Manager - Cloud Container Services

About Northern Trust

As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.

With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Position Overview

The Manager, Cloud Container Services is responsible for the operational leadership, governance, reliability, and lifecycle management of the enterprise Azure Central Kubernetes Service (CAKS) platform. The role leads a team of Kubernetes platform engineers and operations specialists responsible for delivering a secure, scalable, highly available, and automated container platform that enables application teams to deploy and operate workloads efficiently across the enterprise.

This position serves as the operational owner of the centralized AKS platform, driving platform adoption, service reliability, operational excellence, security compliance, and executive reporting. The role is accountable for providing leadership with actionable insights on platform performance, adoption, operational risks, capacity utilization, cost optimization, and service health. The role aligns closely with the enterprise Cloud Foundation strategy and centralized, multi-tenant AKS operating model.

Key Responsibilities

Platform Operations & Service Ownership

• Own and manage the enterprise Azure Central Kubernetes (CAKS) platform.
• Ensure platform availability, stability, scalability, security, and operational excellence.
• Lead Incident, Problem, Change, Capacity, and Availability Management processes.
• Establish operational standards, support models, runbooks, and platform governance controls.
• Drive Kubernetes platform lifecycle management, including upgrades, patching, and end-of-life planning.
• Ensure adherence to enterprise security, compliance, and governance requirements.

Kubernetes Platform Management

• Oversee centralized multi-tenant AKS environments supporting mission-critical and non-mission-critical workloads.
• Manage cluster operations, node pool lifecycle, networking, and platform integrations.
• Ensure secure workload onboarding and platform standardization across business units.
• Partner with engineering teams to implement scalable and reusable Kubernetes platform capabilities.
• Drive platform modernization initiatives, automation, and self-service capabilities.

Reliability Engineering & Operational Excellence

• Define and monitor SLAs, SLOs, and operational KPIs.
• Lead major incident management and root cause analysis activities.
• Drive reliability engineering practices and resilience improvements.
• Implement automation-first operational processes leveraging GitHub and Infrastructure as Code.
• Ensure disaster recovery and business continuity readiness for critical Kubernetes workloads.
• Reduce operational overhead through standardization and automated remediation.

Executive Reporting & Operational Metrics

• Develop executive dashboards and leadership reporting focused on:
  • Platform Availability & Uptime
  • Cluster Health Metrics
  • MTTR & Incident Trends
  • SLA/SLO Compliance
  • Kubernetes Resource Utilization
  • Capacity Planning & Forecasting
  • Node Pool Utilization
  • Security & Compliance Posture
  • Platform Adoption Metrics
  • Cost Optimization & FinOps Insights
  • Support Backlog & Service Request Metrics
• Present operational reviews, risk assessments, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership

Security & Governance

• Maintain enterprise Kubernetes governance standards.
• Oversee RBAC, Azure AD integration, Managed Identities, and secrets management.
• Ensure enforcement of Azure Policy, security guardrails, and compliance controls.
• Partner with Cybersecurity teams to ensure secure platform operations.
• Lead audit and regulatory compliance activities related to container platforms

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

• Serve as the primary operational contact for application teams consuming AKS services.
• Build relationships with Architecture, Infrastructure, Security, DevOps, and Engineering teams.
• Collaborate with Microsoft and strategic partners to optimize platform capabilities.
• Drive customer experience and service improvement initiatives across the Kubernetes ecosystem.

People Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing Kubernetes platform operations team.
• Establish operational goals and performance expectations.
• Drive talent development, succession planning, and technical capability growth.
• Promote a culture of automation, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• 10+ years of experience in data engineering, cloud engineering, container engineering or platform engineering with 15+ years of total work experience, including Azure and/or AWS environments.
• 5+ years of people management experience managing Platform Engineering, DevOps, Infrastructure, or Operations Teams.
• Proven experience managing enterprise-scale cloud data platforms, specifically:
  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
  • Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, ArgoCD.
  • DevOps, GitHub, Terraform, Hub and Spoke Architecture,
  • RBAC, Managed Identities, Azure Key Vault etc..
• Strong experience leading ITIL service management functions, including Incident, Problem, Change, and Service Request Management.
• Experience building and presenting executive operational dashboards and service reviews.
• Proven track record of driving platform reliability, operational transformation, and automation initiatives.
• Experience managing globally distributed teams and complex enterprise environments.
• Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud provider (AWS or Azure) and Cloud Kubernetes Services.

Skills & Competencies:

• Deep understanding of Kubernetes architecture, container orchestration, and cloud-native technologies.
• Expertise in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) administration and operations.
• Experience managing enterprise-scale multi-tenant Kubernetes platforms.
• Strong knowledge of container technologies including Docker and container registries.
• Experience with GitOps practices using ArgoCD and modern CI/CD pipelines.
• Proficiency with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform and Bicep).
• Strong understanding of cloud networking, including Hub-Spoke architecture, Private Link, Azure Firewall, ingress, and service networking.
• Experience implementing Kubernetes security controls, RBAC, Managed Identities, Azure Policy, and Secrets Management.
• Expertise in observability, monitoring, logging, and performance management using enterprise monitoring platforms.
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning
• Vendor and Managed Service Provider Governance.

Key Success Metrics

• Enterprise CAKS platform consistently achieves availability, performance, and security objectives.
• Increased adoption of centralized AKS services across business units.
• High levels of automation, self-service, and operational maturity.
• Reduced operational overhead and improved platform reliability.
• Leadership receives timely, actionable operational insights and recommendations.
• High-performing teams delivering secure, scalable, and resilient Kubernetes platform services.

Working with Us

As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to an inclusive workplace and assisting the communities we serve.

Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Northern Trust’s history and is an essential element of our culture. Employees around the world give their time and talent to work for the greater good of their communities.

Reasonable Accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com, or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.

About Our Pune Office

The Northern Trust Pune office, established in 2016, is now home to over 3,000 employees. The office handles various functions, including Operations for Asset Servicing and Wealth Management, as well as delivering critical technology solutions that support business operations across the globe.

Our Pune team takes our commitment to service to heart. In 2024, they volunteered more than 10,000+ hours into the communities where they live and work. Learn more.