DevOps Engineer | Build AI Infrastructure from the Ground Up

The Cypress Group; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential, venture-backed AI startup in NYC is seeking a DevOps Engineer to build scalable cloud infrastructure from the ground up. You will work with a small, highly technical team and own critical parts of the platform.

Design and implement AWS-based infrastructure, Kubernetes deployments, Terraform IaC, and CI/CD pipelines, partnering closely with software and AI engineers to scale production systems.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering, Platform Engineering, or a similar infrastructure-focused role.
• Hands-on AWS experience and production Kubernetes deployment.
• Proficient with Terraform and infrastructure as code.
• Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong knowledge of Docker, Linux, networking, and cloud infrastructure.
• Experience with monitoring, observability, and production troubleshooting.
• Builder mentality with ability to own infrastructure projects.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable cloud infrastructure on AWS.
• Deploy, manage, and optimize Kubernetes clusters and containerized applications.
• Build and maintain infrastructure as code using Terraform.
• Develop and improve CI/CD pipelines to support rapid, reliable deployments.
• Implement monitoring, logging, and observability across production environments.
• Improve infrastructure reliability, security, scalability, and performance.
• Automate operational processes and eliminate repetitive manual work.
• Partner closely with backend and AI engineers to support production applications and growing infrastructure demands.
• Help establish DevOps best practices as the engineering organization scales.

Skills

Builder mindset

Observability

Troubleshooting

Networking

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

Terraform

CI/CD pipelines

Docker

Job description

DevOps Engineer | Build AI Infrastructure from the Ground Up

Location: New York City

Company: Confidential, venture-backed AI startup

Compensation: Competitive base salary + equity

The Opportunity

We're partnering with a fast-growing, venture-backed AI startup in NYC that’s building a sophisticated enterprise platform powered by artificial intelligence.

They're looking for a DevOps Engineer who wants to do more than maintain existing infrastructure. This is an opportunity to help build, scale, and shape the cloud infrastructure supporting a rapidly evolving AI platform.

You’ll join a small, highly technical engineering team where you’ll have significant ownership, work directly with software engineers, and play a critical role in how the platform scales.

If you enjoy building infrastructure from the ground up, automating everything you can, and solving challenging engineering problems, this could be an exciting next step.

What You’ll Be Working On

• Design, build, and maintain scalable cloud infrastructure on AWS.
• Deploy, manage, and optimize Kubernetes clusters and containerized applications.
• Build and maintain infrastructure as code using Terraform.
• Develop and improve CI/CD pipelines to support rapid, reliable deployments.
• Implement monitoring, logging, and observability across production environments.
• Improve infrastructure reliability, security, scalability, and performance.
• Automate operational processes and eliminate repetitive manual work.
• Partner closely with backend and AI engineers to support production applications and growing infrastructure demands.
• Help establish DevOps best practices as the engineering organization scales.

What We’re Looking For

• 3+ years of experience in DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering, Platform Engineering, or a similar infrastructure-focused role.
• Strong hands-on experience with AWS.
• Production experience deploying and managing Kubernetes.
• Proficiency with Terraform and infrastructure as code.
• Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong understanding of Docker, Linux, networking, and cloud infrastructure.
• Experience with monitoring, observability, and production troubleshooting.
• A builder mentality and the ability to take ownership of infrastructure projects independently.

Bonus Points

• Experience working at an early-stage or high-growth startup.
• Familiarity with Python or Go for scripting, automation, or backend development.
• Experience supporting AI/ML applications or data-intensive platforms.
• Experience with distributed systems and microservices.
• Familiarity with Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, or similar observability tools.
• Experience designing infrastructure with security and cost optimization in mind.

Why This Opportunity?

Build, don't just maintain. Help establish the infrastructure foundations of a growing AI company.

High ownership. Work in a small engineering organization where your technical decisions have a direct impact.

Interesting technical challenges. Solve complex problems involving cloud infrastructure, scalability, automation, and production AI systems.

Early-stage upside. Join a venture-backed startup with equity participation and the opportunity to grow alongside the company.

Work with talented engineers. Collaborate directly with the people building the product rather than operating in a siloed infrastructure team.

Interested?

If you're a DevOps or Platform Engineer who enjoys building scalable infrastructure and wants to play a meaningful role in an early-stage AI company, we'd love to connect.