Kubernetes-Native CI/CD Architectures: Scaling Secure Build and Deployment Workflows on AWS EKS

Abstract

Kubernetes-native continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) architectures are increasingly essential for automating build and deployment workflows in cloud-native environments. This study investigates the design, implementation, and evaluation of secure CI/CD pipelines on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (AWS EKS). Using a design science research and experimental evaluation approach, the study measured pipeline performance, resource utilization, scalability, and security compliance under varying workloads. Results indicate that build stages dominate resource consumption and pipeline latency, while test and deployment stages exhibit lower resource demands. Cluster-resident pipelines demonstrate superior performance and reliability compared to hybrid external pipelines, particularly under concurrent execution, with reduced latency and lower failure rates. Security analysis shows high compliance with role-based access control and secret management, though namespace isolation requires refinement. The findings provide actionable insights for DevOps practitioners seeking to optimize Kubernetes-native CI/CD pipelines for performance, scalability, and security. The study contributes to understanding best practices for deploying automated workflows in managed Kubernetes environments, offering empirical benchmarks for pipeline execution times, resource utilization, and security compliance.