Principal SRE / Hybrid / Tempe

Kelly Services; Tempe (AZ); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

Vacation Time

Paid Holidays

401(k)

Bonus Eligibility

Job summary

Motion Recruitment Partners is seeking a Principal Site Reliability Engineer in Tempe, AZ. This role blends hands-on engineering with technical mentorship, focusing on Kubernetes clusters (EKS/AKS), cloud infrastructure on AWS/Azure, and Terraform-based automation. It requires strong collaboration across engineering teams and a drive to improve reliability at scale.

The role offers a hybrid work model, a competitive salary, and growth opportunities within a hands-on leadership track.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Site Reliability Engineering, DevOps, Platform Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or similar infrastructure-focused role.
• Strong hands-on Kubernetes experience and production cluster scaling.
• Experience with AWS and/or Azure cloud environments, IaC with Terraform, and Linux-based production systems.

Responsibilities

• hands-on engineering across Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, and automation.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical guidance at a principal level.
• Collaborate across engineering teams to improve reliability, networking, and performance.

Skills

Kubernetes

Site Reliability Engineering

Cloud Engineering

AWS

Azure

Linux

Mentoring

Communication

Tools

Terraform

AWS CLI

CI/CD

Job description

$150000 - $165000

Our client is a global consumer technology company based in Tempe, Arizona that is looking to add a Principal Site Reliability Engineer to its SRE organization. This is a full-time, hybrid opportunity supporting highly available platforms across AWS and Azure utilizing Kubernetes, Terraform, Linux, cloud-native infrastructure, and modern automation technologies. The team is responsible for both traditional SRE/reliability work and hands-on DevOps/platform engineering, making this a strong opportunity for someone who enjoys owning production systems end to end.

This is not a Principal role where you are removed from the technology. The team is looking for someone who can remain highly hands-on while also serving as a technical resource and mentor to the rest of the group. Kubernetes is at the center of the environment, with workloads running across EKS and AKS, and future initiatives may involve deeper cluster architecture and design. Today, the focus is heavily around scaling clusters, Kubernetes networking, improving existing architecture, automation, and reliability. The manager strongly values curiosity, attitude, and a willingness to learn over simply checking every technology box, making this a great opportunity for someone who wants continued technical growth while having real influence over the direction of the platform.

Required Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of experience within Site Reliability Engineering, DevOps, Platform Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or a similar infrastructure-focused role
• Strong hands-on Kubernetes experience
• Experience supporting and scaling production Kubernetes clusters
• Strong understanding of Kubernetes networking and architecture
• Experience with AWS and/or Azure cloud environments
• Infrastructure as Code experience, preferably Terraform
• Experience supporting highly available, production cloud environments
• Strong troubleshooting and incident response experience
• Experience with Linux-based environments
• Experience working across both SRE and DevOps responsibilities
• Ability to mentor engineers and provide technical guidance at a Principal level
• Strong communication skills and ability to work across engineering teams
• Curiosity and willingness to learn new technologies and cloud platforms

Desired Skills & Experience

• Experience with both AWS EKS and Azure AKS
• Kubernetes cluster architecture or cluster design experience
• Terraform experience in large-scale environments
• Python, Go, or another programming/scripting language
• Experience building internal tooling or infrastructure automation
• Experience with observability, monitoring, SLOs/SLIs, and production reliability
• Experience improving Kubernetes scalability, networking, and performance
• Exposure to GCP
• Experience using AI-assisted engineering tools in a thoughtful and cost-conscious way
• Previous technical mentorship or leadership experience

What You Will Be Doing

Tech Breakdown

• 40% Kubernetes / Container Platform Engineering
• 25% AWS & Azure Cloud Infrastructure
• 20% Terraform / Infrastructure Automation
• 15% Reliability, Monitoring & Production Engineering

Daily Responsibilities:

• 50% Hands-On Engineering
• 25% Architecture / Technical Direction
• 25% Mentoring & Team Collaboration

The Offer:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Vacation Time
• Paid Holidays
• 401(k)
• Bonus Eligibility

Motion Recruitment Partners (MRP) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants must be currently authorized to work on a full-time basis in the country for which they are applying, and no sponsorship is currently available. Employment is subject to the successful completion of a pre-employment screening. Accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process as required under MRP's Employment Accommodation policy. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance.