Principal Platform Engineer

CivicPlus; United States; Remote; USD 155,000 - 242,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Flexible Time Off

401(k) plan

Job summary

CivicPlus seeks a Principal Platform Engineer to set technical direction for the Platform Engineering function and partner with executive leadership on cloud strategy. You will shape infrastructure standards, governance, and a company-wide transformation program across cloud-native initiatives and developer experience.

With 12+ years in platform/infra roles, you will influence architecture at scale, advise senior leaders, and drive initiatives that improve security, governance, and reliability

Qualifications

• 12+ years of engineering leadership in platform or cloud engineering.
• Experience with multi-cloud (AWS and Azure) architectures at scale.
• Proven ability to advise at VP/CTO level and drive company-wide initiatives.
• Strong written and verbal communication, including executive audiences.
• Experience with security architecture (zero-trust) and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute a long-term Platform Engineering vision with milestones.
• Own engineering standards, architecture principles, and governance.
• Lead cross-functional platform transformation programs (cloud migration, DX).
• Partner with CTO/VP leadership on infrastructure decisions.
• Represent CivicPlus in external venues and open-source communities.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and shape hiring standards for Platform Engineering.

Skills

Platform strategy

Multi-cloud

Infrastructure architecture

Executive communication

Zero-trust security

Gov/reg experience

Open-source talks

SaaS platform

Leadership influence

Cloud governance

Job description

Location: United States

Your Impact

As a Principal Platform Engineer you operate at the intersection of engineering strategy, organizational leadership, and industry expertise shaping, not only how CivicPlus builds its platform, but influencing how the broader engineering organization thinks about infrastructure, developer experience, and cloud maturity. As one of our most senior individual contributors, you’ll set the technical direction for an entire function and partner directly with our executive leadership on decisions that ripple across the organization.

About CivicPlus

At CivicPlus, we strive to bring our company vision to life through innovation and collaboration. Supported by approachable leadership and transparent communication, we’re empowered to make an impact on local government and the residents they serve. Grow your career alongside great people, where authenticity is welcome, successes are celebrated, and potential is nurtured.

What You’ll Do

As a Principal Platform Engineer, you will:

• Implement the multi-year technical vision for Platform Engineering and translate it into executable strategy with measurable milestones
• Own the engineering standards, architecture principles, and governance frameworks that all engineers build on
• Lead company-wide platform transformation programs (e.g., cloud-native migration, zero-trust adoption, developer experience reimagination)
• Serve as the primary technical partner to the CTO, VP Engineering, and VP Platforms & Reliability Engineering on all infrastructure and platform decisions
• Represent CivicPlus in external forums: engineering conferences, cloud provider advisory boards, open-source communities
• Evaluate and prototype emerging technologies for potential adoption and shape the hiring bar for the entire Platform Engineering function

What We’re Looking For

We know that excellent candidates come from diverse backgrounds.

• 12+ years of engineering experience with sustained, demonstrated impact in platform engineering, infrastructure, or cloud architecture at scale
• Deep multi-cloud mastery (AWS and Azure), including design of large-scale, compliance-grade architectures
• Proven track record of driving org-wide or industry-recognized technical initiatives
• Experience advising at VP or CTO level on platform strategy
• Exceptional communication skills: both technical and executive-level, written and verbal
• History of building or significantly elevating a platform engineering function
• Published technical writing, open-source contributions, or conference talks in platform or cloud engineering domains
• Experience with SaaS platforms serving government or regulated industries (SOC 2, FedRAMP, GovRAMP, PCI-DSS, CJIS, or equivalent)
• Background in platform strategy at a high-growth SaaS company (Series C+, IPO, or post-IPO)
• Advisory board or cloud provider champion program participation
• Multi-cloud mastery (AWS + Azure at organizational, strategy-level)
• Platform engineering architecture (IDP, golden paths, developer experience)
• Cloud governance and FinOps (organizational-level programs)
• Security architecture (zero-trust, supply chain, compliance frameworks)
• Kubernetes federation and large-scale cluster operations
• Distributed systems principles
• Org-wide observability and reliability strategy
• AI-forward mindset with a demonstrated ability to leverage AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, and work quality
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate emerging AI tools for infrastructure automation and developer productivity

Compensation and Benefits

• Estimated Salary Grade Range: $155,100 - $241,900
  
  • The actual salary offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience and is based on a 40-hour work week.
• Benefits: Comprehensive health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, Flexible Time Off, 401(k) plan, and more.

Our Hiring Process

1. Introductory call with Talent Acquisition
2. Interview with the Hiring Manager
3. Panel Interview with CivicPlus team members, including an interview project activity
4. Offer

Note: The process may vary slightly depending on the role.

Additional Information

• CivicPlus is currently unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Applicants must be authorized to work in the US.
• At CivicPlus, we embrace AI and automation as tools that help people work smarter, move faster, and focus on higher-value work that strengthens communities. We encourage thoughtful, responsible use of technology to improve efficiency, support innovation, and enhance the employee and customer experience—while keeping human judgment, collaboration, and accountability at the center of what we do.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

CivicPlus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We celebrate and support diversity for the benefit of our employees, products, clients, and communities. Reasonable accommodations are available during the interview process.