Site Reliability Engineer

AAR; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

AAR in Wood Dale, IL is seeking a Site Reliability & Performance Engineer to advance our monitoring, observability, and application performance across the enterprise. You will shape best practices and help migrate to modern, scalable solutions.

You’ll design dashboards, automate triage, partner with infrastructure, security, and development teams, and help drive capacity planning for enterprise systems. This role offers significant ownership and visibility.

Qualifications

• Experience in Site Reliability Engineering or similar roles.
• Strong understanding of Windows and Linux servers (enterprise).
• Hands-on experience with monitoring/observability platforms (NR, Dynatrace, Datadog, Splunk, Azure Monitor).
• Scripting and automation experience (Python, Bash, PowerShell, Ansible).
• Ability to troubleshoot application/infrastructure performance issues.
• Ability to collaborate across technical teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience in enterprise-scale environments is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design and enhance monitoring and observability solutions across infrastructure and applications
• Build dashboards, alerts, and reporting that improve visibility into system health and performance
• Analyze application and infrastructure performance to identify opportunities for improved reliability, scalability, and efficiency
• Partner with infrastructure, security, operations, and development teams to proactively solve issues
• Support automation initiatives, including self-healing capabilities and operational improvements
• Evaluate emerging monitoring technologies and help influence future platform decisions
• Drive capacity planning and performance optimization efforts across enterprise systems

Skills

Site Reliability

Observability

Monitoring Tools

Automation Scripting

Windows

Linux

Python

PowerShell

Ansible

Tools

New Relic

Dynatrace

Datadog

Splunk

Azure Monitor

Prometheus

Grafana

Job description

Location: Wood Dale, IL (moving to Chicago's Merchandise Mart in 2027)

Are you passionate about building reliable, high-performing systems and creating visibility where others see blind spots? We're looking for a Site Reliability & Performance Engineer to help shape and modernize our monitoring, observability, and application performance capabilities across the enterprise.

This is an opportunity to join a team that is building capabilities from the ground up. You'll have a significant voice in evaluating monitoring tools, defining best practices, and helping drive the future of observability at AAR. If you enjoy solving complex infrastructure and application challenges, influencing technical direction, and working across teams, this role offers a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact.

What You'll Do

• Design and enhance monitoring and observability solutions across infrastructure and applications
• Build dashboards, alerts, and reporting that improve visibility into system health and performance
• Analyze application and infrastructure performance to identify opportunities for improved reliability, scalability, and efficiency
• Partner with infrastructure, security, operations, and development teams to proactively solve issues
• Support automation initiatives, including self-healing capabilities and operational improvements
• Evaluate emerging monitoring technologies and help influence future platform decisions
• Drive capacity planning and performance optimization efforts across enterprise systems

What We're Looking For

• Experience in Site Reliability Engineering, Monitoring Engineering, Observability Engineering, Performance Engineering, or similar roles
• Strong understanding of enterprise infrastructure, including servers, networking, Windows and/or Linux environments
• Experience with monitoring and observability platforms such as New Relic, Dynatrace, Datadog, Splunk, Azure Monitor, or similar
• Hands-on scripting and automation experience (Python, Bash, PowerShell, Ansible, etc.)
• Experience troubleshooting application and infrastructure performance issues
• Ability to collaborate across technical teams and prioritize in a fast-paced environment
• Experience in enterprise-scale environments preferred

Why Join AAR?

• Help build and mature a critical observability function with significant ownership and influence
• Work closely with leadership on enterprise-wide technology initiatives
• Opportunity to help define the monitoring and performance strategy for the future
• Collaborative, supportive manager with an open-door leadership style and a focus on empowering the team
• Broad exposure across infrastructure, applications, networks, databases, and cloud technologies
• Diverse challenges, high visibility, and plenty of opportunities for growth and advancement

The anticipated salary range for this position is $110,000 to $130,000 annually. This range reflects the base salary for candidates who meet the requirements of the role, including experience, education, and location. In addition to base pay, this role is eligible for a bonus.

AAR offers a competitive benefits package, including medical/dental/vision/life/and AD&D insurance, 401(k) savings plan with employer match, paid time off and holiday pay, as well as opportunities for professional development and growth.