Senior / Lead / Principal Software Engineer - Foundations Team (Infrastructure/Platform)

Salesforce.com, inc.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 117,000 - 314,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k)

Stock options

Time off

Job summary

Salesforce is seeking a Senior/Lead/Principal Software Engineer for the Foundations team to build scalable cloud infrastructure, robust CI/CD pipelines, and advanced observability tools. You will influence architecture decisions and own end-to-end delivery across deployment and operations.

You should bring 5+ years in backend systems, cloud platforms, and IaC, with expertise in Go, Python, TS or Ruby. This role emphasizes high-ownership, fast execution, and mentorship in a dynamic enterprise

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software development with backend focus.
• Proficiency in Go, Python, Typescript, or Ruby.
• Deep experience designing secure, scalable cloud infrastructure.
• Infrastructure as code using Terraform, CDK, CloudFormation or Pulumi.
• Containerization with Kubernetes or Docker.
• Observability with DataDog, Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK.
• SQL and data warehousing with PostgreSQL and ClickHouse.
• AI-assisted development tools experience beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Architect and build secure, fault-tolerant cloud infrastructure on public clouds.
• Optimize system performance and reduce bottlenecks at scale.
• Lead CI/CD evolution across multiple services and reduce deployment complexity.
• Manage infrastructure changes via IaC for faster, scalable delivery.
• Leverage observability tools to monitor health and detect anomalies.
• Document runbooks, procedures, and architecture diagrams to raise standards.
• Mentor engineers and foster a culture of engineering excellence.
• Operate with startup-level agility in a fast-paced environment.

Skills

Go

Python

Typescript

Ruby

Education

B.S. or Master's in Computer Science

Tools

Terraform

CDK

CloudFormation

Pulumi

Kubernetes

Docker

DataDog

Sentry

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK

PostgreSQL

ClickHouse

Job description

Senior / Lead / Principal Software Engineer - Foundations Team (Infrastructure/Platform)

The Experience
Note: By applying to the Senior / Lead / Principal Software Engineer - Foundations Team posting, recruiters and hiring managers across the organization hiring software engineers will review your resume. Our goal is for you to apply once and have your resume reviewed by multiple hiring teams.
IN SCHOOL OR GRADUATED WITHIN THE LAST 12 MONTHS? PLEASE VISIT FUTURE FORCE FOR OPPORTUNITIES
Join a high-ownership, high-velocity engineering team working at the frontier of AI and modern software development. We operate with the pace of a startup backed by the scale and stability of a global enterprise — with true end-to-end ownership across architecture, implementation, deployment, and continuous improvement.
You will work alongside a high-talent-density team that cares deeply about performance, reliability, and engineering excellence — driving architecture decisions, solving large-scale distributed systems challenges, and building foundational infrastructure that enables great customer experiences.
As a Software Engineer on the Foundations team, you’ll build the infrastructure and critical systems that power our operations — highly scalable cloud infrastructure, robust CI/CD pipelines, advanced observability, and top-tier engineering tools. Your work will increase deployment velocity, raise our quality bar, and support complex, real-time customer interactions.
What You’ll Actually Be Doing

• Architect & Build: Lead the design and implementation of secure, fault-tolerant, and highly available cloud infrastructure on public cloud services.
• System Optimization: Continuously improve system performance, identify bottlenecks, and deploy optimizations for smooth operation at scale for highly-trafficked services.
• CI/CD Evolution: Lead the evolution of our Continuous Integration and Deployment pipelines in a multi-service environment, reducing complexity and increasing resilience.
• Infrastructure Management: Plan and execute timely infrastructure upgrades and changes using infrastructure-as-code to enable faster execution, improved scale, and increased cost efficiency.
• Observability: Leverage tools like DataDog, Sentry, and others to monitor system infrastructure, configure alerts for anomalies, and proactively ensure system health.
• Documentation & Standards: Define, promote, and maintain runbooks, operating procedures, and system architecture diagrams. Uphold high standards of quality through rigorous testing and code reviews.
• Mentorship: Act as a force multiplier by providing technical guidance, mentoring other engineers, and fostering a culture of engineering excellence.
• Agility: Embrace a culture of flexibility and efficiency, moving fast to capture opportunities while wearing multiple hats in a startup environment

You're Our Person If...

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in professional software development with a strong emphasis on backend systems, cloud platforms, and infrastructure.
• Languages: Proficiency in programming languages such as Go, Python, Typescript, or Ruby.
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Deep experience architecting secure solutions on cloud-based infrastructure (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure).
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Proven experience in automated provisioning using tools like Terraform, CDK, CloudFormation, or Pulumi.
• Containerization: Experience with automated deployments using container orchestration technologies such as Kubernetes, AWS ECS, or Docker.
• Observability Tools: Strong hands‑on experience with monitoring and logging tools such as DataDog, Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK.
• Database Expertise: Familiarity with SQL, RDBMS (PostgreSQL preferred), and data warehousing solutions (e.g., ClickHouse)
• AI-Assisted Development: Proficiency in AI-assisted software development (e.g., Claude, Cursor, etc.); you are capable of leveraging these tools to significantly accelerate your output from day one.
• Education: B.S. or Master's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent work experience.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.

Unleash Your Potential

When you join Salesforce, you'll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance and be your best, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you can do your best. Together, we’ll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love.

At Salesforce, we strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates.

If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodation Request Form .

Please note that Salesforce uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates' resumes and qualifications throughout the recruiting process. Humans will always make any candidate selection and hiring decisions. Please see our Candidate Privacy Statement for more information about how we use your personal data and your rights, including with regard to use of AI tools and opt out options.

Equal Opportunity Statement.

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that's inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal . Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications - without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education.

At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions.
The typical base salary range for this position is $117,200 - $313,700 annually.
The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.

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