Principal Infrastructure Engineer

Wells Fargo & Company•Irving, TX

About The Position

About the Role We are seeking a Principal Infrastructure & OS Platform Engineer to architect, automate, and evolve our next‑generation hybrid cloud, operating system, and core infrastructure platforms. This role is ideal for a senior technical leader who excels in systems‑level engineering, deep OS expertise, large‑scale automation, and building enterprise‑grade platform capabilities that drive consistency, security, and developer productivity. As a key technical authority, you will design scalable compute and OS patterns, modernize foundational infrastructure services, and guide the enterprise toward fully automated, declarative, GitOps‑driven delivery models. You will collaborate with platform, security, network, and application engineering teams to define standards, solve complex systems challenges, and set long‑term technical direction for the organization. This is a principal‑level engineering role focused on architectural influence, platform reliability, and engineering excellence—shaping the evolution of our infrastructure ecosystem. Key Responsibilities Operating System & Platform Architecture Architect and lead the evolution of enterprise OS platforms (Linux/Windows), including configuration baselines, lifecycle management, patch automation, and compliance standards. Design scalable compute patterns across hybrid cloud environments (Azure, GCP, on‑prem), ensuring consistency in OS, security, and automation. Drive modernization initiatives, including transitioning workloads from legacy virtualization to automated, cloud‑optimized compute platforms. Define and implement enterprise platform patterns using infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform, Ansible) and declarative configuration tooling. Establish API‑driven automation standards that enable self‑service provisioning and lifecycle management. Infrastructure Automation & Engineering Excellence Lead automation of system provisioning, configuration, and fleet lifecycle operations. Implement advanced observability strategies (metrics, logs, tracing) to support proactive performance tuning and reliability engineering. Solve the most complex platform, OS, and infrastructure issues through deep troubleshooting and architectural improvements. Drive consistent security baselines, RBAC, OS hardening, and compliance automation in partnership with security teams. GitOps, Pipelines & Cloud‑Native Enablement Architect GitOps frameworks leveraging tools such as ArgoCD or GitHub Actions, applying them beyond Kubernetes to broader OS and infrastructure platforms. Build enterprise‑grade pipelines that automate OS image creation, validation, promotion, and deployment. Develop reusable IaC modules, golden templates, and platform APIs that enable frictionless consumption by development and operations teams. Advance DevOps and infrastructure engineering maturity across the organization through documentation, tooling, and platform standards. Leadership, Strategy & Mentorship Provide technical leadership across infrastructure domains, influencing architecture decisions and long‑term platform strategy. Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, running architecture reviews, code reviews, and design sessions. Partner deeply with networking, security, SRE, platform engineers, and application teams to deliver integrated, scalable, and secure solutions. Act as an escalation point for the most challenging infrastructure and OS‑level issues.

Requirements

Aligned with the expectations of a Principal Engineer: 7+ years of Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
7+ years of experience in infrastructure, OS engineering, platform engineering, or DevOps roles (or equivalent via education, training, or military experience).
5+ years of experience designing, automating, and managing Linux and/or Windows operating system platforms at scale.
5+ years of hands‑on experience with Infrastructure‑as‑Code tooling (Terraform, Ansible, Packer, or equivalent).
5+ years working with CI/CD, pipeline automation, or GitOps‑based delivery models.
Strong expertise in systems architecture, OS internals, configuration management, and fleet‑level automation.
Experience designing or integrating RESTful APIs into platform workflows.
Proficiency in scripting languages (Python, Bash, PowerShell).
Solid understanding of networking fundamentals, identity/security best practices, and compliance frameworks.
Experience supporting hybrid or multi‑cloud infrastructure (Azure, GCP preferred).

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of cloud‑native or container orchestration platforms (Kubernetes, OpenShift)—as a consumer and automation target rather than primary focus.
Experience with image management and OS lifecycle tooling (Packer, HashiCorp tools, Image Builder).
Familiarity with developer portals (Backstage) or internal platform products.
Experience with enterprise observability stacks (Grafana, Prometheus, Splunk, ELK).
Background in designing platform engineering capabilities or internal developer platforms.
A system‑level mindset focused on resilience, automation, efficiency, and developer enablement.

Responsibilities

Operating System & Platform Architecture Architect and lead the evolution of enterprise OS platforms (Linux/Windows), including configuration baselines, lifecycle management, patch automation, and compliance standards.
Design scalable compute patterns across hybrid cloud environments (Azure, GCP, on‑prem), ensuring consistency in OS, security, and automation.
Drive modernization initiatives, including transitioning workloads from legacy virtualization to automated, cloud‑optimized compute platforms.
Define and implement enterprise platform patterns using infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform, Ansible) and declarative configuration tooling.
Establish API‑driven automation standards that enable self‑service provisioning and lifecycle management.
Infrastructure Automation & Engineering Excellence Lead automation of system provisioning, configuration, and fleet lifecycle operations.
Implement advanced observability strategies (metrics, logs, tracing) to support proactive performance tuning and reliability engineering.
Solve the most complex platform, OS, and infrastructure issues through deep troubleshooting and architectural improvements.
Drive consistent security baselines, RBAC, OS hardening, and compliance automation in partnership with security teams.
GitOps, Pipelines & Cloud‑Native Enablement Architect GitOps frameworks leveraging tools such as ArgoCD or GitHub Actions, applying them beyond Kubernetes to broader OS and infrastructure platforms.
Build enterprise‑grade pipelines that automate OS image creation, validation, promotion, and deployment.
Develop reusable IaC modules, golden templates, and platform APIs that enable frictionless consumption by development and operations teams.
Advance DevOps and infrastructure engineering maturity across the organization through documentation, tooling, and platform standards.
Leadership, Strategy & Mentorship Provide technical leadership across infrastructure domains, influencing architecture decisions and long‑term platform strategy.
Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, running architecture reviews, code reviews, and design sessions.
Partner deeply with networking, security, SRE, platform engineers, and application teams to deliver integrated, scalable, and secure solutions.
Act as an escalation point for the most challenging infrastructure and OS‑level issues.