Lead Platform Engineer

Referrals Only; United States; Remote; USD 155,000 - 249,000; Full time

Job summary

Thoughtworks seeks a Lead Platform Engineer to architect and maintain scalable platform infrastructure, empowering dev teams with self-serve pipelines, CI/CD, and secure cloud resources. You will design tooling, APIs, and integrations, driving DevOps, GitOps, and IaC across multi-cloud environments to improve reliability and velocity.

You will collaborate with engineering teams to deliver secure, high-performance pipelines, implement automation, and ensure governance and risk management

Qualifications

• In-depth experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services and multi-cloud environments.
• Proven IaC automation using Terraform, plus Ansible or Chef.
• Led DevOps, CI/CD and GitOps with testing frameworks (Terratest, Kitchen, InSpec).
• Strong observability knowledge with Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, or ELK Stack.
• Security-minded with IAM, encryption, network policies and continuous monitoring.
• Experience with data infrastructures, NoSQL databases, and cloud storage.
• Deep Kubernetes expertise, especially GKE, Docker, and Helm.
• Strong programming/scripting in Java, Python, Go, Bash.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement and maintain scalable platform infrastructure.
• Drive automation and CI/CD pipelines for platform deployments.
• Ensure security, scalability, and high availability meeting SLAs.
• Troubleshoot incidents and perform root-cause analyses.
• Oversee containerization and cloud infrastructure management.
• Promote IaC and DevOps/GitOps practices.
• Optimize performance, auto-scaling, and cloud costs.

Skills

GCP services

Terraform

CI/CD

GitOps

Kubernetes

Docker

Java/Python/Go

Security best practices

Observability

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Chef

Terratest

Prometheus

Grafana

Datadog

New Relic

ELK Stack

Docker

Helm

GKE

Job description

As Lead Platform Engineer, you will be responsible for architecting and maintaining the foundational infrastructure that supports efficient and scalable software development. This involves creating and enhancing developer tools, APIs, and integrations that automate workflows and streamline processes to improve team agility. You will collaborate closely with engineering teams to ensure the platform meets their needs for delivering high-quality applications, while maintaining scalability, reliability, and performance. A key aspect of this role is empowering development teams to independently provision and manage their own software delivery pipelines, including CI/CD systems, source control, and artifact repositories, enabling them to deliver software continuously and reliably without relying on other teams. You will guide the design and implementation of efficient and secure pipelines tailored to specific software delivery engagements, ensuring fast feedback loops and adherence to risk management, security, and governance requirements.

Job responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable and reliable platform infrastructure to support the development and production environments.
• Drive automation and CI/CD pipelines for the platform, improving the speed and efficiency of deployments and operations.
• Ensure the platform’s security, scalability, and high availability, meeting the business needs and operational SLAs.
• Troubleshoot and resolve platform-related issues, including performance bottlenecks, incidents, and outages, and ensure root cause analysis is performed and communicated.
• Implement and oversee the use of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) and manage cloud infrastructure services (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure).
• Champion the use of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles to define and manage platform resources.
• Support the adoption of DevOps and GitOps practices to streamline deployments, enhance collaboration, and reduce manual intervention.
• Actively participate in performance tuning and optimization for cloud-based applications and infrastructure, ensuring long-term sustainability and performance.

Job qualifications

Technical Skills

• Mandatory in-depth expertise in Google Cloud Platform ( GCP ) services (GKE, Compute, Storage, VPC networking, Serverless), with broad familiarity with multi-cloud environments (AWS or Azure).
• Advanced, hands-on mastery of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform , alongside configuration management automation using Ansible or Chef.
• Proven experience driving DevOps, CI/CD, and GitOps practices, including designing and implementing robust infrastructure test automation frameworks (e.g., Terratest, Kitchen, InSpec).
• Comprehensive knowledge of platform observability, designing proactive monitoring and alerting systems using tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, New Relic, or ELK Stack to troubleshoot complex platform issues.
• Demonstrated track record in securing infrastructure following cloud security best practices (IAM, encryption, network policies) and establishing continuous security monitoring and proactive threat detection.
• Practical experience managing and supporting data infrastructure and operations, including cloud storage solutions, high-throughput pipelines, and NoSQL databases.
• Deep background in containerization (Docker, Helm) and enterprise Kubernetes orchestration platforms, specifically Google Kubernetes Engine.
• Solid programming and scripting skills (Java, Python, Go, Bash, or similar) to automate operational workflows, build developer tooling, and integrate RESTful APIs within microservices architectures.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct platform performance tuning, dynamic auto-scaling, and strategic cloud cost optimization.

Professional Skills

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal, with fluency in English.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, including development, operations, and security teams.
• Ability to troubleshoot complex technical issues and provide clear, actionable solutions.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with a proactive and solution-oriented approach to challenges.
• Ability to make recommendations for platform improvements backed by strong technical reasoning.
• Strong ownership mentality with a focus on delivering results and driving continuous improvement.
• Ability to break down complex business and technical requirements and translate them into scalable and efficient platform solutions.

Other things to know

Learning & Development

There is no one-size-fits-all career path at Thoughtworks: however you want to develop your career is entirely up to you. But we also balance autonomy with the strength of our cultivation culture. This means your career is supported by interactive tools, numerous development programs and teammates who want to help you grow. We see value in helping each other be our best and that extends to empowering our employees in their career journeys.

EEO

Thoughtworks is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind and are dedicated to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, stermination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Thoughtworks is also an affirmative action employer of veterans and individuals with disabilities.

For additional information, please see the Thoughtworks, Inc. Equal Employment Opportunity &… Policy Statement.

US - Work Authorization

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment in the United States.

Accommodations

Thoughtworks is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances, in accordance with applicable law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, participate in interviews, or otherwise engage in the hiring process, you may request an accommodation by completing this form or speaking with your recruiter. Requests may be made at any stage of the application or interview process.

Once a request is received, Thoughtworks will engage in an interactive process with the applicant to determine an appropriate accommodation. Applicants are not required to disclose medical diagnoses or detailed personal information in order to request an accommodation. All accommodation requests will be handled in a timely, confidential, and respectful manner, consistent with applicable legal requirements.

Requesting an accommodation will not negatively affect your consideration for employment. Company prohibits retaliation against any applicant for requesting an accommodation or participating in the accommodation process. Accommodations made during the recruitment process are not a guarantee of future or continued accommodations once hired. If you are hired by Thoughtworks, and require an accommodation to perform the essential functions of your role, you may be asked to engage in our reasonable accommodation process.

Cancellations

As a technology consultancy, the projects we undertake are subject to change based on client needs and agreements. While we strive for consistency, please be aware that project scope or availability may shift, or projects may even be cancelled, during the recruitment and selection process, which is often outside of our direct control. Should the project related to this vacancy be significantly altered or cancelled, all impacted candidates will be promptly and duly informed of the change

#LI-Remote

Salary

Benefits: https://www.thoughtworks.com/en-us/careers/benefits

The annual salary range posted is subject to many factors and may vary depending on experience, geographic location, job responsibilities, performance, skills and/or training.

Salary

$155,000—$249,000 USD

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