Senior C++ Platform Automation Engineer

Cognizant; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 71,000 - 113,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

401(k) plan and contributions

Paid holidays plus PTO

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking a Senior C++ Platform Automation Engineer in San Jose to develop high-performance backend applications and automation solutions that improve platform reliability and operational efficiency.

You will design automation frameworks, build APIs and orchestration capabilities, and implement CI/CD and monitoring across distributed systems. Onsite role with a focus on performance, scalability, and production readiness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Strong hands-on experience developing applications using modern C++ (C++11/14/17+).
• Experience designing and supporting large-scale distributed systems and Linux-based environments.
• Strong knowledge of multithreading, concurrency, synchronization, memory management, debugging and performance optimization.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, release engineering, infrastructure automation, production troubleshooting, and root cause analysis.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain high-performance C++ applications, backend platforms, distributed services, and microservices.
• Design reusable automation frameworks for deployment, onboarding, configuration, infrastructure provisioning, migrations, and operational workflows.
• Build APIs, integrations, and orchestration capabilities to improve productivity and reduce manual effort.
• Implement CI/CD, validation, monitoring, deployment, and rollback automation while optimizing performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Troubleshoot complex production issues, drive root cause resolution, define service-level objectives and operational health metrics, and prepare deployment guides and runbooks.

Skills

C++ (modern)

Multithreading

Performance optimization

CI/CD pipelines

Linux environments

Debugging

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

None

Job description

About the role

As a Senior C++ Platform Automation Engineer, you will make an impact by developing high-performance backend applications, distributed services, and automation solutions that improve platform reliability and operational efficiency. You will collaborate with engineering, infrastructure, and operations teams to deliver scalable systems, streamline deployments, and strengthen production readiness.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and maintain high-performance C++ applications, backend platforms, distributed services, and microservices.
• Design reusable automation frameworks for deployment, onboarding, configuration, infrastructure provisioning, migrations, and operational workflows.
• Build APIs, integrations, and orchestration capabilities that improve productivity and reduce manual effort.
• Implement CI/CD, validation, monitoring, deployment, and rollback automation while optimizing system performance, scalability, reliability, and resource utilization.
• Troubleshoot complex production issues, drive root cause resolution, define service-level objectives and operational health metrics, and create technical documentation, deployment guides, and support runbooks.

Work model:

At Cognizant, we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible, and we are here to support a healthy work‑life balance though our various wellbeing programs. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is an onsite position requiring 5 days a week in a client or Cognizant office in San Jose, CA.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. These may change based on the project you are engaged in, as well as evolving business and client requirements. We will always be transparent about role expectations.

Please note: Some roles may require in‑person interviews at Cognizant offices or client locations based on project needs.

What you need to have to be considered

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong hands‑on experience developing applications using modern C++, including C++11, C++14, C++17, or later versions.
• Experience designing and supporting large‑scale distributed systems, backend platforms, and Linux‑based environments.
• Strong knowledge of multithreading, concurrency, synchronization, memory management, debugging, and performance optimization.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, release engineering, infrastructure automation, production troubleshooting, and root cause analysis.

This will help you stand out

• Experience designing microservices and service‑oriented systems.
• Knowledge of monitoring, observability, logging, telemetry, alerting, and production support frameworks.
• Experience establishing service‑level objectives, operational dashboards, and reliability metrics.
• Experience supporting infrastructure provisioning, platform migrations, and complex production deployments.
• Experience working in highly regulated or compliance‑driven engineering environments.

Salary and Other Compensation:

The annual salary for this position is between $71,100 to $112,500 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long‑term/Short‑term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer:

The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.