Kubernetes Platform Engineer, Infrastructure (GroqMetal)

About Groq

Inference is the engine that powers AI, and Groq was built from the silicon up to deliver the world's fastest inference at scale. We pioneered the LPU-the first processor designed specifically for AI inference-and are transforming that innovation into a global cloud platform powering production AI workloads.

With the capital, infrastructure, and team to execute, we're uniquely positioned to define the next era of AI infrastructure. The opportunity is massive, and it's still wide open. Now let's go build it!

Mission:

GroqMetal is building the infrastructure platform that turns large-scale physical compute into a reliable, isolated, customer-consumable product. As a Kubernetes Platform Engineer, you will build and operate production software within the GroqMetal platform, helping deliver Kubernetes as a commercial product for customers running large-scale AI training and inference workloads.

You will own meaningful platform components, work alongside experienced infrastructure engineers, and develop deep expertise in Kubernetes, distributed systems, and large-scale AI infrastructure.

Location: This role will be based in one of our three hiring hubs: the Dallas, San Francisco, or New York City area. The person hired for this role must be based in one of these three areas. You’ll have the flexibility to work remotely while we establish our local Groq office, with the expectation that this role will transition to onsite once the office opens.

Responsibilities & opportunities in this role:

• Build production Kubernetes platform capabilities: Implement APIs, controllers, operators, automation, and platform services that support the GroqMetal product by extending Kubernetes.
• Own components end to end: Take responsibility for well-defined platform capabilities from design and implementation through testing, deployment, operation, and continuous improvement.
• Operate what you build: Improve reliability, observability, performance, and operational efficiency, and participate in diagnosing and resolving production issues.
• Build a Kubernetes platform as a commercial platform: Develop capabilities used by dedicated customers running large-scale AI training and inference workloads.
• Develop distributed systems expertise: Build software that handles retries, failures, concurrency, reconciliation, and changing infrastructure state correctly.
• Improve the platform: Identify reliability, scalability, and usability problems and work with the team to deliver durable solutions.
• Collaboration is a core skill: Work within a team of experts to elevate the collective efforts of our team. Collaborate with engineers across infrastructure, inference, networking, infosec, and related teams to integrate platform capabilities holistically.
• Grow your technical scope: Contribute to design discussions, engineering practices, and technical decisions while developing toward ownership of increasingly complex platform systems.

Ideal candidates have/are:

• Software engineers first: Experience designing, implementing, testing, shipping, and maintaining production software.
• Hands-on Kubernetes experience: Experience building or operating Kubernetes-based systems, including areas such as controllers/operators, CRDs, cluster lifecycle, node management, scheduling, networking, or platform services.
• Production infrastructure experience: Experience operating software in production and debugging problems across application, Kubernetes, networking, compute, and infrastructure layers.
• Solid distributed-systems fundamentals: An understanding of failure handling, retries, idempotency, consistency, reconciliation, availability, and recovery, with an interest in developing deeper expertise.
• Experience with disciplined software development: Comfortable with code review, automated testing, CI/CD, observability, deployment, and production operations.
• Product-minded infrastructure engineers: Experience building Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, or platform capabilities consumed by customers is highly valued, but not required.
• Hands-on experience with modern development tools: Experience using coding agents such as Codex, Claude Code, or similar tools in substantive engineering work is valued.
• Interested in the AI infrastructure domain: Experience with hyperscalers, neoclouds, GPUs, accelerator infrastructure, or AI workloads is valuable, but candidates with strong platform engineering fundamentals can develop this expertise in the role.
• Comfortable growing through ambiguity: Able to independently solve well-scoped problems, ask good questions when requirements are unclear, and work with senior engineers on broader architectural decisions.

Why Join Us:

• Purposeful Hiring: You’re not here by accident, and neither is anyone else. Every teammate is handpicked with intention because who we build what matters.
• Builders Wanted: You’re not just riding the rocket ship, you’re building it. Your work directly shapes the trajectory of our company.
• Mission-Driven Work: We’re here to make a real impact. Our mission fuels everything we do.
• Tackling Hard Problems: If easy isn’t your thing, you’re in the right place. We solve some of the most complex and exciting challenges in our space.
• Excellence Is The Standard: High performance isn’t just encouraged, it’s the baseline. And it’s contagious.

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!

Compensation:

Groq is committed to providing competitive compensation through our Total Cash philosophy, which incorporates potential bonus value directly into base pay. The total cash salary range for this position, which is inclusive of the potential bonus value, is $184,800 - $302,500, with individual placement determined by your geographic location, experience, skills, and alignment with internal compensation standards. This range is specific to candidates located in the United States. Compensation for international candidates will vary based on local market dynamics. Beyond cash compensation, Groq also offers a Long-Term Incentive (LTI) Program and a robust suite of employee benefits.

US Job Posting

This position may require access to technology and/or information subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). To comply with these requirements, candidates for this role must meet certain citizenship or residency criteria. Specifically, they must qualify as U.S. Persons for export control purposes (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder), or a protected individual under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3) such as a refugee or asylee), or otherwise be eligible for an applicable export license.

Non-US Job Postings

This position may require access to technology and/or information subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, as well as applicable local laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). To comply with these requirements, candidates for this role must meet all relevant export control eligibility criteria.

Groq is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Groq complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any protected characteristic.

Groq iscommitted to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application or to participate in the hiring process, please contact us at [email protected]. This contact is for accommodation requests only, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

All offers of employment are contingent upon verification of the applicant’s identity and employment authorization in accordance with federal law.

Groq encourages people with criminal record histories to apply for employment, and values diverse experiences, including prior contact with the criminal legal system. To that end, Groq welcomes such applicants in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act, Los Angeles City Fair Chance Act Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Act Ordinance, and San Francisco Fair Chance Act Ordinance. Philadelphia applicants can review information pertaining to Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance here: https://www.phila.gov/documents/fair-chance-hiring-law-poster.

As part of our hiring process, Groq may use artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools or automated systems to assist with activities such as reviewing applications, evaluating qualifications, scheduling interviews, analyzing assessment responses, or supporting recruiting operations. These tools are designed to assist-not replace-human decision-making, and hiring decisions are subject to human review. We may process information you provide during the application process, including resumes, application materials, interview responses, assessments, and, where applicable, audio, video, or transcript data. If legally required, we will request consent before using technologies that analyze biometric or video interview data. Candidates may request reasonable accommodations, an alternative evaluation process, additional information regarding the use of AI in the hiring process, or review of certain automated decisions by contacting [email protected].