Staff Software Engineer - Data Platform Engineering

ServiceNow; San Diego, Northern (CA, KY); On-site; USD 157,000 - 262,000; Full time

Job summary

ServiceNow is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to design and implement features within our cloud-native Data Platform, focusing on scalable, reliable services. You will build components from design through production and collaborate with senior engineers to ensure architectural alignment.

You will lead projects, improve observability, and spend significant time hands-on creating controllers, automation, and platform services.

Qualifications

• Experience integrating AI into engineering work, including AI-powered coding or automation.
• 8+ years of software development with a Bachelor's, 5+ with a Master’s, or 3+ with a PhD, or equivalent.
• 5+ years building and operating workloads on Kubernetes.
• Hands-on experience with at least one hyperscaler (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Track record delivering complex features as a key contributor.
• Solid knowledge of containers, CI/CD, GitOps, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Strong Go programming skills (or willingness to work in Go).
• Experience building Kubernetes controllers or the operator pattern is a plus.
• Familiarity with container networking, service mesh, and secrets management.
• Experience with observability: metrics, tracing, dashboards.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate components and services in the cloud-native platform from design to production.
• Lead well-scoped projects and translate requirements into solid technical designs.
• Collaborate with senior engineers to align work with architecture and standards.
• Improve reliability, scalability, and operability; write tests and runbooks; participate in on-call.
• Spend substantial time hands-on building operators, controllers, automation, and platform services.
• Onboard and mentor junior engineers through code reviews and design feedback.

Skills

AI in engineering

Go

CI/CD

GitOps

Containers

Kubernetes

Observability

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Master's degree in a technical field

PhD in a technical field

Tools

Kubernetes

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

• Full-time
• Employee Type: Regular
• Region: AMS - North America and Canada
• Work Persona: Flexible

Company Description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

Job Description

Position Location

This is aFlexible (Hybrid)position.Flexiblepositions require 2 days per week in a ServiceNow office location. We have offices in several locations, including San Francisco, CA; Pleasanton, CA; Santa Clara, CA; San Diego, CA; and Kirkland, WA

Please Note

This position will includesupporting our US Regulated Markets. This position requires passing a ServiceNow background screening, USFedPASS (US Federal Personnel Authorization Screening Standards). This includes a credit check, criminal/misdemeanor check and taking a drug test. Any employment is contingent upon passing the screening. Due to Federal requirements, only US citizens, US naturalized citizens or US Permanent Residents, holding a green card, will be considered.

About the team

As a Staff Software Engineer with the Data Platform organization, you will be responsible for designing and implementing features and services within our cloud-native platform.

What you get to do in this role

• You will design, build, and operate components and services within the cloud-native platform, taking features from design through to production.
• You will lead well-scoped projects within your team, turning requirements and rough ideas into solid technical designs and delivering them.
• You will collaborate with senior, staff, and principal engineers to align your work with the platform’s architecture and standards.
• You will contribute to the reliability, scalability, and operability of what you build — writing tests and instrumentation, improving runbooks, and participating in on-call.
• You will spend most of your time hands-on building — operators, controllers, automation, and platform services that other teams depend on.
• You will help onboard and mentor junior engineers through code review, design feedback, and pairing.

Qualifications

To be successful in this role you have:

• Experience leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into engineering work — whether using AI-powered coding and operational tooling, automating workflows, or reasoning about how AI changes the way software and infrastructure are built.
• 8+ years of software development experience with a Bachelor's degree; OR 5+ years witha Master's degree; OR 3+ years with a PhD; OR equivalent work experience.
• 5+ years ofhands-on experience building, deploying and operating workloads on Kubernetes.
• Working experience with at least one major hyperscaler (AWS, Azure, GCP), including its core compute, networking, and IAM primitives.
• A track record of delivering complex features or services as a key contributor.
• Solid working knowledge of containers, CI/CD and GitOps-based delivery, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Strong programming skills in Go (or another systems language with a willingness to work primarily in Go).

It also helps if you have:

• Experience building Kubernetes controllers or working with the operator pattern.
• Familiarity with container networking (CNI) or service mesh.
• Experience with workload identity, mTLS, or secrets management.
• Experience with observability — metrics, tracing, and dashboards.

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $149,800 - $262,200, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Additional Information

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here . To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [e-mail] for assistance.

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.

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