Principal Software Engineer (Platform Infrastructure - Application Networking)

Elastic; Ireland; Hybrid; EUR 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Flexible location

Generous vacation days

Parental leave

Volunteer hours

Charitable matching

Job summary

Elastic is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead Platform Infrastructure - Application Networking. You will own designs for Ingress, private connectivity, DNS, and security controls at cloud scale, driving technical direction and architecture beyond the roadmap.

You will mentor teams, guide cross-organizational initiatives, and partner with product management to align on feasible, high-impact roadmaps. A strong track record in scalable SaaS platforms is required.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in application networking and cloud-native architecture.
• Experience designing high-performance, scalable distributed systems.
• Proven track record leading multi-engineer initiatives across organizations.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction for major application networking initiatives from proposal to GA.
• Lead cross-organizational projects and guide delivery across teams.
• Own incidents and drive post-mortems with root-cause analysis and improvements.
• Mentor engineers and set software development standards.
• Collaborate with product management on technical trade-offs and roadmaps.

Skills

Application networking

Cloud-native architecture

Kubernetes networking

Distributed systems

AI-assisted development

Technical leadership

Tools

Cilium

Envoy Gateway

Crossplane

AWS/Azure/GCP

Job description

• We’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join Platform Infrastructure - Application Networking and set where Elastic Cloud application networking goes next
• This work covers Ingress, security controls, private connectivity, and DNS management — the path every interaction with Elasticsearch, Kibana, and the broader Elastic stack takes
• You will drive the technical vision, architecture, and design of these systems, not just execute against an existing roadmap
• This is a Principal-level role for an engineer who has designed high-performance, scalable networking platforms and can drive technical initiatives across organizations
• Elastic is investing in the reliability, security, and reach of Elastic Cloud; you will hold a high bar for those qualities while other engineering teams rely on what this platform provides
• Set the technical direction for major application networking initiatives, owning designs from proposal through general availability
• Lead the development of Ingress, private connectivity, DNS, and security controls on a large scale for Elastic Cloud. Continuously identify and address issues related to performance, reliability, and operability
• Lead multi-quarter, cross-organizational projects that other Elastic engineering teams rely on, and guide these projects through to delivery
• Raise the operational quality of our services. Take charge of operational investigations from beginning to end. Lead complex incident investigations and reviews. Participate in on-call rotation
• Mentor and support engineers across the team, serve as a subject matter expert and trusted technical advisor to the wider engineering organization, and set the standard for how we build software
• Partner with and advise product management and senior engineering stakeholders on technical trade-offs, feasibility, and roadmap direction
• Identify and champion improvements to security, stability, and cost efficiency before they become problems. Untangle complexity and bring architectural clarity across the platform

Benefits

• Toast to your health: Fully paid health coverage for you and your family, in many locations.
• Craft your calendar: Flexible location and schedule for most roles.
• Create space for you: Distributed by design workforce, plus generous number of vacation days each year.
• Embrace parenthood: Minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave, plus generous family formation benefits.
• Give back your time: 40 hours each year to use toward volunteering with organizations and causes you’re passionate about.
• Amplify your impact: Double your charitable giving — we match donations up to $1500 USD (or local currency equivalent).

You have operated high-availability SaaS platforms, responded to incidents, and improved reliability over time. You care about the quality of work shipped — testing, observability, and operabilityExperience with building software, including setting technical direction for complex distributed systems running production at scale (Staff or Principal level, or equivalent scope)You can work autonomously, drive decisions and results in a distributed team by leveraging asynchronous, direct, and transparent communication. You communicate clearly and can influence direction across teams and levels without formal authorityDeep expertise in application networking and cloud-native architecture. You should understand how services communicate at scale. Knowledge of how to design, operate, and evolve Ingress, private connectivity, DNS, and security controls is requiredYou are able to own projects from beginning to end. This covers both technical design and working with others to develop needed components. You have experience guiding work involving multiple engineersYou have experience building large-scale distributed systems, rather than making use of off-the-shelf servicesYou have a proven track record of using AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code, while still owning the final outcomesYou possess the ability to collaborate across functions and teams and seamlessly transition between different projects, codebases, or teams based on business prioritiesYou have contributed to CNCF or other open-source networking projectsHands-on experience with Kubernetes networking (Cilium, external-dns, Envoy Gateway, and Crossplane) and with at least one major cloud provider (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and its networking ecosystem