Senior Software Engineer - Data Platform - Kubernetes - Distributed Systems - Federal

ServiceNow; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ServiceNow is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Data Platform team. You will design, build, and operate features within our cloud-native platform, delivering work with limited guidance and aligning with team standards.

You will also contribute to reliability and scalability while spending most time hands-on on automation and platform services. You will mentor junior engineers, review code, and collaborate with peers to ensure robust, scalable solutions across the fleet.

Qualifications

• Experience integrating AI into engineering work, including AI-powered tooling or automation.
• Hands-on production software development with Kubernetes exposure.
• Experience with at least one major cloud provider (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Track record of delivering features as part of a team.
• Knowledge of containers, CI/CD pipelines, and Git-based workflows.
• Strong Go (or systems language) programming skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate features and services in a cloud-native platform.
• Decompose work into executable tasks and deliver iteratively with risk awareness.
• Collaborate with staff and senior engineers to align with designs and standards.
• Improve reliability, scalability, and operability; write tests and runbooks; participate in on-call.
• Spend most time hands-on building automation, tooling, and platform services.
• Mentor junior engineers through code reviews and pairing.

Skills

Go programming

Distributed systems

AI integration in engineering

Kubernetes

CI/CD pipelines

Git-based development workflows

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Master's degree in Computer Science or related field

PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

AWS

Azure

GCP

Terraform

Job 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 meaningful 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.

Position Location:

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

Please Note:

This position will includesupporting our US Regulated Markets. “This position requires passing a ServiceNow background screening, USFedPASS (US Federal Personnel Authorization Screening Standards). This includes a credit check, criminal/misdemeanor check and taking a drug test. Any employment is contingent upon passing the screening. Due to Federal requirements, only US citizens, US naturalized citizens or US Permanent Residents, holding a green card, will be considered.

About the team:

As a Senior Software Engineer with the Data Platform organization, you will be responsible for designing and implementing features and services within our cloud-native platform.

What you get to do in this role:

• You will design, build, and operate features and services within the cloud-native platform, delivering well-defined work from implementation through to production with limited guidance.
• You will break features down into clear, executable tasks and deliver them iteratively, raising risks and trade-offs as you find them.
• You will collaborate with staff and senior engineers to align your work with the team’s designs and the platform’s standards.
• You will contribute to the reliability, scalability, and operability of what you build — writing tests and instrumentation, improving runbooks, and participating in on-call.
• You will spend nearly all of your time hands-on building — automation, tooling, and platform services that other teams depend on.
• You will support junior engineers through code review, pairing, and sharing what you learn.

To be successful in this role you have:

• Experience leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into engineering work — whether using AI-powered coding and operational tooling, automating workflows, or reasoning about how AI changes the way software and infrastructure are built.
• 5+ years of software development experience with a Bachelor's degree; OR 3+ years witha Master's degree; OR a PhD without experience; OR equivalent work experience.
• Hands-on experience building production software, with exposure to deploying and operating workloads on Kubernetes.
• Some hands-on experience with at least one major hyperscaler (AWS, Azure, GCP) and its core compute and networking primitives.
• A track record of reliably delivering features and improvements as a productive member of an engineering team.
• Working knowledge of containers, CI/CD pipelines, and Git-based development workflows.
• Good programming skills in Go (or another systems language with a willingness to work primarily in Go).

It also helps if you have:

• Experience running workloads on managed Kubernetes (EKS/AKS/GKE).
• Familiarity with GitOps-based delivery and infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform.
• Exposure to observability tooling — metrics, logging, and dashboards.
• Familiarity with networking and security fundamentals — DNS, TLS, and IAM.
• Experience participating in an on-call rotation.

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, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, 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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