Sr Principal, Platform Engineering

Alcon Research•Fort Worth, TX

About The Position

Alcon is seeking a Sr. Principal, Platform Architecture & Engineering to lead the technical direction for enterprise platform capabilities across hybrid cloud, datacenter, manufacturing site, and edge environments. The position is located in Fort Worth, Texas. The role develops platform strategy and standards, drives automation and infrastructure initiatives, and partners with security, business, and technology leaders to deliver reliable, secure, scalable, and cost-effective platforms.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent years of directly related experience; stated equivalencies include high school plus 15 years, associate degree plus 11 years, M.S. plus 4 years, or PhD plus 3 years.
Seven years of relevant experience.
Ability to fluently read, write, understand, and communicate in English.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading enterprise cloud, Kubernetes, platform engineering, or DevSecOps initiatives.
Strong expertise with AWS, Azure, and Kubernetes platforms, including EKS, AKS, OpenShift, RKE2, or similar technologies.
Experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, distributed site, or edge computing environments.
Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code, GitOps, CI/CD, automation, cloud security, and platform governance practices.
Experience with virtualization technologies such as VMware, Nutanix, Hyper-V, or OpenShift Virtualization.
Hands-on experience with platform toolchains including Terraform, Helm, Argo CD, Ansible, JFrog, and policy/governance tools.
Experience establishing platform support models, lifecycle standards, operational KPIs, and hardware/software qualification processes.
Strong scripting and automation skills using Python, Go, PowerShell, Bash, JavaScript, or similar languages.
Experience supporting Kubernetes or container platforms for manufacturing, operational technology, AI, or GPU-enabled workloads.
Relevant AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, OpenShift, or Terraform certifications.

Responsibilities

Define platform architecture strategy across cloud, datacenter, manufacturing, and edge environments.
Lead technical direction for cloud platforms, Kubernetes, security, automation, and observability.
Develop scalable platform standards, roadmaps, and best practices.
Drive Infrastructure as Code, GitOps, CI/CD, and automation initiatives.
Partner with security teams to embed governance, compliance, and risk controls.
Design reliable, secure, and cost-effective platforms that improve scalability and performance.
Establish reusable platform patterns and guardrails that enable faster delivery.
Review technical designs, mentor engineers, and solve complex technical challenges.
Collaborate with business and technology leaders to align platform investments with strategic goals.
Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend improvements to platform capabilities and operations.