Staff Software Engineer

Summary

Join Airbnb's Cloud Infrastructure team and build the foundational platforms powering our global services. As a Software Engineer, you will architect and operate scalable infrastructure on public cloud services, build and extend infrastructure for fleet health monitoring, design Kubernetes controllers and custom tooling, and collaborate with cloud provider teams and open source communities. You will work with kernel and OS primitives to enhance container security and performance, develop CLI and UI tools, and drive rolling upgrades to maintain a secure platform. Optimize existing systems for performance and efficiency, systematically improve availability, and collaborate with other engineers to build the foundation for Airbnb's technical growth. This role requires deep expertise in Kubernetes, Linux kernel, and large-scale infrastructure management.

Requirements

• 9+ years of experience designing and operating large-scale infrastructure or platform systems
• Experience leading and shipping large scope technical projects in collaboration with multiple experienced engineers
• Deep expertise with Kubernetes node components and ecosystem interfaces: kubelet, CRI, CNI, CSI, CDI etc
• Strong Linux kernel and OS internals knowledge, focusing on container runtimes, resource isolation (cgroups, namespaces), GPU device drivers and security primitives
• Experience managing large Kubernetes fleets (1000+ nodes) in public cloud environments, integrating cloud provider capabilities directly into platform infrastructure
• Expertise building Kubernetes controllers/operators and exposing cloud-native infrastructure features internally
• Skilled with infrastructure management frameworks (Puppet, Chef, Salt, or equivalent) to manage cloud fleets
• Proficient in systems programming languages (Go) and scripting (Ruby, Bash)
• Proven track record in automation, health monitoring, and self-remediation of large compute fleets
• Excellent problem-solving and production debugging skills spanning kernel, container runtime, and orchestration layers
• Strong collaborator and communicator, comfortable partnering with cross-functional teams and external vendors
• You are a full-cycle developer: strong ownership and experience building and operating high-scale, distributed systems across the full software life cycle
• You have excellent communication skills and the ability to work well within a team and across engineering teams
• You are a strong problem solver and have solid production debugging skills

Responsibilities

• Architect and operate scalable infrastructure on top of public cloud services, integrating new cloud provider features as they become available
• Build and extend infrastructure for fleet health monitoring and automated remediation across thousands of Kubernetes nodes
• Design and build Kubernetes controllers, operators, and custom tooling to expose cloud-native compute capabilities to Airbnb’s engineering teams
• Collaborate with cloud provider teams and open source communities to adopt and optimize new infrastructure innovations
• Work closely with kernel and OS primitives to enhance container security, resource isolation, and performance tuning in Airbnb’s compute fleet
• Develop CLI and UI tools to improve infrastructure observability, usability, and operational ergonomics
• Drive rolling upgrades, patch management, and runtime hardening to maintain a secure, stable, and modern compute platform
• Optimize existing systems/services to improve performance and efficiency
• Systematically improve availability by applying industry and distributed systems best practices
• Work with other talented and friendly infrastructure engineers to build the foundation for Airbnb’s technical growth over the next decade

Benefits

This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits