Lead Software Engineer (Kubernetes)

Appian Corporation; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading software company in McLean, VA is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to help re-architect their platform on public clouds. This role involves leading a global agile team to ensure a responsive infrastructure, focusing on AWS, Kubernetes, and DevOps practices. Ideal candidates have 7+ years of software architecture experience and a relevant degree. In-person collaboration is encouraged as employees are expected to work from the office five days a week.

Qualifications

• At least 7 years of experience designing, building, and architecting software in an enterprise, SaaS/PaaS environment.
• Fluency in at least one programming language (e.g., Python, Go, Java).
• At least 5 years of experience in the Kubernetes ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Lead the re-architecture of the platform on public cloud environments.
• Maintain and improve infrastructure for a dynamic development ecosystem.
• Collaborate in an agile, global team to migrate to modern services architecture.

Skills

AWS expertise

Kubernetes experience

Coaching junior engineers

Communication skills

Networking and information security

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

Terraform

Docker

GitLab

Prometheus

Job description

Overview

Here at Appian, our core values of Respect, Work to Impact, Ambition, and Constructive Dissent & Resolution guide our actions and culture. We seek to understand what’s best for our customers, pursue excellence with intensity, and encourage candid communication. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things.

Role: Lead Software Engineer in the Foundational Infrastructure Group. You will help re-architect the platform on public clouds to enable frequent, predictable, and high-impact changes. You will ensure a world-class infrastructure is available, responsive, and capable of meeting the diverse needs of a dynamic, high-powered development team. You will work as part of an agile, global team to transform the architecture toward a modern services model that enables feature teams to leverage microservices and containerization technologies.

This role is based at our HQ in McLean, VA. Appian supports in-person collaboration, and employees are expected to be in the office 5 days a week to foster that culture and teamwork.

Responsibilities

• Lead the re-architecture of the platform on public cloud environments to support frequent and scalable changes.
• Maintain and improve high-availability, responsive infrastructure that serves a diverse, dynamic development ecosystem.
• Collaborate in an agile, global team to migrate to a modern services architecture with microservices and containerization.

What You Need to Be Successful

• Expertise in AWS or other cloud infrastructures (Azure, Google Cloud) and Infrastructure-as-Code tools.
• Experience in the Kubernetes ecosystem (e.g., Cilium, Istio, Knative, Keda).
• Experience coaching junior engineers and driving projects to impact.
• Ability to review architectures/designs, identify problems, and suggest better practices.
• Familiarity with code reviews focused on elegance, performance, maintainability, and security.
• Familiarity with DevOps, Release Engineering, and CI/CD trends.
• Familiarity with Terraform or similar infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Understanding of networking and information security in the cloud (VPNs, compliance, etc.).
• Focus on keeping automated infrastructure up-to-date as technologies evolve and scale.
• Interest in automating the development lifecycle to support continuous delivery.
• Excellent written and spoken communication with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to identify dependencies between multiple teams, communicate blockers, and escalate as needed.
• Experience leading responses to severe issues, communicating clearly with customers about problems and solutions.

Desirable Tools and Resources

• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, GitLab, Prometheus, and related technologies to design and build infrastructure features.
• Commitment to growth and leadership development, including opportunities like Engineering IndieTime and annual hackathons.
• Autonomous, collaborative environment within a large engineering team, operating in an agile setup.

Qualifications

• At least 7 years of experience designing, building, and architecting software in an enterprise, SaaS/PaaS environment.
• Fluency in at least one programming language (e.g., Python, Go, Java).
• At least 5 years of experience in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Engineering, or equivalent experience.

About Appian

Appian is a software company that automates business processes. The Appian AI-Powered Process Platform helps design, automate, and optimize complex processes to improve workflows, unify data, and enhance customer experiences. For more information, visit appian.com. Nasdaq: APPN.

Appian is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations to applicants in accordance with applicable laws. If you need an accommodation, please contact us by email at [e-mail].