Sr. Staff DevOps Engineer

Join an innovative organization as a Senior Staff Cloud DevOps Engineer in a strategic leadership role specializing in AWS and Kubernetes. This position combines deep technical expertise with strategic thinking, architecting and implementing scalable, secure cloud-native infrastructure while leading transformational initiatives. You'll develop and execute long-term technical roadmaps, mentor engineers across the organization, and collaborate with executive leadership to align technology solutions with business objectives. This role offers the opportunity to drive proof-of-concept initiatives for emerging technologies, establish enterprise-wide standards for cloud operations, and champion a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence. With an annual salary range of $170,000 to $200,000, this senior technical leadership position provides both significant compensation and the autonomy to shape the organization's cloud and DevOps strategy.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a seasoned cloud and DevOps professional to make strategic impact at the highest technical levels. As a Senior Staff Engineer, you'll have the autonomy to lead large-scale transformational initiatives, from architecting enterprise-grade Kubernetes environments to spearheading cloud migration and application modernization efforts. You'll work directly with executive leadership to translate business objectives into technical solutions, giving you visibility and influence across the organization. The role offers significant variety, from hands-on architecture work with cutting-edge technologies to strategic planning and mentorship. You'll lead proof-of-concept initiatives evaluating emerging technologies, develop organization-wide standards and frameworks, and provide expert consultation to cross-functional teams. The position combines the technical depth of working with advanced cloud-native technologies including service mesh architectures, custom controllers, and zero-trust security with the strategic responsibility of developing multi-year roadmaps and driving continuous improvement. With opportunities to contribute to open-source projects, build predictive monitoring capabilities, and implement sophisticated automation frameworks, this role offers both technical challenge and professional growth at a senior staff level.
Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field
• 9+ years of experience in DevOps or Site Reliability Engineering roles
• 7+ years of hands-on experience with AWS services and cloud architecture
• 7+ years of hands-on experience with Kubernetes, including deep expertise in cluster management, troubleshooting, and optimization
• Expert-level proficiency in at least one programming language such as Python or Go
• Track record of developing and maintaining production-grade software
• Extensive experience with Infrastructure as Code tools including Terraform, CloudFormation, or AWS CDK
• Ability to design scalable, modular IaC frameworks
• Deep understanding of containerization technologies and orchestration platforms
• Security best practices and performance optimization expertise for containers
• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise-grade CI/CD pipelines and DevOps workflows
• Expert-level knowledge of networking concepts in complex cloud environments
• Experience with hybrid and multi-cloud architectures
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills for troubleshooting complex distributed systems
• Proven ability to lead proof-of-concept initiatives and evaluate new technologies
• Demonstrated experience creating and maintaining technical documentation and knowledge bases
• Excellent communication skills for conveying complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to communicate effectively with executive leadership
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Availability for after-hours emergency response and on-call rotation

Desired Skills & Experience

• AWS Professional level certifications (Solutions Architect Professional, DevOps Engineer Professional)
• Kubernetes certifications (CKA, CKAD, CKS)
• Experience with multiple cloud platforms for multi-cloud architectures (AWS, Google Cloud Platform)
• Deep expertise in database technologies including distributed database systems
• Experience with MySQL, PostgreSQL, and serverless database platforms
• Database design and optimization experience
• Proficiency with Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK stack
• Hands-on experience with configuration management tools (Ansible, Chef, Puppet)
• GitLab CI experience
• Experience implementing knowledge management systems in DevOps environments
• Contributions to open-source projects demonstrating cloud expertise
• Personal projects showcasing advanced cloud and DevOps capabilities
• Service mesh architecture experience (Istio, Linkerd)
• Zero-trust security architecture implementation experience
• Experience with SOX compliance and regulatory requirements
• Mentorship and technical leadership experience

What You Will Be Doing
Tech Breakdown

• 35% Kubernetes and Container Orchestration (EKS architecture, multi-cluster management, service mesh)
• 30% Cloud Architecture and Strategy (AWS services, cloud migrations, security implementations)
• 20% Infrastructure as Code and Automation (Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, DevOps frameworks)
• 15% Leadership and Strategy (PoCs, roadmap development, mentorship, executive collaboration)

Daily Responsibilities

• 40% Strategic Architecture and Implementation (designing solutions, leading technical initiatives)
• 30% Technical Leadership (mentoring, consultation, standards development, collaboration)
• 30% Hands-On Engineering (coding, automation, troubleshooting, optimization)