Kubernetes problem-solving frameworks

Welcome to the hot seat. By this point in your interview journey, you’ve demonstrated your foundational knowledge. Now, the hiring manager wants to see how you handle things when they break. This chapter isn’t just about memorizing error codes; it’s about building a mental framework to diagnose and solve real-world Kubernetes problems under pressure. We’ll tackle the common, tricky, and advanced scenarios that separate a good engineer from a great one. Let’s dive in.

Foundational diagnostics

In this section, we’ll break down the Kubernetes issues you’re almost certain to face, both in interviews and in real-world on-call. We’ll cover why Pods get stuck in the Pending state, how to approach CrashLoopBackOff issues systematically, and what to check when your application can’t pull its container image. By mastering these scenarios, you’ll build confidence in your diagnostics...