Senior Developer / Developer - Kubernetes Core Team - Gardener

Job Description

We help the world run better
At SAP, we keep it simple: you bring your best to us, and we'll bring out the best in you. We're builders touching over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, and we need your unique talents to help shape what's next. The work is challenging – but it matters. You'll find a place where you can be yourself, prioritize your wellbeing, and truly belong. What's in it for you? Constant learning, skill growth, great benefits, and a team that wants you to grow and succeed.

Job Title: Developer / Senior Developer – Kubernetes Core Team - Gardener

Location: Bangalore, India (Whitefield Campus)

Career Level: T3 / T2

What you’ll build

Gardener powers SAP’s global landscape and is trusted as the foundation for countless enterprise workloads at SAP and outside. We adopt the Kubernetes open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized SAP solutions and business applications. We provide solutions to run and orchestrate Kubernetes clusters on public cloud, hybrid or SAP-owned infrastructures for a variety of enterprise use cases inside and outside of SAP.

We’re not just offering a job, we’re inviting you to shape the future of cloud-native infrastructure at SAP and in all of Europe. We have committed to open source by donating our projects into the neutral NeoNephos foundation. Make your mark, invite others, and discover #SAPEUAICloudCareers. Let’s build what’s next together

Core Responsibilities:

We are looking for experienced Platform and Senior Platform Engineers to join us. If you are passionate about open-source, systems engineering and thrive on building distributed systems at scale, you will find unique and complex challenges here that will significantly enhance your expertise.

In this role, you will contribute to one or more of the following key areas within Gardener:

• Machine Controller Manager: Manage the lifecycle of virtual machines on various infrastructure providers. You will handle machine scaling and help develop a native component scaling advisor, aiming to set a new industry standard that overcomes the limitations of existing solutions.
• Druid an ETCD Operator: Build and maintain a highly available, multi-node etcd with robust backup and restore capabilities using our open-source etcd-druid operator (github.com/gardener/etcd-druid).
• Gardener Core: Optimize Kubernetes cluster control planes by designing innovative solutions for resource management and the efficient use of CPU, memory, disk, and networking with core constructs from Gardener like Seeds, Shoots, Extensions etc.
• Managing AI Workloads: Enable AI workloads on Gardener-managed clusters by providing native capabilities to run inference models across many nodes. Contribute to Project Grove, an open-source Kubernetes API for managing the lifecycle of AI inference workloads.

• Open-Source Evangelism: Act as an open-source evangelist for Gardener. Promote its adoption by presenting your work at conferences like KubeCon and at local meetups.

What you bring

Below are some expectations from this role, it will vary based on the experience to match the expectations.

• Design, develop, and deliver high-quality, fully automated modules within an agile scrum team, operating in short development and release cycles.
• Apply your expertise in distributed systems, design patterns, and containerized workloads to solve complex engineering challenges.
• Take ownership of features and drive them from concept through to adoption.
• Collaborate effectively with a globally distributed team of engineers and the wider open-source community.
• Contribute to a culture of teamwork, trust, and technical excellence.

Qualifications

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• 8+ years of relevant professional experience for Senior Platform Engineer and 2-3 years experience for Platform Engineer
• Proficiency in at least one programming language (GO is preferred) and one scripting language.
• Expertise in cloud computing, distributed systems, and container orchestration (especially Kubernetes). Having CKAD/CKAS are a plus but not a must, prior experience with Gardener semantics is a major plus.
• Hands-on experience provisioning resources programmatically with cloud infrastructure like AWS, Azure, GCP, OpenStack, or VMware.
• Deep knowledge of Unix/Linux internals and proven experience building virtualized or containerized environments.
• Solid understanding and practical application of cloud-native design principles and architectures esp. with challenges and solutions in running large scale distributed systems.
• Exposure to running/managing AI training and inference workloads on Kubernetes platform will be a plus

• Strong communication skills for collaborating with a global team and engaging with the open-source community.

Where you belong

We are a team of builders, innovators, and collaborators. Our culture is rooted in openness and trust. We believe the best ideas come from diverse perspectives, and we create space for every voice to be heard. We are extremely proud of what we have built, and we would like you to be part of this journey. We’re not just another project; we are the backbone of SAP’s cloud-native infrastructure and a leading open-source solution trusted across industries.

#SAPInternalT3 #SAPInternalT2

Bring out your best
SAP innovations help more than four hundred thousand customers worldwide work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively. Originally known for leadership in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP has evolved to become a market leader in end-to-end business application software and related services for database, analytics, intelligent technologies, and experience management. As a cloud company with two hundred million users and more than one hundred thousand employees worldwide, we are purpose-driven and future-focused, with a highly collaborative team ethic and commitment to personal development. Whether connecting global industries, people, or platforms, we help ensure every challenge gets the solution it deserves. At SAP, you can bring out your best.

We win with inclusion
SAP’s culture of inclusion, focus on health and well-being, and flexible working models help ensure that everyone – regardless of background – feels included and can run at their best. At SAP, we believe we are made stronger by the unique capabilities and qualities that each person brings to our company, and we invest in our employees to inspire confidence and help everyone realize their full potential. We ultimately believe in unleashing all talent and creating a better world.

SAP is committed to the values of Equal Employment Opportunity and provides accessibility accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with SAP and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please send an e-mail with your request to Recruiting Operations Team: Careers@sap.com.

For SAP employees: Only permanent roles are eligible for the SAP Employee Referral Program, according to the eligibility rules set in the SAP Referral Policy. Specific conditions may apply for roles in Vocational Training.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, et al), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or disability, in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local legal requirements.

Successful candidates might be required to undergo a background verification with an external vendor.

AI Usage in the Recruitment Process

For information on the responsible use of AI in our recruitment process, please refer to our Guidelines for Ethical Usage of AI in the Recruiting Process.

Please note that any violation of these guidelines may result in disqualification from the hiring process.

Requisition ID: 444952 | Work Area: Software-Design and Development | Expected Travel: 0 - 10% | Career Status: Professional | Employment Type: Regular Full Time | Additional Locations: #LI-Hybrid