Principal Platform Engineer

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Kforce has a client that is seeking a Principal Platform Engineer in Houston, TX.

Key Responsibilities:
* Principal Platform Engineer will architect and design scalable, reliable, and secure platform infrastructure that supports company-wide applications and services
* Lead complex technical initiatives, driving end-to-end delivery from concept through implementation and operational readiness
* Define platform strategy and roadmap in partnership with engineering leadership, product management, and other stakeholders
* Develop and enforce best practices for infrastructure automation, CI/CD pipelines, observability, cloud environments, configuration management, and runtime operations
* Collaborate cross-functionally with application engineering, DevOps, security, and data teams to ensure smooth integration into platform services
* As a Principal Platform Engineer, you will mentor and coach engineers across the organization to uplift architectural rigor and engineering excellence
* Drive reliability and performance improvements through progressive engineering practices, automation, and system optimization
* Evaluate and implement new technologies, tools, and frameworks that advance platform resiliency, operability, and developer experience
* Lead incident response for high-severity issues and guide teams in conducting effective post-incident reviews
* Ensure compliance with security, governance, and regulatory requirements across the platform

REQUIREMENTS:
* 10+ years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, SRE, DevOps, or related fields
* Proven experience architecting and scaling distributed systems in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform)
* Advanced proficiency in automation, infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform, Pulumi), configuration management, and CI/CD tooling
* Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, Go, Java, or Node.js
* Deep knowledge of containers and orchestration tools (Kubernetes, ECS, Nomad)
* Expertise in monitoring, logging, and observability frameworks (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, OpenTelemetry)
* Strong understanding of security best practices for cloud-native systems
* Demonstrated leadership in cross-functional technical initiatives
* Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences

The pay range is the lowest to highest compensation we reasonably in good faith believe we would pay at posting for this role. We may ultimately pay more or less than this range. Employee pay is based on factors like relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, location, performance, union contract and business needs. This range may be modified in the future.

We offer comprehensive benefits including medical/dental/vision insurance, HSA, FSA, 401(k), and life, disability & ADD insurance to eligible employees. Salaried personnel receive paid time off. Hourly employees are not eligible for paid time off unless required by law. Hourly employees on a Service Contract Act project are eligible for paid sick leave.

Note: Pay is not considered compensation until it is earned, vested and determinable. The amount and availability of any compensation remains in Kforce's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified in its discretion consistent with the law.

This job is not eligible for bonuses, incentives or commissions.

Kforce is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.

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