Lead Principal Software Engineer, Core Infrastructure

Oracle•Seattle, WA

About The Position

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Compute delivers CPU and GPU bare metal and virtual machine instances globally. Oracle is hiring a hands-on Lead Principal Engineer to provide technical leadership for OCI Compute control-plane services, focusing on Imaging and Container Registry. The role involves architecting and delivering multi-tenant, highly available, horizontally scalable distributed systems across OCI regions while advancing operational excellence and cross-team technical alignment. The engineer will shape the technical roadmap for OCI Imaging and Container Registry Services, collaborate with Compute, Storage, Networking, OKE, and Functions teams, and partner with product management and field teams to translate customer needs into roadmap priorities. The role owns services throughout their lifecycle—from design and implementation through deployment, on-call operations, and continuous improvement—and contributes to the broader Compute vision for supporting mission-critical workloads globally. The position also involves mentoring engineers, establishing engineering standards across teams, and driving service-level objectives for availability, latency, and durability. The successful candidate will improve reliability and reduce operational toil using automation, observability, and self-healing mechanisms, while representing technical work to senior leaders and working across organizational and geographic boundaries.

Requirements

10+ years of development experience with large-scale, highly available distributed systems.
Proficiency in Java programming patterns.
Advanced knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
Experience operating distributed services at scale.
Expertise in Linux and operating systems.
A systematic problem-solving approach, strong communication skills, ownership, and drive.
Deep understanding of service metrics and alarms, including development of dashboards, service KPIs, and alarming systems.
Ability to work independently and drive technical outcomes and deliverables.
Ability to articulate technical concepts, document solution approaches, and collaborate across geographically distributed teams.
Demonstrated problem-solving ability leveraging AI, distributed systems, and cloud-native application behaviors.
Bachelor's or master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related IT field, or equivalent experience relevant to the functional area.

Nice To Haves

Programming experience with Scala and Python.
Experience managing and automating end-to-end CPU/GPU lifecycles at scale.
Proficiency with cloud and CI/CD environments.
Proficiency with Kubernetes, OS images, and Terraform.
Proficiency with modern build tools and pipelines.
Proficiency building multi-tenant, virtualized infrastructure.
Proficiency with change control management and mature operating processes.
Proficiency with security, including identity, SSL, and certificates.
Proficiency with databases and data stores.
A proactive, experimentation-oriented mindset and willingness to learn and guide a team on emerging AI technologies, frameworks, and engineering patterns.

Responsibilities

Architect, design, and operate distributed, highly available, resilient, multi-tenant, horizontally scalable, and cost-efficient systems across OCI regions.
Collaborate with Compute, Storage, Networking, OKE, and Functions teams to deliver platform features, particularly for Imaging and Container Registry Services.
Enforce secure-by-default designs and improve service reliability.
Mentor and guide engineers in distributed systems design, high-scale data processing, and operational excellence.
Set and raise engineering standards across multiple teams.
Own service-level objectives for availability, latency, and durability.
Reduce operational toil through automation, observability, and self-healing mechanisms.
Own the full service lifecycle, including design, implementation, deployment, on-call operations, and continuous improvement.
Define and drive the technical roadmap for OCI Imaging and Container Registry Services.
Partner with product management and field teams to translate customer needs into roadmap priorities.
Contribute to the broader Compute vision and evolution of Imaging and Container Registry Services for global mission-critical workloads.
Propose, scope, design, and direct automation, optimizations, and enhancements.
Lead technical projects across organizational boundaries and represent work to senior leaders.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion.
Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
Life insurance and AD&D.
Supplemental life insurance for employees, spouses, and children.
Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts.
Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits.
401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match.
Flexible or accrued paid vacation, depending on employee eligibility and position.
11 paid holidays.
Paid sick leave.
Paid parental leave.
Adoption assistance.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
Financial planning and group legal benefits.
Voluntary auto, homeowner, and pet insurance benefits.
May be eligible for bonus, equity, and compensation deferral.