Principal Software Engineer - Multi-Cloud - Control Plane - Kubernetes

Servicenow; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 255,000 - 445,000; Full time

Job summary

ServiceNow is seeking a Distinguished Engineer to set the technical direction for our cloud-native platform across multiple engineering teams. You will own the hardest, most ambiguous problems in the platform domain, including multi-cloud topology, control-plane design, workload isolation, identity and trust fabric, and reliability at scale.

The role demands deep cloud-native expertise and leadership experience.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems in production.
• Deep expertise running Kubernetes at scale (multi-cluster, multi-region, multi-tenant).
• Hands-on experience across major hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP) including managed Kubernetes.
• Proven track record of technical leadership across multiple engineering teams.
• Expertise in operator/controller patterns, infrastructure-as-code, and GitOps.
• Strong Go programming skills and familiarity with cloud-native ecosystems.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction for cloud-native platform across engineering teams and orgs.
• Define architecture and standards for Kubernetes, distributed systems, and hyperscaler infra at scale.
• Partner with senior leaders to drive architectural decisions and best practices.
• Mitigate major technical risks and decide on managed vs. self-managed approaches.
• Design and build critical components like control planes and infrastructure abstractions.
• Mentor staff and shape the next generation of technical leadership.

Skills

Kubernetes

Go

Cloud-native

Distributed systems

Cross-team leadership

IaC / GitOps

AI in platform

Tools

EKS

AKS

GKE

Crossplane

GitOps

CI/CD

Job description

Company Description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaning work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

Job Description

Position Location: This is a Flexible (Hybrid)position. Flexible positions require 2 days per week in a ServiceNow office. We have offices in several locations, including Santa Clara, CA, San Diego, CA, and Kirkland, WA

Cloud Platform — Kubernetes, Hyperscalers & Distributed Systems

We are currently seeking a Distinguished Engineer. In this role, you will have org-wide technical authority, giving you the ability to set technical direction across multiple engineering organizations. You will own the hardest, most ambiguous problems in the platform domain.

What you get to do in this role:

• You will set the technical direction for our cloud-native platform across multiple engineering teams and organizations, defining the architecture and standards for how Kubernetes, distributed systems, and hyperscaler infrastructure are built and operated at scale.
• You will own the hardest, most ambiguous technical problems in the platform domain — multi-cloud topology, control-plane design, workload isolation, identity and trust fabric, and reliability at the scale of hundreds of clusters and dozens of product workloads.
• You will partner with engineering fellows, principal engineers, and other senior technical leaders to drive consistent architectural decisions and the adoption of best practices across the entire platform ecosystem.
• You will identify and mitigate the biggest technical risks in initiatives with C-suite visibility, and you will be the person leadership trusts to make the call on managed vs. self-managed tradeoffs, substrate portability, and multi-hyperscaler strategy.
• Where you see the need, you will personally design and build the critical components — control planes, operators, infrastructure abstractions, and the systems other teams build on top of.
• You will mentor staff and principal engineers and shape the next generation of the organization’s technical leadership.

Qualifications

To be successful in this role you have:

• Experience leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into engineering and platform work — whether using AI-powered tooling, automating operational workflows, building agentic systems for fleet visibility and operations, or reasoning about AI’s impact on how infrastructure is built and run.
• 12+ years of experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems in production, with deep expertise running Kubernetes at scale (multi-cluster, multi-region, multi-tenant).
• Hands-on, authoritative experience across one or more major hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP), including their managed Kubernetes offerings (EKS, AKS, GKE) and the networking, IAM, and capacity tradeoffs that come with each.
• A proven track record of providing technical leadership across multiple engineering teams, influencing architecture and direction without relying on positional authority.
• Deep expertise in the core building blocks of a modern platform: the operator/controller pattern, infrastructure-as-code and control planes (e.g., Crossplane), GitOps-based delivery, container networking (CNI), and service mesh.
• Strong programming skills in Go and fluency across the cloud-native ecosystem.

It also helps if you have:

• Experience designing identity and trust fabrics for distributed systems — workload identity, mTLS, and standards such as SPIFFE/SPIRE.
• Experience with multi-tenant workload isolation and runtime security (e.g., Kata Containers, sandboxed runtimes).
• Experience building and operating platforms for regulated or federal markets (FedRAMP, air-gapped or self-hosted distribution, OCI bundling).
• Experience with observability at scale — metrics, tracing, and SLO-driven operations across a large fleet.
• A platform-as-product mindset: treating internal engineering teams as customers and the platform as a product with a roadmap, contracts, and a delivery pipeline.

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $254,500 - $445,400, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Additional Information

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [e-mail] for assistance.

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.

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