 2 years hands-on experience with Terraform and Ansible (Infrastructure as Code).
- Minimum 2 years experience with GitOps frameworks (FluxCD preferred).
- Minimum 2 years experience with Kubernetes security tools (policy engines, Vault).
- Professional certifications obtained within the last 5 years: CKA, CKAD, CKS and/or LPI (or equivalent Linux certification).
- English language proficiency: Listening & Speaking C1; Reading & Writing B2.
Security & Compliance Requirements
- Certificate of Good Conduct (maximum 6 months old, in EN/NL/DE).
- Must sign confidentiality agreement prior to assignment start.
- Must adhere strictly to internal security procedures.
