[Hiring] Senior Systems Operations Engineer @DistroKid

Role Description

DistroKid is seeking a highly skilled Senior Systems Operations Engineer with deep expertise in cloud infrastructure, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), and AI-enhanced operations. This role is a critical technical leadership position on the Systems Operations (SysOps) team, responsible for architecting and managing our cloud environment, driving IaC maturity, and integrating AI-powered practices that improve reliability, reduce toil, and scale our operational capabilities.

You will serve as a subject matter expert in infrastructure domains, own complex workstreams end-to-end, and partner strategically with peers, engineering teams, and guidance to deliver impactful outcomes across the organization. This is a fully remote position, and success in the role depends on clear, open, and proactive communication to keep distributed teammates informed, aligned, and unblocked.

What You’ll Do

• Cloud & Infrastructure Architecture
  • Design, deploy, and manage scalable and highly available cloud infrastructure on AWS.
  • Develop and maintain disaster recovery plans leveraging AWS capabilities for backup and replication.
  • Collaborate with engineering and security teams to improve infrastructure health, security, and long-term scalability.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  • Design reusable Terraform/OpenTofu modules following DRY principles and organizational standards.
  • Direct the migration of manual infrastructure to code; establish patterns and best practices for IaC adoption.
  • Implement IaC testing strategies using tools such as Terraform-Compliance or Checkov.
  • Architect and maintain complex Bitbucket pipeline configurations for multi-environment IaC deployments.
• AI-Enhanced Operations (AIOps)
  • Implement AIOps practices, leveraging AI tools to enhance monitoring, incident response, and predictive alerting.
  • Use AI-assisted development and operations tools to accelerate troubleshooting, code review, and documentation generation.
  • Evaluate and implement AI-powered automation to reduce operational toil and improve repeatability.
• Reliability & Observability
  • Define and implement SLOs for services; guide and/or participate in incident response.
  • Implement chaos engineering practices to proactively identify system weaknesses.
  • Build and maintain comprehensive monitoring solutions using tools such as CloudWatch and Datadog.
• Automation, Developer Experience & Internal Developer Portal
  • Develop automation scripts and tools in Python, Bash, or similar languages.
  • Build self-service capabilities for development teams to reduce cognitive load.
  • Guide the solution architecture and implementation of DistroKid’s first Internal Developer Portal (IDP).
  • Define the IDP roadmap and success criteria in partnership with engineering leadership.
  • Drive adoption of the IDP across engineering teams; gather feedback and measure impact.
• Cost Optimization
  • Guide cost optimization initiatives; implement rightsizing recommendations and tagging standards.
  • Monitor and optimize AWS resource usage; select appropriate services and configurations.
• Technical Leadership & Collaboration
  • Direct planning, decision-making, and execution for infrastructure projects.
  • Partner cross-functionally with engineering, security, and product teams.
  • Provide technical mentorship to junior and mid-level engineers.
  • Maintain and contribute to infrastructure documentation and runbooks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience in systems operations, platform engineering, or DevOps.
• Proven production experience with AWS services and Kubernetes.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code tools, specifically Terraform and/or OpenTofu.
• Strong knowledge of Linux/Unix administration and shell scripting.
• Proficiency in Python, Go, or similar programming languages.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure deployments.
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools.
• Demonstrated experience implementing or working with AIOps tools.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools.

Requirements

• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage effectively across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Practices open, transparent, and proactive communication in a fully remote environment.
• Demonstrated ability to guide and influence without formal authority.
• Excellent problem-solving skills with the composure to guide through incidents under pressure.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with shifting priorities.

Benefits

• Retirement plans (401k, SIPP, etc.)
• Health insurance
• Generous paid time off
• Parental leave
• Home office allowance
• Flexible work schedules
• Paid and discounted subscriptions
• Regular engagement activities