Principal Core Infrastructure Engineer- Nashville,TN
Leads development and begins architecting components of scalable, elastic distributed systems for the Network Automation Team. Defines and enforces scalability requirements for owned components; optimizes code and data paths for high-throughput, hyper-scale workloads; and leverages data plane platforms for large-scale retrieval, storage, and processing. Designs fault-tolerant, in-service-upgradable systems using redundancy, replication, failover, and policies for partitions, applying load-shedding, throttling, and rate-limiting to handle network unreliability while meeting SLOs. Establishes KPIs and telemetry; builds proactive dashboards and alerts; and designs complex validation (fault injection, brownouts), replication, and synchronization for correctness and durability. Proactively diagnoses and resolves production issues, mentors peers, and ensures operational readiness. Implements robust security controls, executes remediation, maintains compliance documentation, and develops IaC and automation that enable safe patching, updates, and rollbacks within change-management plans.
We are seeking a Core Infrastructure Engineer to design, build, and operate the distributed systems that power reliable, secure, and scalable cloud services. This role combines hands-on engineering, systems thinking, operational leadership, and mentorship. Role is based out of Nashville,TN.
Key Responsibilities
System Design & Architecture: Scalability
- Lead the development, implementation, and architectural evolution of scalable distributed-system components that support horizontal and vertical growth, including distributed state-management tools.
- Optimize code and systems for large-scale data processing and high-throughput workloads in hyperscale environments.
- Define scalability requirements for owned components and ensure designs and implementations satisfy them.
- Design for elastic capacity, enabling systems to scale up and down efficiently with demand.
- Use data-plane platforms to support large-scale data retrieval, storage, and processing.
- Design and execute performance and load-testing strategies.
System Design & Architecture: Reliability
- Build fault-tolerant components and systems that withstand in-service updates through redundancy, replication, and automatic failover.
- Design systems to manage service disruptions, including network partitions, with explicit tradeoffs among consistency, availability, and partition tolerance.
- Implement and optimize resilience mechanisms for network unreliability, including load shedding, throttling, and rate limiting.
- Design durable components and systems that meet service-level objectives (SLOs) and establish clear availability and durability expectations for dependent services.
System Reliability: Performance, Observability & Correctness
- Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and telemetry that reveal gaps and issues in production systems.
- Build and tailor dashboards, telemetry pipelines, and alerting mechanisms to proactively monitor component and system health.
- Design and implement functional and correctness requirements for features and systems, whether new or existing.
- Design complex test scenarios, including fault-injection and brownout testing, to validate system correctness.
- Implement data replication and synchronization techniques that preserve data integrity and availability.
Operational Troubleshooting & Incident Management
- Proactively diagnose, debug, and resolve issues in active components and systems; mentor others in effective troubleshooting practices.
- Implement approaches that avoid customer maintenance windows when resolving issues and minimize service interruption.
- Maintain deep expertise in owned components and systems to enable effective troubleshooting and performance optimization.
- Meet operational-readiness expectations through thoughtful design and implementation.
- Participate in operational support rotations and provide leadership during incident response and root-cause investigations.
Security, Compliance & Change Management
- Implement security measures for multi-tenant environments, including encryption and access controls that protect data and applications.
- Execute remediation plans to close identified security gaps.
- Ensure cloud infrastructure complies with applicable industry standards and regulations, with current supporting documentation.
- Develop and maintain automation tools and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) to manage cloud infrastructure.
- Create and follow change-management plans for patching, updates, and rollbacks; design systems that increasingly automate these processes.
Core Responsibilities
Planning & Execution
Manage and coordinate moderately complex work, tracking timelines and deliverables to ensure timely, high-quality completion. Delegate, prioritize, and provide technical oversight across multiple projects, adapting plans as resourcing or timelines change.
Collaboration & Partnership
Collaborate across the organization to align expectations and achieve shared objectives. Apply an understanding of leaders, stakeholders, and customers to ensure solutions meet real needs, and actively seek diverse perspectives so colleagues feel heard and respected.
Problem Solving
Analyze a broad range of data and information to resolve moderately complex issues using sound engineering practices. Escalate critical or unresolved issues with a clear assessment and proposed options, and document problem-solving approaches for reuse.
Continuous Learning & Mentorship
Expand knowledge of new technologies, tools, and industry practices. Seek and apply feedback to improve performance, and coach junior team members through active knowledge sharing within and across teams.
Continuous Improvement
Develop ideas and recommend or implement process improvements that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of team workflows. Solicit feedback on alternative approaches and assess the impact on key stakeholders.
Talent Development
Contribute to the talent pipeline by interviewing candidates, assessing technical and collaborative strengths, and providing thoughtful hiring recommendations.
Minimum Job Qualifications
Education and/or Experience:
11 years of experience in software development
OR
Bachelor's of Technology (B.Tech) Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in software development
OR
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in software development
OR
Master's of Technology (M.Tech) Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 years of experience in software development
OR
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 years of experience in software development
OR
Doctorate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 3 year of experience in software development.
Job Skills:
Same skills as prior level plus;
Data Analysis: Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret data to produce actionable business insights.
Agile Methodologies: Demonstrated ability to use agile methodologies to drive continuous improvement and product delivery.
Automation: Demonstrated ability in or knowledge of automation, including designing, implementing, and managing automated tools, processes, or systems to streamline operations.
Compliance: Demonstrated knowledge of and adherence to regulatory, legal, and organizational compliance requirements.
Quality Assurance: Demonstrated ability in or knowledge of quality assurance, including ensuring adherence to standards and implementing quality control measures.
Scripting Languages: Demonstrated ability in or knowledge of scripting languages, including writing and maintaining scripts to improve system efficiency.
Software Test Plans: Demonstrated ability to develop and execute effective software test plans to validate product quality.
User Experience Development: Demonstrated ability in or knowledge of user experience development, including designing intuitive and effective user interfaces and content.
Code Review: Demonstrated ability to conduct in-depth code reviews for software quality assurance.
Embedded Systems: Demonstrated ability to develop embedded systems, balancing hardware and software for optimal performance.
Software Estimation: Demonstrated ability to provide accurate software effort and complexity estimates for project planning and scheduling.
Cloud - Cloud Platforms Experience:
3 year of academic or professional experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google, Oracle Cloud).
Testing and Automation Experience:
5 years of experience working in testing and automation at the system level.
Distributed Systems Experience:
4 year of experience working with delivering and operating large-scale distributed systems.
Preferred Job Qualifications
Education and/or Experience:
11 years of experience in software development
OR
Bachelor's of Technology (B.Tech) Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in software development
OR
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in software development
OR
Master's of Technology (M.Tech) Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 years of experience in software development
OR
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 years of experience in software development
OR
Doctorate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 3 years of experience in software development.
People Leadership / Management Experience:
1 year of experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google, Oracle Cloud).