Gardener Core Engineer

About SAP

At SAP, we believe in bringing out the best in you when you bring your best to us. As builders touching over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, your unique talents are crucial for shaping what's next. This is a challenging yet impactful role where you can thrive, prioritize well-being, and truly belong. Expect continuous learning, skill growth, excellent benefits, and a supportive team dedicated to your success.

Summary: Shape the Future of Cloud-Native Infrastructure

We are inviting you to shape the future of cloud-native infrastructure at SAP and across Europe. The Gardener project, our Kubernetes management solution, powers SAP’s global landscape and serves as the foundation for countless enterprise workloads both within and outside SAP. Our commitment to open source is strong, having donated Gardener to a neutral foundation.

This role represents growth, not replacement, offering a unique opportunity to make a significant mark. We are also building Apeiro, an open-source reference architecture designed to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty, ensuring security, sustainability, and compliance for cloud-to-edge computing. By joining, you contribute to a project of strategic importance for Europe's future. Our Core team develops and maintains Gardener's fundamental building blocks, enabling the management of thousands of Kubernetes clusters across diverse private and public cloud environments, primarily focusing on Go and Kubernetes operator patterns. If you are passionate about cloud-native technologies and development, this is your ideal environment.

The Role of a Gardener Core Engineer

• Use your Kubernetes and Go expertise to contribute to Gardener’s core components, which are the foundational building blocks for managing thousands of Kubernetes clusters across various cloud providers.
• Streamline deployment and operational procedures for Gardener installations and landscapes, such as update management, to ensure ease and smoothness for landscape operators.
• Investigate new areas for Gardener to deploy Kubernetes clusters, including edge environments or bare-metal datacenter setups, and effectively address the associated challenges.
• Develop and maintain Kubernetes controller code that forms Gardener, define and align technical concepts for new features and capabilities, and provide essential code reviews within the open-source Gardener project context.
• Progress to become a Gardener maintainer over time, fulfilling all related tasks and challenges associated with the role.
• Collaborate effectively with stakeholders and other teams, translating their requirements into scalable and maintainable solutions.
• Commit to continuous learning, applying new technologies within the sector to stay current and innovative.

What You Bring to SAP

• Very good understanding of Kubernetes, cloud concepts, and container technologies.
• Proven hands-on software engineering experience with Go.
• Strong experience with Kubernetes extension concepts such as CRDs (Custom Resource Definitions), operator patterns, dynamic admission control, and aggregation/extension API-servers.
• Familiarity with Linux systems and command-line interfaces.
• Experience with multiple private and public cloud providers like AWS, Azure, GCP, or Openstack is beneficial.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in a related field.
• A degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Good communication skills in English, both written and verbal.

While familiarity with our technology stack is valued, we place even greater importance on your talent for understanding complex problems and driving effective solutions. Your expertise will be key in fostering strong communication and ensuring projects align with our strategic objectives.

Meet Your Team

We are a team of dedicated builders, innovators, and collaborators, fostering a culture deeply rooted in openness and trust. We believe that the best ideas emerge from diverse perspectives, and we actively create an environment where every voice is heard and valued.

Our team thrives on curiosity and a commitment to continuous learning. Here, you have the opportunity to make an impact that extends beyond SAP, influencing Europe’s digital future. We are proud of our achievements, supporting each other and continuously pushing boundaries. We are the backbone of SAP’s cloud-native infrastructure and a leading open-source solution trusted globally, representing growth and innovation.

Key skills/competency

• Kubernetes
• Go Programming
• Cloud-Native Technologies
• Containerization
• Kubernetes Operator Patterns
• Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs)
• Linux Systems
• Open Source Development
• Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP, Openstack)
• Software Engineering