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tooling / evolving · Started 2024

Internal Platform Tooling & Controllers

Built developer enablement tooling and custom Kubernetes operators. Engineered validating and mutating webhooks for policy enforcement, event-driven controllers for container lifecycle management, and internal Go CLIs for operational efficiency.

GoPythonKubernetesAdmission WebhooksKubernetes ControllersCrossplaneDockerGitHub Actions

Overview

As infrastructure platforms scale, relying exclusively on standard off-the-shelf tooling can leave operational gaps in policy enforcement and day-to-day cluster administration. Platform engineering at seniority involves writing software that creates repeatable abstractions and enforces operational standards at cluster boundaries.

This initiative encompassed the design and delivery of internal developer tooling, custom Kubernetes admission webhooks, and event-driven controllers written in Go (with supporting Python automation).

Components Delivered

1. Internal Operational Go CLIs

To streamline administrative workflows and reduce manual operational sequences, we built focused internal Go CLIs:

  • Workload Management: Automated day-to-day management tasks for internal workloads and operational workflows.
  • Container Registry Operations: Built tools to streamline authentication, browsing, and operations against container registries.
  • Developer Enablement: Packaged routine platform operations into single-binary executables for engineering teams.

2. Kubernetes Admission Webhooks (Policy Enforcement)

To intercept non-compliant workloads before they are persisted by the Kubernetes API server, we engineered custom validating and mutating admission webhooks:

  • Validating Webhooks: Intercept API requests to evaluate workload specifications against platform policy, rejecting non-compliant configurations at admission time.
  • Mutating Webhooks: Apply policy-required changes to admitted resources where mutation is the appropriate mechanism.
Admission webhooks
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Developer and CI requests pass through Kubernetes admission, where custom webhooks validate or mutate them before persistence.

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Developer and CI requests pass through Kubernetes admission, where custom webhooks validate or mutate them before persistence.

Admission webhooksDeveloper and CI requests pass through Kubernetes admission, where custom webhooks validate or mutate them before persistence.

3. Image Lifecycle & Inventory Controller

To maintain cluster inventory visibility and track workload provenance across environments:

  • Engineered a custom Kubernetes controller that watches cluster events (pod creations, updates, deletions) across namespaces.
  • Maintains an event-driven inventory of running container images across workloads.
  • Tracks container image lifetime across active workloads to identify unmanaged or stale images.

Engineering Standards in Platform Software

Platform tooling was integrated with internal CI/CD pipelines and developer environments. Focused binaries and controllers packaged repeated operational work behind consistent commands and Kubernetes APIs.

Outcomes & Verification

  • Policy Enforcement at Admission Time: Enforced security and configuration policies before workloads are scheduled to nodes.
  • Continuous Image Inventory: Event-driven controllers maintain current visibility into running images and image lifetimes across workloads.
  • Standardized Operational Workflows: Internal Go tooling simplifies routine cluster and container registry management tasks.
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