Senior Infrastructure Engineer

QuantumScape Corporation•San Jose, CA

1d•$126,400 - $192,800•Onsite

About The Position

QuantumScape is seeking a Senior Infrastructure Engineer to serve as the deep technical foundation of our Enterprise IT Infrastructure team. This is a hands-on individual contributor role designed for an engineer who thrives in the details -- configuring systems, solving hard problems, and setting the technical bar for the organization. You will be the go-to expert across cloud platforms (GCP, Azure), Kubernetes (GKE), enterprise networking, identity, and endpoint management, working closely with the Director of Enterprise IT Infrastructure to execute the infrastructure roadmap and ensure our systems are resilient, secure, and built to scale. This role is ideal for a seasoned engineer who wants deep technical impact without a management track.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent practical experience considered.
8+ years of hands-on infrastructure engineering experience in complex, heterogeneous, hybrid cloud/on-prem environments.
Deep expertise in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) -- Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, IAM, VPC, hybrid connectivity -- and Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), including cluster administration, workload management, and network policies. Azure experience a strong plus.
Strong systems administration background across Linux and Windows in multi-platform, multi-vendor environments, with proven ability to operate and troubleshoot at the infrastructure layer.
Hands-on experience with enterprise networking -- Palo Alto firewalls, SD-WAN, LAN/WAN, Wi-Fi -- and a solid understanding of network segmentation, routing, and zero-trust architecture.
Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code tools (Terraform, Ansible, or equivalent) and scripting languages (Python, Bash) for automation and configuration management.
Experience with identity platforms (SSO, MFA, SAML, OIDC) and endpoint management tools (MDM, EDR, ThreatLocker).
Practical experience applying AI, automation, and observability tooling to infrastructure operations -- AIOps, anomaly detection, capacity forecasting, or self-healing workflows -- with a bias toward measurable outcomes.
Familiarity with cybersecurity frameworks (NIST CSF, SOC 2, ISO 27001) and tools; comfortable partnering with InfoSec on hardening, compliance, and incident response.
Certifications such as Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), CCNP, or equivalent are a strong plus.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting R&D, lab, or manufacturing environments -- instrumentation networks, OT/IT integration, or pilot/production lines.
Familiarity with OT/ICS environments and the constraints of lab equipment, MES, and production-line connectivity.
Comfortable operating across both legacy and cutting-edge systems, adapting approach based on what the environment requires rather than what is newest.
Experience in a pre-commercial or growth-stage manufacturing and R&D organization, including scaling infrastructure as the business transitions from pilot to production.
Strong opinions about automation, observability, and operational excellence, and the discipline to make them real through mature change management, incident response, and SRE practices.
Personal fluency with modern AI tooling and a bias toward experimentation; experience deploying AI copilots, agentic workflows, or LLM-based automation in an enterprise context.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary technical expert and hands-on administrator across cloud (GCP, Azure), Kubernetes (GKE), networking, identity, and endpoint infrastructure, resolving complex issues that exceed L1/L2 scope.
Design, build, and maintain infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Ansible, or equivalent) across cloud and on-prem environments, ensuring consistency, repeatability, and audit readiness.
Manage and optimize GKE clusters and containerized workloads, including networking policies, RBAC, node pool scaling, and integration with CI/CD pipelines.
Administer enterprise network infrastructure including Palo Alto firewalls, SD-WAN, LAN/WAN, and Wi-Fi across corporate, R&D, and manufacturing sites, with strong emphasis on segmentation and zero-trust principles.
Own identity and access infrastructure -- SSO, MFA, SAML/OIDC integrations, MDM/EDR platforms, and ThreatLocker -- ensuring enforcement and audit compliance.
Partner with InfoSec on vulnerability remediation, security hardening, configuration drift detection, and compliance controls aligned to NIST CSF, SOC 2, and export control requirements.
Develop and deploy AI and automation capabilities including AIOps monitoring, ticket deflection, anomaly detection, capacity forecasting, and self-healing workflows that reduce manual toil and improve service reliability.
Support lab and OT/IT environments, including instrumentation networks and pilot manufacturing infrastructure, partnering with R&D and engineering operations to maintain uptime for critical research systems.
Produce and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, architecture diagrams, and change records that keep the team and stakeholders aligned.
Mentor junior engineers, conduct peer reviews, and contribute to the technical standards and practices that define how the Infrastructure team operates.