Kubernetes Consulting
We set up, harden, and operate Kubernetes clusters in production — not in a tutorial environment. From first cluster to GitOps-driven fleet management, with security controls that hold up under audit and on-call coverage for when things get interesting at 3am.
What We Do With Kubernetes
We don't just get the cluster running — we make it reliable, secure, and operable by your team without a Kubernetes PhD.
Cluster Setup
EKS, GKE, AKS, or bare-metal. Provisioned with Terraform, configured with Helm, day-2 operations planned from day one — not bolted on after the first incident. We don't hand you a cluster and walk away.
Security Hardening
RBAC least-privilege, Pod Security Standards (Restricted profile), network policies, image signing with Cosign, runtime threat detection with Falco. We've audited clusters where the default service account had cluster-admin. We fix that.
GitOps Pipelines
ArgoCD or Flux for declarative, git-driven deployments. Every change reviewed in a pull request, every rollback instant. No more SSH-ing into nodes to figure out what's actually running vs what should be running.
Observability
Prometheus and Grafana for metrics, Loki for logs, Jaeger for distributed traces. SLOs defined and dashboarded, not just hoped for. We build alerting that pages on symptoms, not causes — so you get woken up for things that matter.
Cost Optimization
Cluster Autoscaler and Karpenter for right-sized node pools, Spot instance scheduling for non-critical workloads, resource requests and limits tuned to actual usage. We've cut Kubernetes bills by 30–60% on clusters that were provisioned for peak traffic and left that way.
Ongoing Operations
24/7 on-call, incident response, quarterly cluster reviews, Kubernetes version upgrades with node rolling updates and zero downtime. We've handled every minor version upgrade from 1.20 onward without a production outage. Upgrades are planned and rehearsed, not crossed fingers.
How We Engage
New clusters or existing ones — the process is the same: understand first, change second.
Cluster Audit
For existing clusters, we start with a full audit: RBAC posture, network policy coverage, image security, resource configuration, missing limits, privileged containers, outdated versions, and CIS benchmark gaps. For new clusters, we define the target architecture and security baseline before writing a line of Terraform.
Security Hardening
Address audit findings in priority order without disrupting production. RBAC locked down, Pod Security Standards enforced, network policies deployed, image scanning integrated into CI. Changes are incremental and reviewed — we don't apply a hardening script and see what breaks.
GitOps Pipeline
ArgoCD or Flux deployed and connected to your manifests repository. ApplicationSets for multi-cluster or multi-environment management. Secrets handled with External Secrets Operator pulling from AWS Secrets Manager, GCP Secret Manager, or Vault — not base64 in a YAML file.
Observability Baseline
kube-state-metrics, node-exporter, and kubelet metrics collected. SLOs defined for your critical services. Alertmanager routing to PagerDuty or OpsGenie. Grafana dashboards for cluster health, workload status, and cost. On-call runbooks written before the first alert fires.
Ongoing Operations
We take the cluster on-call. Quarterly version upgrades, monthly security reviews, continuous cost optimization. You get a monthly report covering uptime, incident count, cost trend, and what we changed. No black box.
Tools & Technologies
The Kubernetes ecosystem, curated. We use what works in production, not what's trending on Twitter.
Common Questions
What does Kubernetes consulting include?
At minimum: cluster setup or audit, RBAC and network policy hardening, GitOps pipeline, and observability stack. For operational engagements, add 24/7 on-call, incident response, quarterly reviews, and version upgrade management. The scope depends on what you need — we don't upsell on-call to clients who already have 3am coverage.
We already have a Kubernetes cluster. Can you take it over?
Yes, and it's most of what we do. We start with a cluster audit — RBAC posture, network policies, image security, resource configuration, version currency — then address findings in priority order without disrupting production. We've taken over clusters in every state, including ones where the original engineer is no longer available to explain the choices.
How do you handle Kubernetes version upgrades?
We plan minor version upgrades quarterly and test them in a staging cluster first. Node groups are upgraded with rolling updates during low-traffic windows. We check every deprecated API against your manifests before upgrading the control plane. We've never caused a production outage from a Kubernetes version upgrade — that record is worth protecting.
Do you support on-premise Kubernetes as well?
Yes. We run bare-metal clusters alongside cloud-managed ones — kubeadm or k3s for self-managed environments, Rancher for enterprise on-prem setups with multi-cluster management requirements. The security hardening and GitOps approach is identical regardless of where the cluster runs.
Related Services
Free cluster audit — security and reliability findings, no sales call required.
Share read-only access to your cluster and we'll audit RBAC posture, network policies, image security, resource configuration, and version currency. You get a written report of findings and recommendations. Free. No commitment.
Request a Cluster Audit