Scale Engineer

Senior Software Engineer - NatSec

Senior Software Engineer · Senior · Full Time

US-VA-McLeanUSD 200k – 288k6d ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Join Snowflake as a Senior Software Engineer specializing in National Security (NatSec) infrastructure, where you'll design and maintain compliant, secure, and auditable cloud systems for public sector deployments. This role demands deep expertise in distributed systems architecture, cloud infrastructure, and security compliance with a focus on air-gapped environments requiring active TS/SCI clearance.

Responsibilities

  • Design and Implement Scalable Distributed Systems: Design, implement, and maintain scalable distributed systems for Snowflake's cloud automation platform, including cloud control plane architecture, Kubernetes container orchestration, traffic management, and networking infrastructure. Apply advanced distributed systems principles to handle complex technical requirements in public sector environments.
  • Lead Public Sector Infrastructure Initiatives: Lead several key engineering areas across National Security infrastructure while collaborating with various engineering groups and the Public Sector team. Drive architectural decisions rooted in Snowflake's product architecture to ensure compliance, security, and auditability for government and regulated industry deployments.
  • Deploy and Maintain Air-Gapped Environments: Deploy, configure, and maintain availability of cloud compute servers and Kubernetes clusters that power the Snowflake platform in sensitive, air-gapped production environments. Ensure system reliability and performance in restricted network environments with limited external connectivity.
  • Customer-Centric Problem Solving: Work directly with public sector customers to rapidly understand their critical compliance, security, and operational challenges. Design and implement customized solutions that address specific customer requirements for data residency, compliance controls, and security governance.
  • Build Compliance and Delivery Pipelines: Implement software delivery pipelines and deployment automation that support continuous delivery while maintaining automatic compliance verification in sensitive runtime environments. Ensure all deployments meet stringent security and audit requirements for government contracts.
  • Ensure Operational Excellence and SLO Compliance: Ensure operational readiness of all services and meet critical commitments to customers regarding security, reliability, availability, and performance. Collaborate closely with product teams on requirements and Service Level Objectives (SLOs) for deploying software into air-gapped, restricted environments.
  • Troubleshoot Complex Systems Issues: Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve sophisticated network, systems, and infrastructure issues in production environments. Apply deep knowledge of distributed systems architecture, cloud infrastructure, and security controls to diagnose and remediate problems.
  • Automate Operational Tasks: Automate routine operational tasks and infrastructure management to reduce manual overhead. Implement Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) solutions using tools like Terraform or Pulumi to maintain system consistency and auditability across deployments.
  • Build and Maintain Deep Technical Expertise: Develop and continuously expand a comprehensive knowledge base spanning cloud infrastructure, privacy and governance frameworks, compliance controls, data security standards, and data residency requirements across various jurisdictions and industry verticals.

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Distributed Systems Design and Deployment

    7+ years of proven experience designing, architecting, and supporting large-scale distributed systems in production environments. Must have recent hands-on experience deploying and managing systems at public sector customer sites with complex compliance and security requirements.

  • Air-Gapped Environment Experience

    Current or recent experience working in air-gapped and restricted network environments. Understanding of deployment constraints, network isolation, and operational procedures specific to disconnected or limited-connectivity infrastructure.

  • Cloud Infrastructure and Infrastructure-as-Code

    In-depth hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure architecture and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tools including Terraform, Pulumi, or equivalent technologies. Proficiency in managing cloud resources programmatically across AWS, Azure, or GCP platforms.

  • Programming Languages

    Advanced development proficiency in at least one of: Java, C++, Golang, or Python. Demonstrated ability to write production-grade code that meets security and performance standards for large-scale systems.

  • Storage Systems and Database Internals

    In-depth knowledge of storage systems architecture and database internals. Understanding of query optimization, indexing strategies, transaction processing, and distributed database concepts as they apply to enterprise data platforms.

  • Public Cloud Platform Expertise

    Hands-on experience with major public cloud platforms including AWS, Azure, or GCP. Understanding of cloud services, compute options, networking, security, and compliance features across these platforms.

  • Computer Science Fundamentals

    Strong foundation in core computer science concepts including data structures, algorithms, complexity analysis, and distributed systems theory. Ability to apply theoretical knowledge to solve practical engineering challenges.

Education

  • Advanced Degree in Computer Science or Related Field

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or equivalent discipline required. Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Computer Science or related field strongly preferred to demonstrate commitment to technical depth.

Experience

  • Public Sector and Government Compliance Experience

    Demonstrated experience deploying and maintaining systems for government or regulated public sector customers. Familiarity with federal compliance frameworks, security standards, and the unique operational requirements of government contracts.

  • Kubernetes and Container Orchestration

    Substantial hands-on experience with Kubernetes or container orchestration platforms in production environments. Understanding of container security, networking, storage integration, and cluster management at scale.

  • Production Systems Operations

    Experience with production system deployment, monitoring, incident response, and operational maintenance. Demonstrated ability to maintain high availability and performance standards in mission-critical systems.

Skills

Required

  • Distributed Systems Architecture

    Deep understanding of distributed systems design patterns, consensus algorithms, fault tolerance, and scalability principles applied to large-scale infrastructure.

  • Cloud Infrastructure Engineering

    Expertise in designing, deploying, and managing cloud infrastructure including compute, networking, storage, and security across major cloud providers.

  • Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC)

    Proficiency with Infrastructure-as-Code tools such as Terraform, Pulumi, or CloudFormation for managing infrastructure programmatically and maintaining reproducible deployments.

  • Kubernetes and Container Orchestration

    Advanced knowledge of Kubernetes architecture, deployment strategies, networking, security, and operational management in production environments.

  • Security and Compliance

    Understanding of security controls, compliance frameworks, audit requirements, and best practices for protecting sensitive data and infrastructure in regulated environments.

  • Data Security and Residency

    Knowledge of data security principles, encryption standards, access controls, and data residency requirements across different jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks.

  • Software Development

    Production-grade programming ability in Java, C++, Golang, or Python with emphasis on writing scalable, maintainable, and secure code for distributed systems.

  • Database Systems Knowledge

    Understanding of database internals, query optimization, indexing, transaction processing, and distributed database concepts relevant to enterprise data platforms.

  • Problem Solving and Debugging

    Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills for identifying and resolving complex issues in distributed systems, network infrastructure, and production environments.

  • Collaboration and Communication

    Ability to work effectively across cross-functional engineering teams, communicate complex technical concepts clearly, and collaborate with customers to understand and solve critical business problems.

Preferred

  • Air-Gapped Environment Deployment

    Nice to have

    Previous experience deploying and operating systems in air-gapped or disconnected network environments with restricted external connectivity and limited administrative access.

  • Federal Security Clearance

    Nice to have

    Active or previous security clearance experience at Secret or Top Secret level, demonstrating familiarity with clearance processes and security protocols.

  • Government Contract Experience

    Nice to have

    Background working on systems for federal government agencies or DoD-related projects with exposure to NIST standards, FedRAMP, or similar compliance frameworks.

  • Advanced Kubernetes Expertise

    Nice to have

    Deep expertise with Kubernetes including custom operators, network policies, security contexts, and multi-cluster management in complex environments.

  • Networking and Systems Administration

    Nice to have

    Strong background in network architecture, TCP/IP protocols, firewalls, VPNs, and systems administration relevant to cloud infrastructure and air-gapped environments.

  • CI/CD Pipeline Development

    Nice to have

    Experience building and maintaining continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines that maintain security compliance while enabling rapid iteration.

  • Observability and Monitoring

    Nice to have

    Expertise in implementing comprehensive monitoring, logging, tracing, and alerting systems for production infrastructure and distributed applications.

  • Snowflake or Data Warehouse Platform Experience

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with Snowflake architecture or other enterprise data warehouse platforms, understanding cloud data platform design patterns and operational requirements.

Tech stack

Languages

JavaC++Go (Golang)Python

Frameworks

KubernetesCloud Control Planes

Databases

Distributed Data SystemsData Warehouse Systems

Tools

TerraformPulumiAmazon Web Services (AWS)Microsoft AzureGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP)CI/CD PlatformsMonitoring and Observability Stack

Other

Security Compliance FrameworksNetwork Architecture and SecurityDistributed Systems PatternsAir-Gapped Environment Operations

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 200,000 – 287,500

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening and Security Clearance Verification

    Initial conversation with recruiter to assess background, experience with public sector systems, and discussion of security clearance requirements. Verification of U.S. citizenship and willingness to undergo TS/SCI clearance background investigation.

  2. 02

    Technical Phone Screen

    Discussion with engineering team member covering distributed systems design, cloud infrastructure experience, and hands-on technical expertise. Assessment of problem-solving approach and familiarity with air-gapped environment constraints.

  3. 03

    Distributed Systems Design Interview

    Technical interview focused on designing large-scale distributed systems, discussing architectural decisions, trade-offs, and operational considerations. May include system design problems relevant to cloud infrastructure or data platform challenges.

  4. 04

    Cloud Infrastructure and DevOps Discussion

    In-depth conversation about cloud platform experience, Infrastructure-as-Code practices, Kubernetes knowledge, and production deployment and operational practices in compliance-sensitive environments.

  5. 05

    Security and Compliance Knowledge Interview

    Assessment of understanding compliance frameworks, security controls, data residency requirements, and experience deploying systems in regulated environments. Discussion of security mindset and compliance considerations in system design.

  6. 06

    Customer and Business Context Round

    Interview with product or public sector team member to discuss customer-facing problem-solving, understanding public sector requirements, and ability to translate customer needs into technical solutions.

  7. 07

    Leadership and Collaboration Discussion

    Conversation with senior engineering leadership to assess ability to lead key technical initiatives, collaborate across teams, and influence architectural decisions at organizational level.

  8. 08

    Final Round and Offer Discussion

    Meeting with hiring manager or director to discuss role expectations, career growth opportunities, and address candidate questions. Contingent upon satisfactory security clearance verification and background screening.

Full posting

Original listing.

At Snowflake, we are powering the era of the agentic enterprise. To usher in this new era, we seek AI-native thinkers across every function who are energized by the opportunity to reinvent how they work. You don’t just use tools; you possess an innate curiosity, treating AI as a high-trust collaborator that is core to how you solve problems and accelerate your impact. We look for low-ego individuals who thrive in dynamic and fast-moving environments and move with an experimental mindset — who rapidly test emerging capabilities to discover simpler, more powerful ways to deliver results. At Snowflake, your role isn't just to execute a function, but to help redefine the future of how work gets done.

Senior Software Engineer, Snowflake Natsec

Running Snowflake in public sectors in different countries and regions, even in different industry verticals, requires us to build a compliant, secure, and auditable infrastructure. Many key design decisions are deeply rooted in the Snowflake product architecture. As a Senior Software Engineer, you will be responsible for leading several key areas and collaborating with various engineering groups in addition to the Public Sector team. To be successful in the area, you will need to have (and continue to build) a broad and in-depth knowledge base on cloud infrastructure, privacy, and governance, compliance controls, data security and data residency in various aspects of Snowflake.

AS A SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER AT SNOWFLAKE YOU WILL:

  • Solve real business needs at large scale by applying your software engineering and analytical problem solving skills.

  • Design, implement and maintain scalable distributed systems for our cloud automation platform that include cloud control plane, Kubernetes container platform and traffic and networking.

  • Work directly with customers to quickly understand their critical problems and design and implement solutions

  • Deploy and maintain availability of cloud compute servers and Kubernetes cluster that power the Snowflake platform in sensitive (sometimes air-gapped) production environments

  • Implement software and maintain delivery pipelines that support continuous delivery and automatic compliance in sensitive runtime environments.

  • Ensure operational readiness of the services and meet the commitments to our customers regarding security, reliability, availability, and performance

  • Collaborate closely with product teams on requirements & SLOs for deploying software into air-gapped environments

  • Identify, troubleshoot, and solve network & systems issues

  • Automate away routine operational tasks

OUR IDEAL SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER WILL HAVE:

Must have current clearance and experience working in AIR GAP environment

  • 7+ years of industry experience designing and supporting large-scale distributed systems in production, with recent experience in deploying at public sector customers

  • In-depth experience with storage systems, cloud infrastructure and IaC tools such as Terraform or Pulumi etc.

  • Strong CS fundamentals including data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems

  • In-depth development skills in Java, C++, Golang or Python

  • Experience with database systems and database internals

  • Experience with public cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP

  • Advanced degree in Computer Science or related degree

Requirements:

Security Clearance

  • Required: Active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph.

  • Condition: Must be willing and able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI with Polygraph.

  • Verification: Proof of clearance is required prior to an offer of employment.

Citizenship & Screening

  • U.S. Citizenship: Required due to federal law and government contract restrictions; verification via valid passport or approved documentation is mandatory.

  • Compliance: Candidates must meet all applicable customer and government security screening requirements.

Every Snowflake employee is expected to follow the company’s confidentiality and security standards for handling sensitive data. Snowflake employees must abide by the company’s data security plan as an essential part of their duties. It is every employee's duty to keep customer

Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.

How do you want to make your impact?

For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com

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