Software Engineer, Core Infrastructure (Mid-Senior level)

Zip
San Francisco, CA
Hybrid

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior infrastructure engineers who take ownership of Kubernetes and multi-region systems, collaborating across geographies.

Best fit for

  • Infrastructure generalists comfortable with both hands-on coding and strategic roadmap ownership.
    — “Take full ownership in one or more of the Core Infra areas”
  • Engineers with production Kubernetes expertise seeking to scale systems across regions.
    — “Zip’s Kubernetes platform, observability and deployment tooling”
  • Technical leaders who can bridge AI infrastructure and traditional reliability engineering.
    — “AI Infrastructure development”

Things to consider

  • Requires coordination with a distributed team in Toronto during expansion phases.
    — “partner with the Core Infrastructure Toronto, Canada, team”
  • Site leadership responsibilities extend beyond pure technical contributions.
    — “will also serve as site lead in SF”

How to stand out

  • Demonstrate concrete examples of improving SLOs in past infrastructure roles.
    — “Infrastructure security, reliability, efficiency and performance; SLAs and SLOs”
  • Highlight multi-region deployment experience beyond basic Kubernetes operations.
    — “Horizontal scaling, multi-region expansion and GovCloud development”
  • Show adaptability by citing rapid framework learning in past projects.
    — “Ability and interest to quickly learn new frameworks”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · TeamLevel · Senior

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • took ownership of Zip’s Kubernetes platform
  • defined roadmap for core infrastructure areas
  • partnered with Toronto team for multi-region expansion
Typical background
6+ years of software engineering experience in infrastructure

Skills & requirements

Required

Software EngineeringKubernetesObservabilityAI InfrastructureMulti-region Expansion

Preferred

Infrastructure SecurityReliabilityEfficiencyPerformance

Stack & domain

Software EngineeringKubernetesEksMulti-regionNetworkingObservabilityReliabilityEfficiencyAi InfrastructureDebuggabilityAi-assisted TroubleshootingInterpersonal SkillsCommunication SkillsProject Management SkillsCreative ThinkingStrategic ThinkingTechnologyAISoftware Development

About the role

Original posting from Zip via Ashby

ABOUT ZIP

Zip is the AI platform for enterprise procurement — built for humans and agents working together. By orchestrating procurement across teams, tools, and suppliers with the help of AI agents, companies can secure the resources they need to innovate faster than ever before.

The world’s most influential enterprises trust Zip, including T-Mobile, OpenAI, AMD, Mars, Dollar Tree, and more. Together they’ve saved over $8 billion and processed over $500 billion in spend. Zip’s team includes product leaders from Apple, Airbnb, and Meta, as well as former procurement leaders from United Health, Sanofi, MGM Resorts, Discover, and NASA.

Backed by Adams Street, Alkeon, BOND, CRV, DST, Tiger Global, and Y Combinator, Zip has raised $371 million, most recently at a $2.2 billion valuation and has been recognized by Forbes Fintech 50, Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, Inc. Best in Business, and LinkedIn Top Startups.

YOUR ROLE

We are looking for an experienced software engineer to join the Core Infrastructure team in San Francisco, CA. This role will become a key contributor to Zip’s multi-region expansion, and take ownership in one or more of the Core Infra components, such as Kubernetes platform, AI infrastructure and more.

YOU WILL

  • Play a pivotal role in multi-region growth by building and operating global multi-cell architectures.
  • Assume end-to-end ownership of one or more infrastructure components, including Kubernetes platforms, AI Infra, observability, deployment pipeline and cost optimization.
  • Champion technical excellence by leading the design, implementation, and operational excellence of highly scalable systems.
  • Partner with engineering colleagues to accelerate and empower Zip’s product roadmap.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • 4 years of experience in software engineering.
  • Strong track record of building and operating large scale platforms or infrastructure independently.
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
  • Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science or a related technical field (e.g., Physics, Mathematics).

NICE TO HAVE

  • Hands-on expertise in building and operating large-scale systems, utilizing technologies like AWS, Datadog, Kubernetes, and open-source solutions such as Celery, Redis, Docling and DBOS.
  • Demonstrated effective collaboration with internal stakeholders across multiple time zones.

The salary range for this role is $165,000 - $240,000. The salary for this position is determined based on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant experience, education, or particular skills and expertise.

PERKS & BENEFITS

At Zip, we’re committed to providing our employees with everything they need to do their best work.

  • 📈 Start-up equity
  • 🦷 100% health, vision & dental coverage options
  • 🍽️ Catered breakfast, lunch, & dinner
  • 🌴 Flexible PTO
  • 🏋️‍♀️ ClassPass membership
  • 🚍 Monthly commuter benefit
  • 🚠 Team building events & happy hours
  • 💻 Home office stipend
  • 🛜 Phone/internet reimbursement
  • 🍼 Paid parental leave
  • 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Fertility stipend
  • 💸 401k plan
  • 🤖 Unlimited AI token usage

We're looking to hire Zipsters and that means hiring people who take ownership, communicate openly, have an underdog mindset, and are excited to increase the pace of innovation for every business in the world. We encourage all candidates to apply even if your experience doesn't exactly match up to our job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workspace where everyone (regardless of age, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and more) feels like they belong. We look forward to hearing from you!

Source: Zip careers (Ashby)

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