Software Engineer (Observability)

Twilio Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 135,000 - 191,000; Full time

Job summary

Twilio Inc. is seeking a Software Engineer for the Platform Observability team to help re-architect telemetry flows for a unified OpenTelemetry-first stack.

You will shape the observability foundation across the platform, enabling real-time analytics, cost insights, and scalable operations. As a senior engineer, you will mentor teams, drive architectural decisions, and partner with SREs and developer experience groups to deliver reliable, scalable tooling and APIs for incident response and

Qualifications

• Proven expertise in building and scaling observability systems (logging, metrics, tracing, profiling).
• Lead technical execution for major components of observability overhaul including centralized data lakes, OpenTelemetry instrumentation, and ClickHouse-backed engines.
• Proficiency in at least one modern language (Go, Python, Java).
• Familiarity with high-cardinality data challenges and telemetry correlation techniques.
• Experience designing high-scale telemetry systems (Prometheus, ClickHouse, OpenTelemetry, Kafka).
• Solid understanding of distributed systems and observability in microservice environments.
• Experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Provide architectural guidance and thought leadership across teams for telemetry standards and scalable abstractions.
• Ability to make forward-looking technical decisions and lead through ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end architecture and delivery of key observability platform components, with a focus on reliability, scalability, and usability.
• Drive consistency and quality across all observability signals—logs, metrics, traces, and continuous profiling—building intuitive workflows for engineers.
• Serve as a technical advisor and mentor across the platform org, guiding design decisions and aligning cross-team efforts with long-term architectural goals.
• Go deep in one or more problem areas (e.g., high-cardinality telemetry, distributed tracing correlation, compute cost insights), while ensuring the platform scales horizontally.
• Collaborate with product teams, SREs, and developer experience groups to deeply understand telemetry needs and integrate observability into core engineering workflows.
• Design and build developer-friendly tooling and APIs to support incident response, performance analysis, and platform debugging at scale.
• Leverage (and optionally contribute to) open-source standards like OpenTelemetry to ensure interoperability and extensibility.
• Champion a pragmatic approach to observability—balancing performance, cost, and user value across diverse engineering teams.

Skills

Observability

OpenTelemetry

Prometheus

ClickHouse

Go

Python

Java

AWS

Kubernetes

Distributed systems

Tools

OpenTelemetry instrumentation

S3 data lakes

Prometheus

Kafka

ClickHouse

AWS

Kubernetes

Job description

Location: Ireland

Who we are

At Twilio, we’re shaping the future of communications, all from the comfort of our homes. We deliver innovative solutions to hundreds of thousands of businesses and empower millions of developers worldwide to craft personalized customer experiences.

Our dedication to remote-first work, and strong culture of connection and global inclusion means that no matter your location, you’re part of a vibrant team with diverse experiences making a global impact each day. As we continue to revolutionize how the world interacts, we’re acquiring new skills and experiences that make work feel truly rewarding. Your career at Twilio is in your hands.

Hiring and how we work

We use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help make our hiring process efficient. That said, every hiring decision is made by real Twilions!

Also, while we are a remote-first company, you may be asked to report in person on an ad-hoc basis for team gatherings, functional off-sites or customer meetings.

See yourself at Twilio

Join the team as our next Software Engineer on Twilio’s platform engineering observability team.

About the job

This position is needed to help our platform engineering observability team. Twilio is undergoing a large-scale observability transformation—and you can help shape the foundation. Observability is a strategic pillar and a key enabler for faster incident response, deeper customer-centric insights, and more cost-effective platform operations.

As a Software Engineer on the Platform Observability team, you’ll play a critical role in re-architecting how telemetry flows and is utilized through Twilio—making it structured, accessible, affordable, and actionable. Over the next 3 years, Twilio is rebuilding nearly every component of our observability platform, from data collection to real-time analytics. You will drive core initiatives that shift Twilio from fragmented tooling and wasteful data sprawl to a unified, OpenTelemetry-first observability stack built for scale.

You’ll lead technically and strategically—designing platform components, influencing org-wide architectural decisions, mentoring engineers, and engaging directly with teams across Platform Engineering and R&D

Responsibilities

In this role, you’ll:

• Lead the end-to-end architecture and delivery of key observability platform components, with a focus on reliability, scalability, and usability.
• Drive consistency and quality across all observability signals—logs, metrics, traces, and continuous profiling—building intuitive workflows for engineers.
• Serve as a technical advisor and mentor across the platform org, guiding design decisions and aligning cross-team efforts with long-term architectural goals.
• Go deep in one or more problem areas (e.g., high-cardinality telemetry, distributed tracing correlation, compute cost insights), while ensuring the platform scales horizontally.
• Collaborate with product teams, SREs, and developer experience groups to deeply understand telemetry needs and integrate observability into core engineering workflows.
• Design and build developer-friendly tooling and APIs to support incident response, performance analysis, and platform debugging at scale.
• Leverage (and optionally contribute to) open-source standards like OpenTelemetry to ensure interoperability and extensibility.
• Champion a pragmatic approach to observability—balancing performance, cost, and user value across diverse engineering teams.

Qualifications

Twilio values diverse experiences from all kinds of industries, and we encourage everyone who meets the required qualifications to apply. If your career is just starting or hasn’t followed a traditional path, don't let that stop you from considering Twilio. We are always looking for people who will bring something new to the table!

*Required:

• Proven expertise in building and scaling observability systems (e.g., logging platforms, metrics pipelines, tracing infrastructure, or profiling tools).
• Lead technical execution for major components of Twilio’s observability overhaul, including our shift to centralized S3-based data lakes, OpenTelemetry instrumentation, and ClickHouse-backed query engines.
• Proficiency in at least one modern programming language (e.g., Go, Python, Java).
• Familiarity with high-cardinality data challenges and telemetry correlation techniques.
• Experience designing high-scale telemetry systems (e.g., Prometheus, ClickHouse, OpenTelemetry, Kafka, or equivalent).
• Solid understanding of distributed systems and the challenges of observability in complex, microservice-based environments.
• Experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Provide architectural guidance and thought leadership across teams, helping to establish clear telemetry standards, efficient usage patterns, and scalable platform abstractions.
• Ability to make forward-looking technical decisions and lead others through ambiguity and chan

Desired:

• Familiarity with ClickHouse, Grafana Mimir, Athena, or equivalent systems for log and metrics querying.
• Contributions to open-source observability tools or communities.
• Experience building cost visibility or FinOps tooling for cloud compute and telemetry pipelines.

Location

This role will be remote from Ireland.

Travel

We prioritize connection and opportunities to build relationships with our customers and each other. For this role, you may be required to travel occasionally to participate in project or team in-person meetings.

What We Offer

Working at Twilio offers many benefits, including competitive pay, generous time off, ample parental and wellness leave, healthcare, a retirement savings program, and much more. Offerings vary by location.

Twilio thinks big. Do you?

We like to solve problems, take initiative, pitch in when needed, and are always up for trying new things. That's why we seek out colleagues who embody our values — something we call Twilio Magic. Additionally, we empower employees to build positive change in their communities by supporting their volunteering and donation efforts.

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