The Role Alkira is transforming networking through its Network Infrastructure as a Service (NIaaS) platform, enabling enterprises to build and operate global cloud networks with simplicity, scale, and agility. We are seeking a Senior Platform Infrastructure Software Engineer to own the foundational layer every other engineering team at Alkira depends on, including Platform Services. Platform Infrastructure does not own customer-facing features. We build the primitives other engineering teams need in order to work at all: the global Kubernetes cluster footprint, the internal cluster running our CI/CD runners and build platforms, the shared infrastructure teams consume (databases, object storage, container registries), and the lifecycle of the shared services everything else is built on. We also build the Terraform modules other teams use to ship their own infrastructure quickly and safely. Our customers are engineers, and the output is code, Terraform configuration/modules, Go and Python tooling, cluster and service automation. You will own complex projects, drive architectural decisions, and set the standards other engineers work within. Responsibilities Own the global Kubernetes cluster footprint across regions and cloud providers: provisioning, upgrades, multi-tenancy, resource and network policy, and failure isolation. Own the internal cluster running CI/CD runners and build platforms: capacity, isolation, scaling, and the build performance every team feels daily. Own the shared infrastructure other teams consume - managed databases, object storage buckets, container registries, and build platforms including provisioning paths, access model, and cost. Own the full lifecycle of shared platform services such as internal PKI, vaults, Kubernetes operators. Own disaster recovery for the platform: backup and restore, replication and failover design, documented RTO and RPO targets, and regular DR exercises that prove recovery works. Design and publish reusable Terraform/OpenTofu modules that let other teams deliver their own infrastructure faster, with correctness and policy built in rather than reviewed in. Treat adoption by other teams as the measure of whether a module succeeded. Own the observability stack and set the standard other teams instrument against. Build production tooling in Go or Python. A significant share of this role is software engineering, not configuration Mentor engineers through code review, design review, and technical guidance Drive down cost and eliminate drift: orphaned resources, stale state, pipelines outliving the services they built. Participate in the on-call rotation for the Platform Infrastructure Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field. 5+ years of professional experience in infrastructure, platform, DevOps, or SRE engineering, including production ownership. Deep production Kubernetes experience operating clusters, not only deploying to them. Strong Terraform or OpenTofu experience at scale: module design intended for other teams to consume, state management, and policy-as-code. Strong programming ability in Go, Python, or a comparable language. Experience running stateful shared services/infrastructure in production (message broker, databases, certificate authority, etc...) or comparable. Deep Linux fundamentals: process and resource behavior, and system-level debugging under load. Understanding of networking fundamentals including TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, load balancing, and service-to-service communication. Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud provider and the ability to work across others. Sound judgment about blast radius, and the discipline to make risky changes reversible. Strong technical judgment, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills. Preferred Experience on an internal platform or developer platform team, where the users were other engineers. Experience with Scalr or other IaC platforms, including policy-as-code with OPA GitOps with ArgoCD or Flux; Helm, Kustomize, or operator development. Managing self-hosted CI runners Deep understanding of Prometheus/Thanos or equivalent, including writing exporters and instrumentation standards. Experience with observability platforms, telemetry systems, logging, distributed tracing, and monitoring architectures. Experience building highly available, multi-tenant SaaS platforms operating at significant scale. Proven ability to influence engineering strategy across organizations and mentor technical talent. Carrying production on-call for what you built. About Alkira Alkira, a Lumen company , is building the future of enterprise networking: one programmable platform to connect, secure, and operate every cloud, site, partner, data center, and AI workload. Founded by Amir and Atif Khan, the creators of Viptela and pioneers of the SD-WAN market, Alkira was built to radically simplify how enterprises deploy and manage network infrastructure. Today, as part of Lumen, we are bringing that cloud-native operating model to a global network foundation trusted by the world’s largest enterprises. Our platform helps customers move faster without managing hardware, stitching together providers, or operating fragmented cloud networks. Teams can build and scale connectivity on demand, apply consistent security and segmentation, and gain visibility across distributed environments from one place. At Alkira, you’ll help shape the next chapter of networking: cloud-like consumption, private-network performance, and total control across the enterprise. We move fast, solve hard problems, and build technology that changes how global businesses connect. Join us and help build the future of networking. Compensation The salary range for this position is $ 84,629- $ 155,152 USD. Your actual base salary and level will be determined on a case by case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge, skills, experience, education and location. The interview process will include a coding challenge, screening with the hiring manager and technical interviews. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer-sponsored visa (e.g., H-1B) now or in the future. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position at this time. Life at Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution Life at Alkira is human and connected, even in a fast moving, AI‑focused organization. We set clear expectations and trust people to meet them. With real support and shared accountability, teams collaborate better, move faster, and deliver meaningful outcomes. Our Lumen 8 behaviors guide how we interact, make decisions, and work together, shaping a culture built to perform and win. To learn more about Life at Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution and how we live into the Lumen 8, please visit: https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/life-at-lumen Background Screening If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page. Job-related concerns identified during the background screening may disqualify you from the new position or your current role. Background results will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Equal Employment Opportunities We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, religion, veteran status, disability, genetic characteristic or information, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, or other legally protected status (collectively, “protected statuses”). We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination in any employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, discipline, termination, job assignments or training. Privacy Notice Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal information collected during the recruitment and hiring process. Our Applicant Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect applicant information, as well as how individuals may request access to or deletion of their personal data. To review Alkira's Global Employment Applicant and Talent Community Privacy Notice, please visit: https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/privacy-notice Disclaimer The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions. In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Please be advised that Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution does not require any form of payment from job applicants during the recruitment process. All legitimate job openings will be posted on our official website or communicated through official company email addresses. If you encounter any job offers that request payment in exchange for employment at Alkira, a Lumen Connect Solution , they are not for employment with us but may relate to another company with a similar name.
