Skip to content

Track: Advanced Platform Engineering

This track covers the tools and patterns that turn a basic Kubernetes cluster into a production-grade platform.

Prerequisites

  • Completed Level 3 (Production Kubernetes) or equivalent experience
  • Comfortable with kubectl, Helm, and basic K8s networking

Learning Path

Module 1: Service Mesh (Istio/Linkerd)

Step Activity Resource
1 Read the primer topics/service-mesh/primer.md
2 Work through exercises topics/service-mesh/exercises.md
3 Practice drills drills/service_mesh_drills.md
4 Review cheat sheet cheatsheets/service-mesh.cheatsheet.md
5 Self-assess skillchecks/service-mesh.skillcheck.md
6 Interview scenario interview-scenarios/15-service-mesh-503s.md

Module 2: GitOps (ArgoCD)

Step Activity Resource
1 Read the primer topics/gitops/primer.md
2 Work through exercises topics/gitops/exercises.md
3 Practice drills drills/gitops_argocd_drills.md
4 Review cheat sheet cheatsheets/gitops-argocd.cheatsheet.md
5 Self-assess skillchecks/gitops.skillcheck.md
6 Interview scenario interview-scenarios/16-gitops-drift-detected.md

Module 3: Secrets Management

Step Activity Resource
1 Read the primer topics/secrets-management/primer.md
2 Work through exercises topics/secrets-management/exercises.md
3 Practice drills drills/secrets_management_drills.md
4 Review cheat sheet cheatsheets/secrets-management.cheatsheet.md
5 Self-assess skillchecks/secrets-management.skillcheck.md
6 Interview scenario interview-scenarios/13-secret-leaked-to-git.md

Module 4: Kubernetes Operators & CRDs

Step Activity Resource
1 Read the primer topics/k8s-ecosystem/primer.md
2 Work through exercises topics/k8s-ecosystem/exercises.md
3 Practice drills drills/k8s_operators_drills.md
4 Review cheat sheet cheatsheets/k8s-operators.cheatsheet.md
5 Self-assess skillchecks/k8s-operators.skillcheck.md

Module 5: Policy Engines (Kyverno / OPA)

Step Activity Resource
1 Read the primer topics/policy-engines/primer.md
2 Work through exercises topics/policy-engines/exercises.md
3 Practice drills drills/policy_engine_drills.md
4 Review cheat sheet cheatsheets/policy-engines.cheatsheet.md
5 Self-assess skillchecks/policy-engines.skillcheck.md
6 Interview scenario interview-scenarios/18-kyverno-blocking-deploys.md

Suggested Pace

  • Intensive: 1 module per week (5 weeks total)
  • Steady: 1 module per 2 weeks (10 weeks total)
  • Focus on drills: 5 drills/day from each completed module