Senior Software Engineer, Developer Productivity, Slack

Slack•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

Slack is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to lead the evolution of our Source Control Management (SCM), Test infrastructure, and CI systems. This is a high-leverage role where you will be a key contributor to the systems that hundreds of Slack engineers use every day to ship code to millions of users. We are a deeply technical group that lives and breathes Infrastructure as Code, leveraging a stack that includes AWS, Terraform, Chef, Ansible, Packer, Go, and Python. In this role, you will lead complex projects to ensure our systems are scalable, reliable, and secure. You’ll work across two specialized domains: one managing the macOS/Windows environments for Mobile and Desktop CI/CD on AWS, and the other managing our on-premise GitHub Enterprise and Linux-based Buildkite/GitHub Actions runner fleets. We’re looking for a technical leader who can bridge these environments. As a Senior Engineer, you won’t just be writing code; you will be a subject matter expert who scopes flexible solutions, mentors early-career engineers, and partners with stakeholders to improve developer velocity across the entire company. You are a master of foundational infrastructure who is also energized by the 'next' in developer productivity. As a Senior Engineer, you will bridge the gap between reliable systems and emerging tech, leading experiments to see how AI and ML can drive us toward a more 'self-driving' infrastructure.

Requirements

Experience: 5–8+ years of experience in DevOps, Infrastructure, or Site Reliability Engineering, with a track record of leading projects in large-scale environments.
Cloud & IaC Expertise: Deep hands-on experience with AWS and a strong command of Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform, Chef, or Ansible.
Systems Knowledge: Proficiency in managing SCM systems (GitHub Enterprise) and modern CI/CD platforms (e.g., Buildkite, GitHub Actions) and a passion for improving developer workflows and productivity.
Forward-Thinking Mindset: A strong interest in the intersection of AI and DevOps. You should be comfortable experimenting with modern AI developer tools to solve traditional bottlenecks in the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
Polyglot Scripting: Solid proficiency in Go, Python, or Bash for automating complex workflows.
Problem Solving: A pragmatic approach to engineering; you are able to debug effectively across large swaths of the infrastructure and navigate ambiguity to drive consensus.
Communication: Exceptional ability to write insightful documentation and facilitate meaningful discussions around complex technical trade-offs.
Execution Mindset: A proven ability to decompose impactful problems, rally the right people, and deliver high-quality results on time.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership: Lead large-scale initiatives within the CI/CD and SCM domain, from initial scoping and RFCs to final production rollout.
Infrastructure as Code: Design and implement scalable, observable infrastructure across a hybrid environment of public cloud (AWS) using Infrastructure as Code principles (Terraform, Chef, Ansible) and on-premise systems.
System Ownership: Actively own critical systems, defining their long-term health and improving the testing culture and maintainability of our build fleets.
Cross-Platform Collaboration: Partner with engineers across Linux, macOS, and Windows platforms to harmonize tooling, shared standards, and observability KPIs.
Innovation: Contribute to the integration of modern technologies (like Kubernetes or AI/ML enhancements) into our pipelines to create more automated, "self-driving" build systems, or "self-healing" infrastructure configurations..
Mentorship & Culture: Serve as a culture steward for the team, mentoring early-career engineers, providing high-quality code reviews, and fostering an inclusive environment.
Operational Excellence: Participate in on-call rotations and serve as an Incident Commander, leading postmortems and driving long-term fixes to prevent recurrence.