Build the Platform Layer
Kubernetes is Missing.
Platform Engineer — Stakater
Context Infrastructure is solved.
Platforms aren't.
- Cloud providers commoditized compute, storage, and networking
- Kubernetes standardized how containers run across environments
- But the platform layer above Kubernetes remains fragmented
- Every organization is solving the same problem from scratch
The hard problem shifted — from running containers to making them usable at scale.
The Problem Kubernetes is powerful.
And incomplete.
- No native multi-tenancy — every cluster is flat by default
- No opinionated developer experience — too much left to the operator
- No built-in cost visibility or chargeback model
- No self-service — developers still open tickets to get namespaces
It gives you primitives. Not a platform.
The Core Problem Every company rebuilds
the same platform layer.
- Internal developer platforms, assembled from scratch each time
- Custom namespace and quota abstractions, reinvented per org
- Policy engines stitched together with YAML and hope
- GitOps pipelines rebuilt for every new engagement
Thousands of companies. The same wheel. Built again. And again. And again.
Our Insight Kubernetes is not a platform.
It's a foundation.
Others treat Kubernetes as the destination. We treat it as the starting point — the base layer on which a real cloud platform gets built.
The real engineering work begins where Kubernetes ends.
Who We Are A platform company
built on Kubernetes.
- Sweden-based, globally delivered
- Red Hat Premier Partner — Container Management Specialist
- 8+ years of Kubernetes-native engineering in production
- Platform Engineering + Products + Managed Cloud — all three
Not just consultants. Not just a cloud provider. A platform company.
What We Build Platform capabilities
organizations can't buy elsewhere.
- Multi-tenancy — teams isolated, clusters shared efficiently
- Policy enforcement — governance that doesn't slow developers down
- Self-service provisioning — namespaces, quotas, services on demand
- Cost visibility — FinOps built into the platform layer itself
Real capabilities. Not configuration layers on top of configuration layers.
How We Build Kubernetes-native.
All the way down.
- Custom Resources as the product interface
- Controllers and operators as the business logic layer
- GitOps as the single delivery mechanism
- Reconciliation loops as the correctness model
We don't build around Kubernetes. We build with it.
Our Products Systems we built.
Running in production globally.
- MTO — Multi-Tenant Operator: namespace tenancy, resource isolation, policy enforcement
- SCO — Stakater Cloud Orchestrator: CRD-driven XaaS — VMs, databases, services on demand
- Reloader — event-driven ConfigMap/Secret reload, used across thousands of clusters
These are not internal tools. They run in the world.
Open Source Your code can reach
beyond this company.
- Reloader — thousands of production deployments globally, maintained by the team
- IngressMonitorController — open source uptime monitoring via Kubernetes ingress annotations
- We contribute upstream, not just consume
- Building in the open is how we keep engineering quality honest
When you build here, people you'll never meet will depend on your work.
Proof Where our work
actually runs.
- 24-site distributed manufacturing platform — single control plane, centrally managed
- Multi-tenant platforms serving hundreds of development teams per cluster
- Enterprise deployments in regulated industries: finance, manufacturing, public sector
- Customer-facing cloud services built on Managed OpenShift, EU-hosted
We don't build demos. We build production platforms.
Real Challenges The problems aren't solved.
That's the point.
- Isolation vs flexibility — how much to restrict teams without blocking them
- Policy vs developer experience — enforce compliance without adding friction
- Multi-cluster consistency — identical platform behaviour across distributed sites
- Cost attribution — accurate FinOps at the namespace level, in real time
These are trade-offs. Not settings to configure.
Timing The market is arriving
where we already are.
- VMware exit wave — enterprises rethinking their entire platform stack from scratch
- European data sovereignty — demand for EU-hosted, EU-controlled cloud is accelerating
- Platform engineering becoming a discipline, not just a job title
- Kubernetes maturity means the ecosystem is ready for the next abstraction layer
We didn't predict this shift. We built for it. The demand is now catching up.
Why Join Not just a job. A place
to build systems that matter.
- Work on platform problems most engineers never get access to
- Build open source the industry runs in production
- See your work at enterprise scale, affecting real operations
- Consulting + product + cloud exposure — rare breadth in one role
- Learning curve is steep. That is intentional.
You won't maintain someone else's platform. You'll build the next one.
Engineering Culture Ownership over process.
- You design it, build it, and operate it — no handoffs to other teams
- Technical decisions made by engineers, not committees
- Direct access to customers and production environments from day one
- Small teams, fast cycles, real accountability for outcomes
Process exists to enable engineers. Not the other way around.
The Right Fit Builders.
Not passengers.
- You think in systems and trade-offs, not just features and tickets
- You read RFCs and design documents to understand the why
- You're comfortable in ambiguity — and you push through it anyway
- You want to own the outcome, not just close the ticket
- You care about the architecture even when no one is watching
We hire for how you think. Not what certifications you hold.
Real Talk This isn't
for everyone.
- Expectations are high — and we don't lower them over time
- Problems arrive without complete specifications
- The team is small, so your decisions have immediate, visible impact
- You'll be responsible for things you didn't fully define
If that sounds like a challenge — good. That's exactly the right reaction.
Next Steps Build systems that
power platforms.
If any of this resonated — the problems, the approach, the culture — let's have a real conversation. We'd rather talk to you directly than run you through a formal process.
- Platform Engineer — open now
- careers@stakater.com
- stakater.com/careers
At Stakater, you don't just use Kubernetes. You extend it.