Staff Platform Engineer - Core Platform Engineering

ICEYE; Espoo; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ICEYE is seeking a Staff Platform Engineer to own and evolve a secure, scalable Kubernetes platform across cloud and on‑prem environments. You’ll lead design and operations enabling product teams to ship faster with reduced risk and higher reliability at scale.

The role requires 8+ years in platform engineering or related fields, deep Kubernetes expertise, strong AWS and Terraform skills, and hands-on leadership. Hybrid work model with security screening is in place.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Platform Engineering, SRE, DevOps, or infra roles on production services
• Deep hands-on Kubernetes including cluster architecture, upgrades, networking, and security
• Strong AWS fundamentals (Networking, IAM, compute, storage, security)
• Terraform/IaC with reusable modules and scalable provisioning patterns
• Strong observability experience: SLO/SLI, instrumentation, dashboards, alerts
• Proficiency in Python or Go for automation tools
• Experience providing technical leadership through platform standards and guidance
• Ability to operate in complex environments and balance reliability, security, speed, maintainability

Responsibilities

• Design, operate, and improve a secure, scalable Kubernetes platform across cloud and on-prem
• Build standardized platform capabilities (ingress, service mesh, secrets)
• Develop Terraform modules for AWS and on‑prem platforms
• Strengthen observability with metrics, logs, traces, dashboards, alerts
• Reduce platform friction by providing architectural guidance and enablement
• Automate platform lifecycle management (bootstrap, upgrades, scaling)
• Drive technical direction with pragmatic trade-offs for reliability and security
• Mentor and raise engineering maturity across teams

Skills

Kubernetes expertise

Platform engineering

SRE/DevOps

Terraform

AWS fundamentals

Observability (SLO/SLI)

Python or Go

Technical leadership

Hybrid/cloud environments

Tools

Terraform

AWS

Istio

Rancher

Vault

Job description

• Title: Staff Platform Engineer

• Department: Platform & Release Engineering

• Location: Espoo, Finland/ Berlin, Germany

• Reports to: Infrastructure Engineering Lead

• Employment type: Permanent

• Workplace model: Hybrid

• Employment is subject to applicable security screening (incl. SUPO)

Why this role matters:

As a Senior / Staff Platform Engineer, you’ll own and evolve the foundations that all services rely on, leading the design and operation of a secure, scalable Kubernetes platform across cloud and on-prem environments so product teams can ship faster with less friction and stronger reliability at scale.

Who We Are

ICEYE delivers space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to governments and allied nations. This includes sovereign and turnkey ISR missions leveraging ICEYE’s world‑leading synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology, as well as access to data from the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation. These capabilities enable partners to detect and respond to critical changes anywhere on Earth with unprecedented speed and accuracy, day or night and in any weather, supported by ultra high‑resolution imagery and high‑frequency revisits.

As a trusted partner for defense, intelligence, security, and maritime domain awareness, ICEYE’s near real‑time data creates a tactical advantage for mission‑critical operations. Designed for dual use, the platform also serves civil protection and commercial users for natural‑catastrophe intelligence, insurance, maritime monitoring including oil‑spill detection, and finance, contributing to global security and community resilience.

ICEYE is headquartered in Finland and operates globally across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia‑Pacific. We have more than 900 employees, united by a shared vision: improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation.

Your day-to-day responsibilities

• Design, operate, and continuously improve a secure, scalable, and resilient Kubernetes platform across cloud and on‑prem environments

• Build and maintain standardized platform capabilities such as ingress, service mesh, secrets management, and lifecycle automation

• Develop reusable infrastructure patterns and Terraform modules for AWS and on‑prem platforms to enable fast, auditable provisioning

• Strengthen observability through clear metrics, logs, traces, dashboards, and actionable alerting that support effective operational decisions

• Reduce platform friction for product teams by providing architectural guidance, platform standards, and hands‑on enablement

• Automate platform lifecycle management including bootstrap, upgrades, scaling, and operational maintenance to reduce manual effort and risk

• Drive technical direction and sound architectural choices across platform engineering with pragmatic trade‑offs between reliability, security, speed, and maintainability

• Help raise engineering maturity by mentoring others and shaping shared engineering standards across teams

What we’re looking for

Must haves:

• 8+ years of experience in Platform Engineering, SRE, DevOps, or infrastructure roles operating production‑critical services at scale

• Deep hands‑on expertise with Kubernetes, including cluster architecture, upgrades, control plane operations, networking, ingress, storage, security, and lifecycle management

• Strong understanding of AWS fundamentals, including networking, IAM, compute, storage, and security patterns

• Strong experience with Terraform and infrastructure as code, including reusable modules, abstractions, and scalable provisioning patterns

• Strong practical observability experience, including SLO and SLI design, instrumentation, dashboarding, alert strategy, and production performance analysis

• Proficiency in at least one backend language such as Python or Go for automation, tooling, and internal platform capabilities

• Experience providing technical leadership through platform standards, architectural guidance, and hands‑on enablement

• Ability to operate effectively in complex environments and make pragmatic technical decisions across reliability, security, speed, and maintainability

Nice to haves:

• Experience with Rancher, Istio, External Secrets, Vault, and software supply‑chain hardening practices

• Experience operating Kubernetes in restricted, disconnected, or air‑gapped environments

• Experience with hybrid platforms spanning AWS and on‑prem environments such as vSphere or VxRail

Application Process

• Talent Attraction Introduction

• Hiring Manager Alignment

• Task Assignment

• Technical Interview

• Director Interview

Working at ICEYE

At ICEYE, you’ll join a diverse and highly engaged team united by the ambition to make the impossible possible. As a global scale‑up, we combine speed and ambition with the opportunity to take real ownership from day one. Your growth, wellbeing, and success are a priority, with continuous professional development, training opportunities, and a culture where collaboration is how we win.

How We Work (Our Values)

Make the impossible possible: We set ambitious goals and stay calm under pressure. We bring grit, optimism, and ownership when things get hard, and we keep moving until we find a way.

• Be curious: Go deep, ask questions, listen carefully, and think critically. Understand the why behind decisions.

• See the big picture: Stay close to what’s happening across the company so you can make better decisions. Consider how your work affects others.

• Drive effective teamwork: Create psychological safety, invite different perspectives, and build inclusive teams. There are no bad questions.

• Act as one team: We win together. We match tasks to the right owner and stay agile as priorities shift.

• Have fun: What we do matters and it should be enjoyable. Celebrate progress, take pride in results, and share the wins.

Benefits

Our benefits are designed to support your health and wellbeing, at work and beyond. We keep improving them based on employee feedback, and offerings vary by location. Talent Acquisition will confirm what applies for this role and location during the process.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We want ICEYE to be a place where people can be themselves and do great work. Different backgrounds and perspectives make us stronger, which is why we work to create an environment where people feel included, respected, and able to speak up. Whatever your background, we want you to bring your authentic self to the table.

We’re committed to fair, inclusive hiring and equal opportunity. Everyone is welcome to apply. If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, tell us and we will do our best to help.