Staff Infrastructure Engineer

Volley; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 189,000 - 261,000; Full time

Job summary

Volley is seeking a Staff Infrastructure Engineer to design scalable infrastructure for voice-controlled games. This role involves collaborating with teams to optimize large-scale systems, mentoring engineers, and implementing cloud-native solutions. The position offers a hybrid work model and competitive salary in the vibrant San Francisco tech scene.

Benefits

100% medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage

4 weeks of paid time off

Generous parental leave policy

Visa support for eligible candidates

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience focused on backend and infrastructure.
• Proven experience building and operating large-scale, distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience with infrastructure as code tools like Terraform and CI/CD systems.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement infrastructure solutions using cloud-native technologies.
• Mentor and guide engineers, promoting best practices in infrastructure design.
• Analyze and resolve complex infrastructure issues ensuring system stability.

Skills

Cloud environments

Infrastructure optimization

Automation

Capacity planning

DevOps best practices

Observability

Tools

Terraform

Kubernetes

AWS

Job description

Role Summary:

We are seeking a Staff Infrastructure Engineer to design and implement scalable, high-performance infrastructure to power Volley’s portfolio of voice-controlled games and interactive experiences. You will be responsible to ensure that our infrastructure meets our current and future needs as we scale our games and platforms. You will work in partnership with our games and platforms teams and instill best practices across teams. This role is ideal for a seasoned engineer who thrives on building and optimizing large-scale distributed systems, guiding teams through complex challenges, and shaping the future of our platform.

We’re a small and diverse team that delivers outsized impact through smart technical investments. We’re looking for someone who is curious, empathetic, and a creative problem solver. You will have significant impact and visibility across our organization, collaborating with company leadership, our product and platform teams to understand business goals, driving technical decision-making on the Infrastructure team, and setting a standard of excellence for the broader engineering organization.

This job opportunity offers a hybrid work arrangement, and we are specifically seeking candidates who are comfortable with on-site attendance in our Bay Area office three times per week and are either currently residing in or near the Bay Area or willing to relocate for on-site work.

What you’ll do at Volley

• Architect and implement infrastructure solutions using cloud-native technologies like Kubernetes and AWS to support large-scale, distributed applications.
• Build and maintain comprehensive observability systems, ensuring real-time visibility into system health and performance.
• Research and implement tools to automate infrastructure provisioning and management, including CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC) using Terraform, and capacity planning.
• Mentor and guide engineers, promoting best practices in infrastructure design, security, and performance optimization.
• Analyze and resolve complex infrastructure issues, ensuring system stability and resilience.
• Work closely with platform, core games, AI, and other engineering teams to drive infrastructure improvements and align on technical strategies.
• Continuously assess and implement new technologies to address evolving developer challenges.

Must-haves

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a focus on backend development and infrastructure.
• Proven experience building and operating large-scale, distributed systems.
• Deep understanding of cloud environments (preferably AWS) and infrastructure optimization.
• Hands-on experience with infrastructure as code tools like Terraform and CI/CD systems.
• Strong experience managing Kubernetes clusters in production environments.
• Proficiency in DevOps best practices, including automation, capacity planning, and infrastructure scaling.
• Solid understanding of observability, monitoring, and incident response.
• High degree of empathy for users, both internal and external, with the ability to simplify complex systems for broader engineering teams.

Stuff you may have done before

• Experience in Fullstack development, including TypeScript and React.
• Background in gaming, media, or streaming infrastructure.
• Experience building products for developers or internal tools.
• Expertise in networking and security best practices.

Our Stack

• Languages/Frameworks: Python, Node.js, TypeScript
• Data/Infra: Redis, DynamoDB, PostgreSQL, AWS Aurora
• Deployment: Docker, Kubernetes
• Cloud: AWS (Aurora, Redis, DynamoDB, S3, Cloudfront, CloudWatch)

The hiring process

• Stage 1: (Preliminary Video Call) with a member of our recruitment team
• Stage 2: (Technical Screen Video Call) with one of our engineers + (Behavioral Screen Video Call) with one of our engineering managers
• Stage 3: (Onsite) with various partners and team members
• Stage 4: (Offer)

What’s in it for you

• Your medical, dental, and vision insurance is 100% covered by Volley, for yourself and all dependents and we match 401k!
• We offer a flexible, hybrid work-from-home and in-office work model.
• We offer 4 weeks of paid time off (enforced 2-week minimum), 16 paid holidays, 40 hours of bereavement leave, and unlimited sick days.
• Our generous parental leave policy includes 24 weeks at 100% pay for birthing parents and 12 weeks at 100% pay for non-birthing parents.
• We offer visa support for eligible candidates, making relocating for the job smoother and more streamlined.

For Pay Transparency: The base salary range for this position is $189,477 - $260,531 annually, based on a local (San Francisco) hire. The final offer amount may depend on experience, education, skills, and location. Base pay is one part of the total package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work.

About Us

Volley is the leading developer of AI-powered games for Amazon Alexa, Roku TVs, and mobile devices. Our games attract millions of users every month. Popular Volley games include Song Quiz , Jeopardy! , and The Price Is Right .

We believe voice interfaces will become the main way people access entertainment in their living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and cars. We’re building a bundled subscription product similar to Netflix or Spotify for the emerging category of “AI-powered games.”

Volley was founded by Max Child and James Wilsterman in 2016. We're headquartered in downtown San Francisco in the historic Phelan Building! We’re a quickly growing team that truly enjoys working together. If you think you would enjoy creating joyful games on top of a rapidly evolving AI technology stack, please get in touch!

Volley believes in an inclusive workplace and is committed to building a team from a variety of backgrounds. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive the other benefits and privileges of employment.

Underrepresented candidates and candidates from nontraditional backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply!