Staff Systems Engineer

Summary

Join Airbnb's growing BizTech Systems Engineering Team as a Staff Systems Engineer and drive initiatives to enhance the scalability and operation of our systems infrastructure. You will leverage your leadership and technical expertise to influence stakeholders, deliver durable solutions, and establish operational excellence. A typical day involves infrastructure development, operational excellence, strategic vision, and cross-functional engagement. You will design and maintain scalable infrastructure, respond to operational incidents, develop roadmaps, and collaborate across teams. This role requires extensive experience in systems engineering, infrastructure management, and containerization technologies. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

Requirements

• 9+ years of systems engineering experience with Linux/Windows infrastructure management in cloud infrastructures using infrastructure as code techniques
• Broad experience managing Linux and Windows operating systems infrastructure
• Expertise in containerization technologies (e.g., Docker and Cloud hosted Kubernetes(EKS/GKE))
• Proficiency in infrastructure automation such as IAC(Terraform), Kubernetes package management(Helm), deployment(Git and ArgoCD), CI/CD(Jenkins), and configuration management(Chef)
• Programming proficiency in Python, JavaScript, Ruby, or Go
• Mentoring junior staff and associated teams in implementing team technologies
• Expert-level monitoring and observability skills using Grafana and OpenSearch
• Creating technical documentation, service catalogs, and post-incident reviews that align with organizational standards and designs
• Understanding of cost optimization strategies for configurations or infrastructure transitions
• Extensive knowledge of security, risk assessment methodologies and the ability to implement scalable, resilient systems through failure-mode analysis and innovative designs
• Excellent collaboration skills, engaging stakeholders across technical and non-technical teams
• Experience building durable infrastructure systems that empower teams

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain scalable infrastructure using containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) and infrastructure automation tools (e.g., Terraform, ArgoCD) and other legacy infrastructure
• Develop workflows and CI/CD pipelines, enhancing efficiency and reliability while ideating solutions to improve core infrastructure functionalities
• Create technical documentation, runbooks, and training materials that empower teams to adopt best practices in maintaining and advancing infrastructure
• Respond to operational incidents and security vulnerabilities, performing root cause analyses and implementing system improvements
• Develop roadmaps and OKRs to align the technical roadmap with Airbnb’s priorities, ensuring technical solutions are durable and scalable for future needs
• Build inclusive environments by fostering collaboration across diverse perspectives and aligning shared priorities with business objectives
• Share knowledge with team members and mentor ICs, enabling professional growth and aligning individual contributions with organizational goals

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or relevant disciplines (Ph.D. preferred but not required)
• Deep knowledge of multi-cloud environments (AWS, GCP, OCI, Azure)
• Active participation in technical communities (e.g., open-source contributions, speaking engagements, blogs)
• Experience leading diversity and belonging initiatives, mentoring junior staff, or acting as an ambassador in technical communities
• Project and/or portfolio management experience using multiple methodologies
• Experience building durable infrastructure systems that empower cross-functional teams

Benefits

• Bonus
• Equity
• Benefits
• Employee Travel Credits