Lead DevOps Engineer - USA

BMC Software, Inc.; Town of Texas (WI); Remote; USD 129,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech company is seeking a Lead DevOps / Platform Engineer to drive the design and automation of large-scale data platforms focusing on Kafka and OpenSearch. This remote role demands expertise in DevOps practices, cloud deployments, and distributed systems, with a competitive salary range of $129,375 - $215,625 depending on experience. Candidates must possess strong collaborative skills and experience in modern automation tools.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits

Flexible working environment

Mentoring opportunities

Qualifications

• 8+ years of DevOps or SRE experience with distributed services.
• Hands-on experience with Terraform, Ansible, and Kubernetes.
• Strong background in database DevOps and data operations.

Responsibilities

• Drive automation and operations of data platform services.
• Design and manage CI/CD workflows for data pipelines.
• Build observability frameworks to monitor platform performance.

Skills

DevOps Automation

Distributed Systems Expertise

Cloud & Hybrid Deployments

Programming & Scripting

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Kubernetes

CI/CD tools

Job description

This role can be based remotely in United States

Looking for more details about our benefits? You can also learn all about them by clicking HERE

Overview

"At BMC trust is not just a word - it's a way of life!"

We are an award-winning, equal opportunity, culturally diverse, fun place to be. Giving back to the community drives us to be better every single day. Our work environment allows you to balance your priorities, because we know you will bring your best every day. We will champion your wins and shout them from the rooftops. Your peers will inspire, drive, support you, and make you laugh out loud!

We help our customers free up time and space to become an Autonomous Digital Enterprise that conquers the opportunities ahead - and are relentless in the pursuit of innovation!

Our SaaS Ops department focuses on delivering SaaS excellence and a great SaaS experience for our customers. We continuously grow by adding and implementing the most cutting-edge technologies and investing in Innovation! Our team is a global and versatile group of professionals, so if you’re looking for a place where your ideas will be heard – this is the place for you! BMC’s SaaS Ops team is looking for a DevOps Tech Lead to join us and design, develop, and implement complex applications, using the latest technologies.

Job Details

Lead DevOps / Platform Engineer – Kafka & OpenSearch

Location: North America

Job Type: Full-Time, Individual Contributor

Level: Lead

Job Overview

The Lead DevOps / Platform Engineer – Kafka & OpenSearch will drive the strategic design, automation, and operations of large-scale data platform services, with a strong emphasis on event streaming (Kafka) and search/analytics (OpenSearch). This role involves building resilient, scalable pipelines, managing infrastructure with modern DevOps practices, and ensuring the performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency of mission-critical systems. You will partner with global engineering, database, and platform teams to deliver automation, observability, and orchestration frameworks that support enterprise-wide data services. As a lead contributor, you’ll tackle complex challenges, guide technical direction for Kafka and OpenSearch services, and align DevOps strategies with business objectives and organizational goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Kafka & OpenSearch Platform Ownership
• Architect, deploy, and operate highly available Kafka clusters for large-scale, low-latency event streaming.
• Manage OpenSearch clusters supporting log analytics, observability, and enterprise search workloads.
• Establish patterns for scaling, data retention, replication, and disaster recovery across distributed environments.
• Optimize performance, monitoring, and cost-efficiency of Kafka and OpenSearch platforms.

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) & Automation
• Lead adoption of Terraform, Ansible, Jenkins, and GitOps workflows for Kafka and OpenSearch infrastructure.
• Implement automated provisioning, scaling, patching, and upgrades across hybrid cloud and on-prem environments.
• Define secure, reusable patterns for platform deployments and operations.

• CI/CD & Data Pipelines
• Design CI/CD workflows that integrate with streaming data pipelines and search services.
• Automate schema management, connector deployments, and data ingestion for Kafka topics and OpenSearch indices.
• Enable rapid, safe delivery of streaming and analytics solutions across environments.

• Containerization & Orchestration
• Deploy and manage Kafka, OpenSearch, and supporting services on Kubernetes.
• Optimize orchestration for stateful workloads with Helm and operators.
• Ensure high performance, resilience, and elasticity for multi-tenant clusters.

• Observability & Reliability
• Build observability frameworks to monitor Kafka brokers, topics, consumers, and OpenSearch nodes.
• Implement logging, metrics, and alerting systems to proactively detect and mitigate issues.
• Partner with SRE and platform teams to ensure 99.99% uptime SLAs.

• Security & Compliance
• Enforce role-based access control, encryption, and compliance requirements for sensitive data streams and indices.
• Automate vulnerability patching, auditing, and certificate management for Kafka and OpenSearch.

• Continuous Improvement & Leadership
• Drive initiatives that reduce operational overhead, lower costs, and enhance system reliability.
• Mentor engineers across DevOps and platform engineering on best practices for distributed data services.
• Align DevOps strategies with business outcomes, including performance, uptime, and financial efficiency.

• Band/Role Definition
• This is a lead-level engineering role requiring deep expertise in distributed systems, platform engineering, DevOps automation, and data infrastructure. Work requires innovative thinking, technical leadership, and collaboration across multiple teams and regions.
• Proficiency: Uses broad knowledge of DevOps and database practices to address complex tasks and mentor others.
• Creativity: Requires innovative thinking to design new automation, frameworks, and processes for data operations.

Instruction: Works under general guidance, with autonomy to make significant technical decisions.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field.

Experience

• 8+ years of DevOps, Platform, or SRE experience with distributed data services OR 6+ years with an advanced degree.
• Hands-on experience with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, and CI/CD automation.
• Strong background in database DevOps, data operations, or cloud database automation.

Preferred Certifications

• Kafka certifications (Confluent or equivalent)
• Cloud: AWS/Azure/GCP/OCI DevOps or Database certifications.
• IaC & Automation: HashiCorp Terraform Professional, Ansible Automation certifications.
• Containerization: Docker Certified Associate, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA).
• DevOps: DevOps Institute certifications (DevOps Foundation, DevSecOps Engineering).

Skills & Competencies

• Distributed Systems Expertise: Deep knowledge of Kafka, OpenSearch, and large-scale data platforms.
• Technical Proficiency: Advanced knowledge of Terraform, Ansible, CI/CD tooling, Kubernetes, and database automation.
• DevOps Automation: Advanced proficiency with IaC, GitOps, and CI/CD workflows.
• Cloud & Hybrid Deployments: Skilled in multi-cloud and on-premises integrations.
• Programming & Scripting: Proficiency with Python, Bash, and automation frameworks.
• Collaboration: Strong cross-functional leadership with global teams.
• Problem Solving: Anticipates and resolves scaling, reliability, and cost challenges.
• Database Experience: Experience supporting PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, and/or modern data platforms.
• Pipeline Management: Skilled in building, optimizing, and automating data pipelines for large-scale operations.
• Business Acumen: Aligns DevOps automation with business vision and cost savings.
• Collaboration & Leadership: Works closely with DBAs, Data Engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Communication: Clearly explains complex technical solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Adaptability: Stays ahead of evolving data technologies and prepares the team for adoption.

Mentoring: Provides technical mentorship in DevOps and database automation best practices. Candidates must have US citizenship and the ability to obtain a security clearance.

Company & Diversity Commitment

Our commitment to you!

BMC’s culture is built around its people. We have 6000+ brilliant minds working together across the globe. You won’t be known just by your employee number, but for your true authentic self. BMC lets you be YOU!

If after reading the above, you’re unsure if you meet the qualifications of this role but are deeply excited about BMC and this team, we still encourage you to apply! We want to attract talents from diverse backgrounds and experience to ensure we face the world together with the best ideas!

BMC is committed to equal opportunity employment regardless of race, age, sex, creed, color, religion, citizenship status, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy, disabled veteran or status as a protected veteran. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, visit the accommodation request page.

BMC Software maintains a strict policy of not requesting any form of payment in exchange for employment opportunities, upholding a fair and ethical hiring process.

The annual base salary range represents the low and high end of the BMC salary range for this position. Actual salaries depend on a wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure, and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. The range listed is just one component of BMC\'s employee compensation package. Other rewards may include a variable plan and country specific benefits.

At BMC, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at /near the top of the range. A reasonable estimate of the current range is $129,375 - $215,625

We use AI technology to support parts of our recruitment process, but people—not algorithms—make all final hiring decisions. AI may assist with tasks like scheduling, screening for role alignment, or helping us manage large volumes of applications more efficiently. However, candidates are reviewed by a member of our recruitment team, and interviews and hiring decisions are always made by people. We’re committed to ensuring that technology enhances fairness, efficiency, and the candidate experience—never replaces genuine human judgment.