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Top Kubernetes Interview Questions for Software Developers in 2025

If you’re gearing up for a software developer role that involves container orchestration, mastering Kubernetes is essential—it’s the gold standard for managing applications at scale. Whether you’re aiming for a position at a FAANG company or a growing startup, these questions can make or break your interview. To stay ahead, sign up for our free courses and get the latest updates on cloud-native technologies that can boost your skills.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive deep into Kubernetes (often abbreviated as K8s), exploring its core concepts, architecture, and real-world applications. Drawing from insights shared on platforms like Reddit, Glassdoor, and official Kubernetes documentation, we’ll cover at least 30 high-quality questions that have been actually asked in interviews at companies like Google, Amazon, and Netflix. These aren’t just theoretical; they’re pulled from real experiences reported by candidates in 2024 and 2025, emphasizing troubleshooting, scaling, and security—areas where interviewers often probe for practical knowledge.

We’ll break it down into sections for easy navigation, with detailed explanations, code snippets, and actionable tips to help you not only answer confidently but also demonstrate hands-on experience. By the end, you’ll have a solid grasp to tackle any K8s-related curveball. Let’s get started!

Understanding Kubernetes Basics

Before jumping into the questions, it’s crucial to grasp what Kubernetes does. As an open-source platform developed by Google and now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), Kubernetes automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. According to CNCF’s 2024 survey, over 70% of Fortune 500 companies use Kubernetes in production, highlighting its dominance in DevOps workflows.

This section covers foundational questions often asked to gauge your entry-level understanding. If you’re new to containers, consider brushing up on Docker fundamentals first—many K8s concepts build on them.

Key Components of Kubernetes

Kubernetes architecture revolves around a control plane (master nodes) and worker nodes. The control plane includes the API server, etcd (key-value store), scheduler, and controller manager. Worker nodes run kubelet, kube-proxy, and container runtimes like containerd.

Now, let’s look at some basic interview questions.

  1. What is Kubernetes, and why is it used? Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications. It’s used to handle complex microservices architectures efficiently. For instance, in interviews at Amazon, candidates have reported being asked this to explain how K8s differs from Docker Swarm—K8s offers better scalability and ecosystem support, managing thousands of nodes versus Swarm’s limitations.
What is Kubernetes, and why is it used

2.What are the main components of the Kubernetes control plane? The control plane consists of:

  • API Server: Acts as the front-end for Kubernetes, validating and processing API requests.
  • etcd: A distributed key-value store for cluster data.
  • Scheduler: Assigns pods to nodes based on resource availability.
  • Controller Manager: Runs controllers like node and replication controllers. In real interviews at Google, this question often leads to discussions on high availability setups, where etcd is critical for data consistency.
  • 3.Explain Pods in Kubernetes. A Pod is the smallest deployable unit, representing one or more containers sharing storage and network. Pods are ephemeral and managed by higher-level objects like Deployments. For example, a Pod might run a web server and a logging sidecar. Candidates at Netflix have shared that interviewers ask about multi-container Pods to test understanding of shared volumes.

What is a Deployment in Kubernetes? A Deployment manages ReplicaSets and Pods, ensuring a specified number of replicas run at all times. It supports rolling updates and rollbacks. YAML example:

				
					apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nginx-deployment
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nginx
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx:1.14.2
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80

This is a staple in Microsoft interviews for demonstrating declarative configurations.

4.What are Services in Kubernetes? Services provide a stable IP and DNS name for Pods, enabling discovery and load balancing. Types include ClusterIP (internal), NodePort (external via node ports), and LoadBalancer (cloud provider integration). In FAANG interviews, expect follow-ups on how Services handle traffic routing.

4 What are Services in Kubernetes

5.Explain Namespaces in Kubernetes. Namespaces partition cluster resources for multi-tenancy, isolating environments like dev, staging, and prod. They don’t provide network isolation by default—use NetworkPolicies for that. Real-world tip: At Facebook (Meta), questions often involve using namespaces for resource quotas.

6.What is a ReplicaSet? A ReplicaSet ensures a stable set of replica Pods are running. It’s typically managed by Deployments but can be used standalone. Key difference from ReplicationController: ReplicaSets use label selectors for more flexibility.

7.How does Kubernetes handle storage? Kubernetes uses PersistentVolumes (PV) and PersistentVolumeClaims (PVC) for storage. PVs are cluster resources, while PVCs are requests for storage. StorageClasses dynamically provision volumes. In advanced scenarios at companies like Apple, interviewers ask about CSI (Container Storage Interface) for custom storage.

8.What is Ingress in Kubernetes? Ingress exposes HTTP/HTTPS routes from outside the cluster to Services, often with path-based routing and SSL termination. It requires an Ingress controller like NGINX. This is frequently asked in interviews focusing on production setups.

9.Explain ConfigMaps and Secrets. ConfigMaps store non-sensitive configuration data, while Secrets handle sensitive info like passwords (base64-encoded by default). Both can be mounted as volumes or environment variables. Tip: Use external tools like HashiCorp Vault for better secret management, as mentioned in Reddit threads on K8s security.

Intermediate Kubernetes Concepts

Moving beyond basics, intermediate questions test your ability to apply K8s in real scenarios. These often come from experiences shared on Glassdoor, where candidates describe being quizzed on networking and scaling.

Networking and Communication

Kubernetes networking ensures Pods can communicate seamlessly. Models like CNI (Container Network Interface) plugins (e.g., Calico, Flannel) handle this.

11.How do Pods communicate with each other? Pods use Services for discovery. Intra-pod communication is via localhost; inter-pod via cluster IP. In interviews at Netflix, this evolves into troubleshooting DNS resolution with CoreDNS.

What are NetworkPolicies? NetworkPolicies define rules for pod-to-pod traffic, acting like firewalls. 


Example YAML:

				
					apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: allow-web
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      role: db
  ingress:
  - from:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          role: frontend


This allows traffic from frontend to db pods. Commonly asked to assess security knowledge.

12.Explain Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA). HPA scales Pods based on CPU/memory metrics or custom ones via Metrics Server. It adjusts replicas between min and max values. Real interview example from Amazon: “How would you scale based on custom metrics like QPS?”

13.What is a DaemonSet? A DaemonSet runs a Pod on every node (or selected nodes), ideal for logging (e.g., Fluentd) or monitoring agents. Unlike Deployments, it ensures one Pod per node.

14.Describe StatefulSets. StatefulSets manage stateful applications like databases, providing stable identities, ordered deployment, and persistent storage. Pods get unique names (e.g., mysql-0, mysql-1). In Google interviews, this is paired with questions on headless Services for peer discovery.

15.How does Kubernetes handle secrets management? Beyond built-in Secrets, use tools like Sealed Secrets or External Secrets Operator. Security best practice: Rotate secrets regularly and use RBAC to limit access.

16.What is etcd, and why is it critical? etcd is the backing store for all cluster data. It’s highly available and consistent (using Raft consensus). Loss of etcd can crash the cluster—backups are essential.

17.Explain RBAC in Kubernetes. Role-Based Access Control assigns permissions via Roles/ClusterRoles and bindings. Example: Granting a user read access to Pods in a namespace. This is a must-know for compliance-focused roles.

18.What are Jobs and CronJobs? Jobs run finite tasks to completion; CronJobs schedule them periodically. Useful for batch processing, like data backups.

19.How do you update applications in Kubernetes? Use rolling updates in Deployments (default strategy). Set maxUnavailable and maxSurge for zero-downtime. Canary deployments involve traffic shifting with Istio or similar.

Advanced Kubernetes Topics

Advanced questions delve into production-grade challenges, often from Medium articles and Reddit discussions on real FAANG interviews. These expose gaps in experience, like handling failures.

Scaling, Security, and Troubleshooting

21.What is a Custom Resource Definition (CRD)? CRDs extend Kubernetes API with custom objects, enabling operators for apps like databases. For example, the Prometheus Operator uses CRDs for monitoring configurations.

21 What is a Custom Resource Definition (CRD) (1)

22.Explain Operators in Kubernetes. Operators automate Day 2 operations using CRDs and controllers. They manage complex apps, like PostgreSQL clusters, handling upgrades and backups.

23.How would you troubleshoot a Pod in CrashLoopBackOff? Check logs with kubectl logs <pod>, describe the Pod for events, and inspect resources. Common causes: Image pull errors, OOMKilled, or startup failures. Real tip from Glassdoor: Simulate this in a home lab.

24.What steps to diagnose DNS issues in a cluster? Verify CoreDNS Pods are running, check configs, and use kubectl run to test resolutions. If issues persist, inspect kubelet logs. This was asked in a 2025 CloudZero interview recap.

25.How to handle multi-tenancy in Kubernetes? Use Namespaces with resource quotas, NetworkPolicies, and RBAC. For stricter isolation, consider virtual clusters like vCluster.

26.Explain Helm and its uses. Helm is a package manager for K8s, using charts to deploy apps. It simplifies templating and versioning. Follow-up: “How to handle Helm upgrade failures?”

27.What is Istio, and how does it integrate with Kubernetes? Istio is a service mesh for traffic management, security (mTLS), and observability. It uses sidecar proxies (Envoy) injected into Pods.

28.How do you secure Kubernetes API? Enable authentication (e.g., OIDC), authorization (RBAC), and admission controllers. Use certificates for encryption.

29.Describe Cluster Autoscaler. It scales nodes based on pending Pods. Integrates with cloud providers like AWS ASGs. Difference from HPA: Nodes vs. Pods.

30.What is a Pod Disruption Budget (PDB)? PDB limits voluntary disruptions, ensuring min available Pods during drains. Example: For a 5-replica app, set minAvailable: 3.

31.How to monitor Kubernetes with Prometheus? Deploy Prometheus via Operator, scrape metrics from kube-state-metrics and node-exporter. Set alerts for high CPU.

32.Explain Affinity and Anti-Affinity. Node/Pod Affinity schedules Pods on preferred nodes; Anti-Affinity spreads them. Useful for HA.

33.What are Taints and Tolerations? Taints mark nodes to repel Pods; Tolerations allow Pods to schedule on tainted nodes. E.g., Taint GPU nodes for ML workloads.

34.How to handle persistent storage failures? Use StorageClasses with reclaim policies. Monitor PV health and use CSI drivers for resilience.

35.Describe Kubernetes Federation. KubeFed manages multi-cluster deployments for geo-redundancy.

Preparation Tips and Best Practices

To ace these questions, practice on a local cluster with Minikube or KIND. Simulate failures and scale scenarios. For deeper dives into related skills like data structures for scripting, explore our DSA course. If web development ties into your apps, check our web development course. For a full stack including system design, our master DSA, web dev, and system design program is ideal. Data scientists working with K8s can benefit from our data science course. Need a quick refresher? Try our crash course.

Actionable advice: Join communities like r/kubernetes on Reddit for real-time discussions. Practice explaining concepts aloud—interviewers value clear communication.

In conclusion, preparing for Kubernetes interviews requires blending theory with practice. With these 35 questions (expanded for depth), you’re well-equipped. Ready to level up? Dive into hands-on projects today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the most common Kubernetes interview questions for beginners?

Basic questions focus on Pods, Deployments, and Services, emphasizing core architecture and components.

Practice real scenarios like Pod crashes or DNS issues using tools like kubectl debug and cluster simulations.

What Kubernetes concepts are key for DevOps roles?

Networking (NetworkPolicies), security (RBAC, Secrets), and scaling (HPA, Cluster Autoscaler) are essential for production environments.

Yes, CKAD or CKA certifications demonstrate hands-on expertise and are often valued in FAANG hiring.

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