DNS Engineer - SRE

Altice USA; Plano (TX); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Optimum in Plano, TX is seeking a DNS Engineer - SRE to own global DNS architectures, focusing on automation, observability, and self-healing systems to support millions of users. The role collaborates with Product, Security, and Service Assurance to deliver a carrier-grade DNS ecosystem balancing privacy (DoH/DoT) with high availability.

Candidates should have 5+ years in networking/SRE, experience with BIND/Unbound/PowerDNS, DNSSEC, and automation/tools like Python, Ansible, Terraform, and

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Telecommunications, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience in networking and security)
• Experience: 5+ years in a networking or systems engineering role, with a focus on SRE principles (automation, reliability, and monitoring) in production environments
• DNS Fundamentals: Hands-on experience configuring and maintaining at least two of the following: BIND, Unbound, PowerDNS, AWS Route 53, or Azure DNS
• Networking Protocols: Functional understanding of TCP/IP (IPv4/v6) and DNS-specific protocols including DNSSEC and encrypted transport (DoH/DoT)
• Systems & Automation: Strong Linux/Unix administration skills and proficiency in at least one scripting language (Python, Bash, or Go) for task automation
• Observability: Experience using Grafana and OpenTelemetry (or similar tools) to monitor service health and performance

Responsibilities

• Architectural Ownership: Lead the design and evolution of global DNS architectures, ensuring high availability through Anycast routing, multi-provider redundancy, and automated failover mechanisms.
• Strategic Vendor Relations: Act as the primary technical authority in engagements with DNS and infrastructure vendors, driving roadmaps that align with our long-term reliability and security goals.
• Lifecycle & Capacity Management: Oversee the full lifecycle of DNS platforms - including automated software deployments, hardware refreshes, and proactive capacity planning - to stay ahead of traffic growth.
• Standardization & Policy: Optimize, Define and enforce organization-wide standards for DNS record management, security protocols (DNSSEC), and traffic steering policies to optimize user latency.
• Reliability Engineering: Convert \"Strategic Design\" into \"Operational Reality\" by defining Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and Error Budgets for all core name services.
• Protocol Management: Manage the nuances of UDP/TCP port 53, recursion vs. iteration, and complex record types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV).
• Security & Mitigation: Implement and manage DNSSEC to prevent cache poisoning; act as a subject matter expert in mitigating DDoS and DNS amplification attacks.
• Automation (Eliminating Toil): Replace manual updates and \"pool\" management with automated workflows using Python, Go, Ansible, or Terraform.
• Performance Tuning: Perform Linux kernel tuning for high-performance network throughput and conduct deep-dive log analysis on systems like BIND, Unbound, or PowerDNS.
• Observability: Utilize Prometheus, Grafana, and dnstap to monitor query rates and latency, providing actionable insights into error codes (NXDOMAIN, SERVFAIL).

Skills

SRE Principles

Automation

Observability

Linux/Unix

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

BIND

Unbound

PowerDNS

AWS Route 53

Azure DNS

Job description

Are you looking to Optimize your life? Start your exciting path to a rewarding career today!

We are Optimum, a leader in the fast-paced world of connectivity, and we're seeking driven and enthusiastic professionals to join our team, empower lives, fuel businesses, and drive innovation. Connectivity is now longer a luxury, but a necessity. A career at Optimum means you'll be enabling progress and enhancing lives by providing reliable, high-speed connectivity solutions that keep the world connected. Our successes, now and in the future, are powered by our amazing product, a commitment to our people and culture, and the connections we make in our communities.

If you are resourceful, collaborative, and passionate about delivering consistent excellence, Optimum is for you!

Job Summary

The Role DNS Engineer - SRE is a high-impact role responsible for the architecture, scalability, and reliability of the mission-critical DNS infrastructure powering our ISP and core network services. This position is designed for an engineer who views infrastructure through the lens of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) prioritizing automation, observability, and self-healing systems over manual intervention. You will combine deep IP networking and DNS expertise with modern security protocols to ensure our platforms remain resilient against evolving threats and perform at the highest level for millions of users.

The Impact This is a collaborative and influential role. Beyond core engineering, you will serve as a technical authority, leading cross-functional initiatives with Product, Security, and Service Assurance teams. Your goal is to deliver a carrier-grade DNS ecosystem that balances cutting-edge privacy standards (DoH/DoT) with the uncompromising availability required by Tier-1 network operations.

Responsibilities

• Architectural Ownership: Lead the design and evolution of global DNS architectures, ensuring high availability through Anycast routing, multi-provider redundancy, and automated failover mechanisms.


• Strategic Vendor Relations: Act as the primary technical authority in engagements with DNS and infrastructure vendors, driving roadmaps that align with our long-term reliability and security goals.


• Lifecycle & Capacity Management: Oversee the full lifecycle of DNS platforms - including automated software deployments, hardware refreshes, and proactive capacity planning - to stay ahead of traffic growth.


• Standardization & Policy: Optimize, Define and enforce organization-wide standards for DNS record management, security protocols (DNSSEC), and traffic steering policies to optimize user latency.


• Reliability Engineering: Convert \"Strategic Design\" into \"Operational Reality\" by defining Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and Error Budgets for all core name services.


• Protocol Management: Manage the nuances of UDP/TCP port 53, recursion vs. iteration, and complex record types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV).


• Security & Mitigation: Implement and manage DNSSEC to prevent cache poisoning; act as a subject matter expert in mitigating DDoS and DNS amplification attacks.


• Automation (Eliminating Toil): Replace manual updates and \"pool\" management with automated workflows using Python, Go, Ansible, or Terraform.


• Performance Tuning: Perform Linux kernel tuning for high-performance network throughput and conduct deep-dive log analysis on systems like BIND, Unbound, or PowerDNS.


• Observability: Utilize Prometheus, Grafana, and dnstap to monitor query rates and latency, providing actionable insights into error codes (NXDOMAIN, SERVFAIL).

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Telecommunications, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience in networking and security)


• Experience: 5+ years in a networking or systems engineering role, with a focus on SRE principles (automation, reliability, and monitoring) in production environments


• DNS Fundamentals: Hands-on experience configuring and maintaining at least two of the following: BIND, Unbound, PowerDNS, AWS Route 53, or Azure DNS


• Networking Protocols: Functional understanding of TCP/IP (IPv4/v6) and DNS-specific protocols including DNSSEC and encrypted transport (DoH/DoT)


• Systems & Automation: Strong Linux/Unix administration skills and proficiency in at least one scripting language (Python, Bash, or Go) for task automation


• Observability: Experience using Grafana and OpenTelemetry (or similar tools) to monitor service health and performance

Preferred Qualifications

• DNS Systems: Hands-on experience managing BIND, Unbound, or PowerDNS in high-traffic environments, alongside cloud-native solutions (AWS Route 53, Azure DNS, Google Cloud DNS)


• Protocol Expertise: Mastery of DNS-specific protocols including DNSSEC, DoT, and DoH, with a firm grasp of underlying transport layers (UDP/TCP) and dual-stack (IPv4/IPv6) networking


• Observability: Experience building dashboards and alerts using Prometheus, ELK, or OpenTelemetry to monitor DNS query latency and error rates


• Automation: Proven ability to manage \"DNS as Code\" using Terraform or Ansible and writing scripts (Python/Go) to automate routine zone updates


• Scale & Security: Background in Tier-1/Tier-2 service provider environments with a focus on service resilience, Anycast distribution, and DDoS protection

Working Conditions

• Hybrid remote/on-site, with participation in 24/7 on-call rotations


• Availability for after-hours maintenance and urgent service restoration activities


• Ability to work in high-pressure, high-reliability production environments

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a proactive engineer who values precision and operational excellence. You don't just manage systems; you architect for reliability, anticipating bottlenecks before they impact the user. We are looking for someone who balances deep technical mastery with an organized approach to delivery, consistently driving improvements in performance, monitoring, and overall service resilience.

At Optimum, every action and interaction we take part in, is driven by our three Guiding Principles: Do What's Right, Drive One Optimum, and Make It Happen. These aren't just words, they help us build trust, create real community, and embrace new ways of thinking. Our employees are empowered to do the right thing for our customers and co-workers and to recognize and reward these behaviors when we see them. It's all part of the bigger picture of \"Be The Difference\" where each employee knows they have the power to enact real change, share new ideas, and understand that learning never stop.

If you have the drive to succeed and are ready to embark on a thrilling career, seize this opportunity today, and join our winning team. Together, we'll shape the future of connectivity.

All job descriptions and required skills, qualifications and responsibilities for a particular position are subject to modification by the Company from time to time, in the Company's discretion based on business necessity.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to recruiting, hiring and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds regardless of gender, race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.

The Company collects personal information about its applicants for employment that may include personal identifiers, professional or employment related information, photos, education information and/or protected classifications under federal and state law. This information is collected for employment purposes, including identification, work authorization, FCRA-compliant background screening, human resource administration and compliance with federal, state and local law.

Pay is competitive and based on a number of job-related factors, including skills and experience. The starting pay rate/range at time of hire for this position in New York is $83,538.00 - $137,241.00 / year. For other locations, please inquire with your recruiter. The rates/ranges provided herein are the anticipated pay at the time of hire, and do not reflect future job opportunity.