Infrastructure Engineer

Candidate; Northern (KY); Remote; USD 181,000 - 226,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive environment

Competitive compensation

Comprehensive benefits

Remote first

Retirement match

Company retreats

Professional development

Flexible PTO

Home office stipend

Parental leave

Job summary

Tailscale is seeking a skilled and diligent full-time Software Engineer to join our growing engineering team. You will work on internal services, build the tools and processes that empower other teams, and help design scalable, observable infrastructure that supports our product decisions.

You’ll own features end to end—from design through deployment—collaborating with multiple stakeholders and thriving in a remote-first, asynchronous environment.

Qualifications

• Experience with CI/CD, secrets management, infrastructure as code, and observability.
• Experience with distributed systems.
• Experience with operating managed services in a cloud environment (preferably AWS).
• Experience with operating Kubernetes in production is a strong plus.
• Familiarity with networks (IP addressing, routing, etc.)
• Most of the non-front-end portions of the system are developed in the Go programming language. Experience with Go is a plus.
• Ability to give and process constructive feedback, as well as work independently
• Flexibility to adjust to the dynamic nature of a startup
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Responsibilities

• Work as part of a team of engineers to design, build, test, and document core software components.
• Exhibit ownership over the running services that comprise Tailscale’s product by building for observability, participating in incident response, and fielding customer support escalations.
• Analyze and improve efficiency, scalability, and stability of various system resources.

Skills

CI/CD

Secrets management

Infrastructure as code

Observability

Distributed systems

AWS

Kubernetes

Go

Networking basics

Communication

Job description

Thank you for considering Tailscale. Frequently cited statistics show that people who identify with historically marginalized groups are likely to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage you to help us break that statistic!

About Tailscale

Tailscale is making safe connection effortless by delivering software that makes it easy to securely interconnect people and their devices, no matter where they are. From hobbyists to multinational corporations, teams of every size use Tailscale each day to protect their networks, share access to internal tools, and more. We're building a future for the Internet that's easy, sensible, and safe, like it used to be. Founded in 2019 and fully distributed, we're backed by Accel, CRV, Insight, Heavybit, and Uncork Capital.

About the Role

We’re seeking a skilled and diligent full-time Software Engineer to join our growing team. You will work as part of the engineering team to:

• Support and enable internal business units through shared engineering services and functionalities, building the tools and processes for those teams to succeed.
• Build relationships with multiple stakeholders across the organization to understand and meet their needs with projects you'll own end to end.
• Work directly with internal customer facing teams to empower their mission and take pride in making their day-to-day lives easier. Work with product engineering to extract the data needed to drive business decisions.
• Example deliverables in this role might include:
  • Improve observability through metrics, alerting, logging and telemetry integration
  • Identify and build improvements for Continuous Deployment
  • Utilize infrastructure as code to make changes in a cloud environment
  • Collaborate with other engineering teams to build cross functional infrastructure improvements
  • Automate upgrades for managed services and VMs.

Because we’re an early-stage and fully-remote company, we’re looking for a strongly motivated individual who can help move the product forward. The ability to think on your feet, collaborate with highly technical teams, and comfortably work asynchronously are essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Work as part of a team of engineers to design, build, test, and document core software components.
• Exhibit ownership over the running services that comprise Tailscale’s product by building for observability, participating in incident response, and fielding customer support escalations.
• Analyze and improve efficiency, scalability, and stability of various system resources.

What We Are Looking For

• Experience with CI/CD, secrets management, infrastructure as code, and observability
• Experience with distributed systems
• Experience with operating managed services in a cloud environment (preferably AWS)
• Experience with operating Kubernetes in production is a strong plus
• Familiarity with networks (IP addressing, routing, etc.)
• Most of the non-front-end portions of the system are developed in the Go programming language. Experience with Go is a plus.
• Ability to give and process constructive feedback, as well as work independently
• Flexibility to adjust to the dynamic nature of a startup
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

As a company, we strive to maintain fair and equitable compensation practices within our team across all roles and all levels. Tailscale's compensation package includes base salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits. The salary range displayed on each job posting represents the target range for a new hire's base salary. Individual offers may vary based on experience and skill set.

US Pay Range$181,000—$226,000 USD

What We Offer

• An inclusive, flexible environment where you can be your authentic self. We recognize the impact of diverse voices and backgrounds on the growth of our people, product, and company. And that flexibility in how and when you work empowers our team to integrate work and life.
• A competitive total compensation package. This includes a base salary, an equity incentive plan and variable commission (for quota-based roles).
• Comprehensive group benefits with no waiting period. Take advantage of coverage for health, vision, dental, and more for you and your family!
• Remote first company—most of our teams work fully remotely. Enjoy a change of scenery wherever you can get wifi, participate in virtual and in-person social events, and leverage our corporate co-working program to visit WeWork (or other similar spaces near you). Some roles require in-office collaboration depending on team needs, which will be clearly noted in the job description.
• Employer-funded retirement contributions. Tailscale will match your retirement contributions dollar-for-dollar, up to a maximum annual employer contribution equal to 0.75% of your eligible compensation.
• Connect with other Tailscalars IRL. Attend our annual company retreat, participate in team off‑sites, and collaborate in person with teammates across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. We support intentional in-person connection through team travel and distributed collaboration.
• Support for your personal and professional development. Grow your career thoughtfully with $1500 USD annually for professional development, or take advantage of mentorship, coaching, and internal promotion opportunities.
• Paid time off and a healthy work-life integration.Our flexible, paid time off program supports you for any situation life throws your way, whether moving homes or travelling the world!
• A build-your-own home office setup. You choose your own company-owned laptop (Mac or PC), receive a monthly home internet reimbursement, and $500 USD to customize your workstation to make it your own.
• Paid parental leave program. We care about your life outside of work and encourage new parents to take advantage of parental leave top-ups (20 weeks for birthing parents, 16 weeks for non-birthing parents).

Our hiring process uses AI-assisted tools to help screen and assess candidates. All hiring decisions are made by people.