Lead Platform Engineer

CAI Cox Automotive Corp Svcs., LLC; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan

Generous PTO & holidays

Wellness days

Job summary

Cox Automotive is seeking a Lead Platform Engineer to guide design decisions for a federated GraphQL platform powering internal and external products. You will own Apollo Federation architecture, ensure scalable router infra, and drive governance around API changes.

This role emphasizes leadership, cross-team collaboration, and building multi-tenant, reliable data pipelines with Snowflake integration. Remote-work flexibility exists with a hybrid schedule and day shift.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 6 years' experience.
• Experience building distributed systems and APIs at scale.
• Proficiency in TypeScript, Java, or Python (Apollo Server / Strawberry or similar frameworks preferred).
• Hands-on experience with cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, ECS/Kubernetes, DNS routing, CI/CD pipelines).
• Strong understanding of API design principles and governance.
• Availability for rotational on-call duties outside of standard business hours may be required.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop federated GraphQL (Apollo) architecture, including schema design, subgraph integration, and supergraph evolution.
• Build and scale Apollo router infrastructure, supporting multi-region deployments, routing, and failover.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines and governance workflows to ensure safe schema evolution and avoid breaking API changes.
• Develop capabilities for multi-tenant routing and Apollo contracts to support external and internal product use cases.
• Contribute to platform-level initiatives such as usage telemetry, billing data capture, and Snowflake integration.
• Partner with data, platform, and product teams to onboard new subgraphs and improve discoverability.
• Lead technical design discussions and mentor junior engineers.

Skills

TypeScript

Java

Python

Distributed systems

APIs

Cloud-native infra

CI/CD

AWS

Kubernetes

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related discipline

Tools

Apollo Federation

GraphQL

Kubernetes

Snowflake

Job description

Company Cox Automotive - USA Job Family Group Engineering / Product Development Job Profile Lead Software Engineer Management Level Manager - Non People Leader Flexible Work Option Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week Travel % No Work Shift Day

Compensation Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $134,900.00 - $224,900.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Job Description Cox Automotive is seeking a Lead Platform Engineer to join our team. We are building a next-generation federated GraphQL platform (DriveQ supergraph) that unifies multiple enterprise data domains and powers internal and external products. This role will focus on scaling Apollo Federation infrastructure, enabling multi-tenant routing, and supporting emerging capabilities like contracts, billing, and data analytics. This role provides essential technical ownership of a rapidly evolving ecosystem that includes Snowflake-based transformations, self-service workflows, and emerging containerized execution models. Beyond individual contribution, the Lead Software Engineer serves as the central point of design leadership, guiding complex design decisions, enforcing engineering standards, and ensuring consistency across solutions. With the current team composition, where existing engineers are strong but not yet operating at a lead level, the absence of this role would create a significant gap in direction, mentorship, and decision-making. This would likely result in fragmented ownership, slower delivery, and increased operational risk. The role is also pivotal in enabling next-generation capabilities such as AI-driven data quality, lineage, and impact analysis, areas that require cohesive design and cross-team coordination. At the same time, data science and analytics teams are rapidly advancing their own tooling and workflows, increasing the need for strong data engineering leadership to ensure scalability, reliability, and alignment with enterprise standards.

What You'll Do:

• Design and develop federated GraphQL (Apollo) architecture, including schema design, subgraph integration, and supergraph evolution.
• Build and scale Apollo router infrastructure, supporting multi-region deployments, routing, and failover.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines and governance workflows to ensure safe schema evolution and avoid breaking API changes.
• Develop capabilities for multi-tenant routing and Apollo contracts to support external and internal product use cases.
• Contribute to platform-level initiatives such as usage telemetry, billing data capture, and Snowflake integration.
• Partner with data, platform, and product teams to onboard new subgraphs and improve discoverability.
• Lead technical design discussions and mentor junior engineers.

Who You Are:

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 6 years' experience in a related field.
• The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 4 years' experience; a Ph.D. and 1 year of experience; or 18 years 'experience in a related field.
• Experience building distributed systems and APIs at scale.
• Proficiency in TypeScript, Java, or Python (Apollo Server / Strawberry or similar frameworks preferred).
• Hands-on experience with cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, ECS/Kubernetes, DNS routing, CI/CD pipelines).
• Strong understanding of API design principles and governance.
• Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship. No OPT, CPT, STEM/OPT or visa sponsorship now or in future.
• Availability for rotational on-call duties outside of standard business hours may be required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with GraphQL and Apollo Federation
• Familiarity with API gateway / routing layers (e.g., Kong, routers, load balancing)
• Experience with observability, telemetry, and data pipelines (S3, Snowflake)
• Exposure to multi-region architecture and high-availability systems
• Experience working on platform teams or shared infrastructure

Drug Testing

To be employed in this role, you'll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.

Benefits

• Benefits The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members.
• Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.
• Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO).

About Us

Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people-centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship. EOE, including disability/vets Cox brings together the world’s greatest minds to help breathe life into new possibilities – and drive innovation for a better future. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.

EOE, including disability/vets Cox brings together the world’s greatest minds to help breathe life into new possibilities – and drive innovation for a better future.