{"id":1302505,"url":"https://alion.io/job/netapp-principal-engineer-kubernetes-storage-trident","title":"Principal Engineer, Kubernetes Storage (Trident)","company":{"id":58700,"name":"NetApp","domain":"netapp.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/netapp","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Eightfold","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":92,"open_postings":25,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.12,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":61,"computed_at":"2026-10-01T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"DevOps","role_family":"DevOps","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["San Jose, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":227800,"max":338000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":338000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":10,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false},{"name":"AWS","optional":false},{"name":"Azure","optional":false},{"name":"GCP","optional":false},{"name":"Kubernetes","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-15T18:25:08Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-10","last_verified_at":"2026-10-01T13:00:06Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":78,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":78},"description":"Job Summary\nOwn the Kubernetes story for the world's #1 storage OS.\nTrident was the first open-source, out-of-tree dynamic storage provisioner for Kubernetes. We shipped it before CSI was a spec. Today it's how thousands of teams run stateful workloads on NetApp, and it runs in production at some of the largest Kubernetes estates on the planet.\nWe're looking for the person who decides where it goes next.\nWhat you'll actually do\nYou'll set the architecture for persistent storage and data protection on Kubernetes at NetApp. That means real decisions with real consequences: how volumes behave under failure, what the snapshot and recovery story looks like across clouds, where we invest upstream and where we don't.\nThis is a hands-on principal role. You'll be in the Go code, in design reviews, and on calls with customers who are running something hard and need it to work. You'll partner with product management on the roadmap instead of receiving it. And when we take a position in the CSI community or on a conference stage, you're the one taking it.\nWhy this team\nONTAP manages hundreds of exabytes for more than 30,000 customers. Trident is the bridge between that and the cloud-native world, and the bridge is still being built. There is a lot of surface area here for someone who wants their architectural decisions to show up in other people's production clusters.\nWe build in the open, we argue about designs, and we ship. If you want ownership over a problem that matters to a large number of engineers, this is it.\nJob Requirements\nSpecifically:\nLead architecture for Trident and the Kubernetes data services around it\nDesign and ship production Go, not just diagrams\nGuide engineers through complex, cross-team technical work\nWork directly with customers on escalations, requirements, and validation\nRaise the bar on testing, debugging, and performance\nRun PoCs and R&D on where Kubernetes storage is heading\nRepresent NetApp upstream and in the open-source community\nWhat we need\n10+ years building software, or equivalent demonstrated impact\nStrong production Go\nDeep Kubernetes knowledge: architecture, APIs, controllers and operators, and how storage actually gets consumed\nReal experience with persistent storage in Kubernetes (CSI, volume lifecycle, or comparable)\nSolid fundamentals in distributed systems, data structures, and systems design\nHands-on with at least one major cloud (AWS, Azure, or GCP)\nThe ability to explain a design clearly to engineers, to PM, and to a frustrated customer\nComfort working in an Agile team\nWhat helps\nYou've built or maintained a CSI driver or Kubernetes storage controller in production\nOpen-source contributions in Kubernetes, CSI, or CNCF projects\nPython for tooling, test, and automation\nData protection on Kubernetes: snapshots, clones, backup, DR\nExperience with ONTAP or other enterprise and cloud-native storage platforms\nA track record leading technical work across teams\nEducation\nBachelor's degree in technical area of study: engineering disciplines\nMaster's degree in technical field such as engineering, software development, preferred with less additional experience stated above\nThe target salary range for this position is $227,800-338,000. The salary offered will be determined by the candidate's location, qualifications, experience, and education and may be outside of this range. Final compensation packages are competitive and in line with industry standards, reflecting a variety of factors, and include a comprehensive benefits package. This may cover Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Retirement or Pension Plans, Paid Time Off (PTO), various Leave options, Performance-Based Incentives, employee stock purchase plan, and/or restricted stocks (RSU’s), with all offerings subject to regional variations and governed by local laws, regulations, and company policies. Benefits may vary by country and region, and further details will be provided as part of the recruitment process.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3963,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":10,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":true},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Health insurance","Life insurance","Retirement plans"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Cybersecurity","Natural Resources","Cloud Platforms (IaaS & PaaS)","Digital Storage"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-26T12:11:05Z"}],"liveness":{"score":31,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.696,"p_room":0.44,"age_days":77,"expected_fill_days":61,"reasons":["conf:3","velocity","win:tail","crowd:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-01T05:45:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":338000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/netapp-principal-engineer-kubernetes-storage-trident","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/netapp-principal-engineer-kubernetes-storage-trident.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-01T18:33:24Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":888,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":4112,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-02T00:00:00Z"}}}