Staff Engineer - Platform Engineering

Early Warning; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

401(k) match

Paid time off

Paid parental leave

Maven Family Planning

Job summary

Early Warning is seeking a Staff Platform Engineer to define the technical roadmap, architect and implement scalable data platform solutions, and mentor a growing Platform Engineering team. You will lead cross-functional projects spanning products and infrastructure to strengthen security, reliability, and performance.

The ideal candidate has deep CI/CD, container orchestration, and IaC experience, plus strong communication and leadership skills to drive multi-team efforts across the engineering

Qualifications

• Education or experience typically obtained through a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or related fields or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 8 or more years of related industry experience.
• Strong understanding of CI/CD engineering practices.
• Strong experience with on-premise and AWS Cloud infrastructure.
• Strong experience with Container and Container Orchestration (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes).
• Strong experience with CI/CD Pipelines and Code Management Platforms (Harness, GitLab, Artifactory).
• Proficient in Infrastructure as Code development (Terraform, AWS CloudFormation).
• Experience with a major programming/scripting language (Python, Java, JavaScript, Shell).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work collaboratively.

Responsibilities

• Develops data platform infrastructure strategy to tackle large, open-ended problems.
• Leads all aspects of technical architecture, design, prototyping and implementation.
• Mentors junior team members and guides best practices.
• Builds cross-functional relationships within Platform Engineering and beyond.
• Provides leadership in support of technical plans and execution.
• Stays current with industry trends and innovations.

Skills

CI/CD engineering

Container orchestration

IaC development

Scripting languages

Communication skills

Problem solving

Cross-team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Docker

Podman

Kubernetes

Harness

GitLab

Artifactory

Terraform

AWS CloudFormation

Job description

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting‑edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses. Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment. Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

A Staff Platform Engineer formulates the technical strategy that defines the roadmap for the team. This individual architects, designs, builds, implements, automates, and documents the solutions the Platform Engineering team provides to engineering and product teams. Acts as a technical leader on the team and takes the lead on high‑impact, cross‑functional team projects.

Essential Functions

• Develops a data platform infrastructure strategy that tackles large, open‑ended problems using forward‑thinking approaches.
• Contributes to the strategic direction of the Platform Engineering team.
• Creates technical strategy for broad or complex requirements with forward‑looking approaches that go beyond the Platform Engineering team and solve large open‑ended problems.
• Leads all aspects of technical architecture, design, prototyping and implementation in support of both Platform Engineering needs, as well as overall technology strategy.
• Provides leadership and technical expertise in support of building a technical plan; provides follow through on execution.
• Builds cross‑functional relationships with peers and internally within the Platform Engineering team.
• Takes part in high visibility technical projects from inception to implementation.
• Stays current with industry trends and innovations through continuing education in Platform Engineering utilizing company provided training.
• Mentors junior team members with guidance around techniques, tools, and best practices.
• Supports the company’s commitment to risk management and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data.
• The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow instructions and perform other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education or experience typically obtained through completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or related fields or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 8 or more years of related industry experience.
• Strong understanding of CI/CD engineering practices.
• Strong experience with on‑premise and AWS Cloud infrastructure.
• Strong experience with Container and Container Orchestration. (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes)
• Strong experience with CI/CD Pipelines and Code Management Platforms. (Harness, GitLab, Artifactory)
• Proficient in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) development. (Terraform, AWS CloudFormation)
• Experience with a major programming/scripting language. (Python, Java, JavaScript, Shell)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong problem‑solving skills, attention to detail and the ability to work in a collaborative environment.
• Able to make critical technical tradeoff decisions that have cross team impact.
• Background and drug screen.

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional related education and/ or work experience preferred.
• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Information Systems or related field.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect certification or within one year of hire
• Certified Kubernetes Administrator certification
• Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional certification
• FinTech experience is a plus

Physical Requirements

Early Warning works together in a highly collaborative office environment. Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling, and reaching. Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. Requires the ability to communicate with internal and/or external customers. Employee must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.

The Base Pay Scale For This Position In

Phoenix, AZ/ Chicago, IL in USD per year is: $145,000 - $186,000. Additionally, candidates are eligible for a discretionary incentive plan and benefits. This pay scale is subject to change and is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific candidate, which is always dependent on legitimate factors considered at the time of job offer. Early Warning Services takes into consideration a variety of factors when determining a competitive salary offer, including, but not limited to, the job scope, market rates and geographic location of a position, candidate’s education, experience, training, and specialized skills or certification(s) in relation to the job requirements and compared with internal equity (peers). The business actively supports and reviews wage equity to ensure that pay decisions are not based on gender, race, national origin, or any other protected classes.

Some of the Ways We Prioritize Your Health and Happiness

• Healthcare Coverage –Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre‑tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan –Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non‑Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

And SO much more! We continue to enhance our program, so be sure to check our Benefits page here for the latest. Our team can share more during the interview process!

Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.

Early Warning Services LLC is a proud participant in E-Verify, a federal program to help ensure a legal and authorized workforce. As part of our hiring process, we electronically verify the employment eligibility of all new hires through E-Verify. For more information on your rights and responsibilities under E-Verify please visit Home | E-Verify.