Staff Engineer - Core Infrastructure

Uber; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 232,000 - 258,000; Full time

Job summary

Uber is seeking a Staff Engineer (5B) in Core Infrastructure to lead the architecture and evolution of Uber's global backend systems. You will own roadmaps for critical sub-systems and drive secure, scalable infrastructure across cloud and on-prem environments.

The role focuses on cloud-native design, security by design, and collaboration across Storage, Data, and Product teams to support 1M+ trips and large AI workloads. Office-based in San Francisco with hybrid options.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/CE or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of full-time software engineering experience.
• Proficient in Go, Java, or C++.
• Experience designing large-scale, high-availability infrastructure services.
• Proven track record leading complex, multi-quarter initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead architectural evolution across compute and networking stacks.
• Improve fleet-wide CPU utilization and ARM adoption.
• Direct multi-cloud strategy for resilient, active-active foundations.
• Develop AIOps tools to automate alert triaging and incident response.
• Ensure 100% service-to-service authorization and zero-trust networking.
• Collaborate with Storage, Data, and Product teams for scale.
• Mentor 5A and mid-level engineers to raise operational excellence.

Skills

Go

Java

C++

Distributed Systems

Execution Excellence

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Container runtimes (CRI)

Envoy

CNI

Linux kernel

eBPF

Job description

About The Role

As a Staff Engineer (5B) in Core Infrastructure, you will be a key technical leader driving the architecture and evolution of the systems that power Uber's global business. You will engage with stakeholders across the company to spearhead backend solutions supporting every trip, delivery, and infrastructure tool used at Uber.

We are building a "cloud-native by default" ecosystem that is secure, reliable, and hyperscale-efficient. In this role, you will own the technical roadmap for critical sub-systems, ensuring our infrastructure is prepared to handle 1M+ concurrent trips alongside the massive compute demands of Generative AI and Autonomous Vehicle data.

About The Team

The Core Infrastructure Platform team builds the next generation of Uber's orchestration, foundation, and networking layers. We manage a highly complex fleet spanning on-prem data centers and multiple public clouds, supporting a diverse variety of workloads including stateless, batch, streaming, and ML.

Our ultimate goal is to create seamless abstractions so Uber developers can deploy anywhere in the world with the touch of a button-making infrastructure "just work." We are also highly active contributors to the open-source community (Kubernetes, CNCF) and regularly present our innovations at industry conferences like KubeCon.

What You Will Do

• Lead Architectural Evolution: Identify architectural gaps in our compute and networking stacks. Lead projects from ideation to global execution to fill those gaps (e.g., migrating to standardized CNI/Envoy or implementing shared GPU pools).
• Drive Efficiency at Scale: Design and implement solutions to increase fleet-wide CPU utilization (targeting 40%+) and accelerate ARM adoption to aggressively optimize Uber's unit costs.
• Modernize for Multi-Cloud: Direct the technical strategy for our "Thrive in Cloud" initiative, ensuring our foundations are resilient, active-active across providers, and capable of rapid regional failover.
• Integrate AIOps & Automation: Drive the development of "Agentic" infrastructure tools (e.g., Project Eve for network quality) to automate 80% of alert triaging and incident response.
• Champion "Security by Design": Ensure 100% service-to-service authorization and zero-trust networking are baked into the core fabric of our container and networking platforms.
• Drive Cross-Functional Impact: Collaborate heavily with Storage, Data, and Product teams to ensure the infrastructure can support 300x larger ranking models and L4 Autonomous Vehicle data ingestion.
• Mentor & Scale Talent: Act as a force multiplier by mentoring 5A and mid-level engineers, fostering a culture of "100% Done-Done" and operational excellence across the organization.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 8+ years of full-time Software Engineering work experience (inclusive of PhD research or equivalent specialized education).
• Systems Languages: Deep, hands‑on proficiency in Go, Java, or C++.
• Distributed Systems Mastery: Demonstrated experience designing, building, and productionizing large-scale, high‑availability infrastructure services.
• Execution Excellence: A proven track record of leading complex, multi‑quarter technical initiatives from initial design through fleet‑wide rollout.

Preferred Qualifications

• Cloud‑Native Depth: Deep knowledge of Kubernetes internals, container runtimes (CRI), and modern networking (CNI/Envoy).
• Infrastructure Strategy: Prior experience with hybrid‑cloud or multi‑cloud migrations and cost‑optimization at a massive scale.
• Linux & Kernel Knowledge: Strong understanding of operating systems, Linux kernel performance tuning, and/or eBPF.
• AI/ML Infrastructure: Experience building or managing compute platforms specifically tailored for GPU scheduling and large‑scale model training.
• Community Influence: Active contributions to open‑source infrastructure projects or a history of presenting at major technical conferences.

Salary and Benefits

For San Francisco, CA‑based roles: The base salary range for this role is USD $232,000 per year - USD $258,000 per year.

For Seattle, WA‑based roles: The base salary range for this role is USD $232,000 per year - USD $258,000 per year.

For Sunnyvale, CA‑based roles: The base salary range for this role is USD $232,000 per year - USD $258,000 per year.

For all US locations, you will be eligible to participate in Uber's bonus program, and may be offered an equity award & other types of comp. All full‑time employees are eligible to participate in a 401(k) plan. You will also be eligible for various benefits.

This isn't the kind of place where you follow a playbook - it's where you help write one. If you're driven by impact, energized by challenge, and ready to shape how the world moves - we'd love to hear from you.

You may be eligible for bonuses, equity, and other compensation, as well as a range of benefits. Explore our benefits.

Offices remain key to collaboration and Uber's culture. Unless approved for full remote work, employees must spend at least 50% of their time in‑office. Some roles, like those at greenlight hubs, require full‑time in‑office presence.

Uber is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.