Kubernetes Security Specialist
Part of the Cybersecurity Career Guide — This article is one deep-dive in our complete guide series.
By HADESS Team | February 28, 2026 | Updated: February 28, 2026 | 5 min read
You secure Kubernetes clusters and the workloads running on them. As organizations move to container-based architectures, someone needs to make sure those clusters are not wide open. That person is you. You configure RBAC, enforce network policies, scan images, implement admission controllers, and make sure the orchestration layer does not become the weakest link.
What You Will Do
Kubernetes security requires understanding both the platform itself and the workloads it runs. You need to think about security at every layer — from the host OS to the container runtime to the application.
Your daily work includes:
- Configuring and auditing Kubernetes RBAC policies — roles, bindings, service accounts
- Implementing and managing network policies to control pod-to-pod communication
- Setting up admission controllers — OPA Gatekeeper, Kyverno, or built-in admission webhooks
- Scanning container images for vulnerabilities and enforcing image policies
- Configuring pod security standards — security contexts, capabilities, read-only filesystems
- Managing secrets in Kubernetes — sealed secrets, external secrets operators, Vault integration
- Monitoring cluster activity with audit logs and runtime security tools (Falco, Sysdig)
- Hardening the Kubernetes API server, etcd, kubelet, and other control plane components
- Implementing supply chain security for container images — signing, SBOM, provenance
- Securing multi-tenant clusters with namespace isolation and resource quotas
- Responding to security incidents in containerized environments
- Automating compliance checks against CIS Kubernetes benchmarks
You work at the intersection of platform engineering and security. DevOps teams build the clusters; you make sure they are secure.
Skills You Need
Kubernetes security requires deep platform knowledge combined with security principles.
Core skills:
- Kubernetes architecture — control plane, worker nodes, networking, storage
- RBAC and access control — designing least-privilege access for users and workloads
- Container security — image hardening, runtime security, vulnerability scanning
- Network policies — CNI plugins, Calico, Cilium for network segmentation
- Admission controllers — OPA, Gatekeeper, Kyverno for policy enforcement
- Secrets management — secure secret storage and rotation in Kubernetes
- Runtime security monitoring — Falco, eBPF-based tools for threat detection
- Infrastructure as code — Helm, Kustomize, Terraform for reproducible security configs
Explore these in the skills library and trace the container security career path in the career path explorer.
Certifications
Kubernetes certifications from the CNCF are hands-on and highly respected:
- CKS — Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist, the primary certification for this role
- CKA — Certified Kubernetes Administrator, foundational platform knowledge
- CKAD — Certified Kubernetes Application Developer, understanding workload deployment
Plan your Kubernetes certification path with the certification roadmap planner.
Salary Range
Kubernetes security specialists earn between $90K and $160K. The role is in high demand because organizations adopting Kubernetes need people who understand both the platform and its security model. Specialists at cloud-native companies and financial services firms earn at the top of this range.
Benchmark your compensation with the salary calculator.
How to Get Started
1. Learn Kubernetes fundamentals first — get CKA before CKS 2. Set up a local cluster with kind, minikube, or k3s and practice security configurations 3. Take the skills assessment to measure your container security knowledge 4. Work through security labs in the workspace — practice RBAC, network policies, and admission control 5. Run CIS benchmarks against your practice clusters with kube-bench 6. Learn OPA/Gatekeeper or Kyverno for policy-as-code in Kubernetes 7. Get CKS — it is the defining cert for this role — plan it with the certification planner 8. Contribute to open-source Kubernetes security projects to build visibility 9. Build your resume with specific Kubernetes security projects 10. Search for Kubernetes security or platform security roles on the job board
If you are coming from traditional infrastructure security and want to move into containers, the career coach can help you build the right bridge skills.
Related Guides in This Series
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Frequently Asked Questions
What certifications do I need for this role?
Certification requirements vary by employer and seniority level. Use the certification roadmap planner to build a sequence based on your target role and current qualifications.
What is the salary range for this role?
Salaries vary significantly by location, experience, and employer type. Use the salary calculator for your specific market rate.
How do I transition into this career path?
Take the skills assessment to identify your current strengths and gaps relative to this role. The assessment generates a personalized learning plan to close the gap.
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HADESS Team consists of cybersecurity practitioners, hiring managers, and career strategists who have collectively spent 50+ years in the field.
