Senior Software Engineer - Platform Infrastructure (Remote USA)

Confluent3 months ago

Location

Remote, United States

Workplace

Remote

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 192,200 – 225,810

Level

Senior

Role

Backend Engineer

Posted

Dec 11, 2025

Full TimeRemoteSenior

The role

Summary

Confluent is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to architect and build platform infrastructure services including authentication, identity management, and security systems. This hybrid role combines deep software development with operational excellence, requiring 6+ years of experience in backend development with Go/Java/Python and strong expertise in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and security domains.

What you'll do

Platform Services Architecture: Architect, design, and develop platform services including authentication, authorization, identity management, secrets management, and policy enforcement with focus on scalability and security

Operational Design Leadership: Lead operational design for reliability by building comprehensive observability, monitoring, and incident response automation into security-critical services

Automation and Tooling Development: Build automation and tooling to drive self-healing systems, proactive risk detection, failure recovery, and continuous resilience testing

Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate with compliance, governance, and risk teams to translate regulatory and policy requirements into scalable technical controls

Technical Leadership: Lead technical design reviews, security architecture reviews, and incident postmortems for platform-level incidents

Engineering Mentorship: Mentor engineers across multiple disciplines on both security and operational best practices

End-to-End Service Ownership: Own complete service lifecycle from initial design and development through deployment, production hardening, and ongoing maintenance

What we look for

Technical

Backend Development ExperienceStrong proficiency in Go, Java, Rust, or Python for building scalable backend services

Distributed Systems ExpertiseDeep understanding of distributed systems architecture, patterns, and challenges

Cloud InfrastructureHands-on experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure cloud platforms and services

Container OrchestrationExpertise with Kubernetes, Docker, and container orchestration technologies

Security Domain KnowledgeStrong understanding of IAM, OAuth2, OIDC, PKI, secrets management, policy engines, audit pipelines, and zero trust architecture

Production Systems ExperienceExperience building highly reliable, observable, and resilient production systems

Operational ExcellenceExpertise with SLOs, SLIs, error budgets, on-call leadership, and incident management

Education

Degree RequirementBS, MS, or PhD in computer science or related field, or equivalent work experience

Experience

Years of Experience6+ years of experience in software engineering, SRE, or security engineering roles

Security Platform ServicesSignificant experience operating security platform services in production environments

Cross-functional LeadershipStrong collaboration skills to drive alignment across engineering, security, and compliance stakeholders

Skills

Required skills

Backend Programming LanguagesProficiency in Go, Java, Rust, or Python for building scalable services

Distributed SystemsDeep understanding of distributed architecture patterns and challenges

Cloud PlatformsHands-on experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure infrastructure services

KubernetesContainer orchestration and service deployment expertise

Security ProtocolsIAM, OAuth2, OIDC, PKI, and secrets management knowledge

Site Reliability EngineeringSLOs, SLIs, error budgets, and incident management practices

Communication SkillsAbility to influence technical and business leaders across organizations

Nice to have

SPIFFE/SPIREExperience with workload identity and attestation frameworks

OPA/GatekeeperPolicy engine implementation and management

Service Mesh TechnologiesEnvoy, Istio, and service-to-service communication patterns

Compliance FrameworksExposure to security compliance frameworks like FedRAMP

Architecture LeadershipExperience leading cross-organizational security platform initiatives

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 192,200 – 225,810 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity Compensation

Stock options and equity participation in company growth

Remote Work

Fully remote position with flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States

Inclusive Culture

Equal opportunity workplace with focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion

Professional Growth

Opportunities to lead technical initiatives and mentor other engineers

Interview process

1
Initial Screen — Phone or video call with recruiter to discuss background, role fit, and compensation expectations
2
Technical Phone Screen — 45-60 minute technical interview focusing on distributed systems design and backend engineering concepts
3
System Design Interview — Architecture-focused session designing scalable platform services with security considerations
4
Security Deep Dive — Technical discussion on security domains including IAM, OAuth2, PKI, and zero trust architecture
5
Behavioral Interview — Leadership and collaboration scenarios, focusing on cross-functional work and mentoring experience
6
Final Round — Panel interview with senior engineering leaders and potential team members