Sr Principal Software Engineer (Azure)

Red Hat • Boston, MA

17h • Remote

About The Position

The Azure Red Hat OpenShift (ARO) Engineering team is looking for a Senior Principal Software Engineer. In this high-impact role, you will be a lead technical voice in the development of ARO Hosted Control Planes (HCP), defining the infrastructure and lifecycle management patterns that power mission-critical workloads for global enterprises. You will bridge the gap between upstream open-source innovation and the operational excellence required to run a first-party Azure service, guiding the project from initial concept through to the delivery of a highly available, resilient global offering.

Requirements

• 12+ years of software development experience in Linux environments, with mastery of Golang.
• Deep expertise in Azure cloud architecture and services (Compute, Storage, Networking).
• Proven success leading large-scale distributed systems from inception to production operations.
• Internal-level knowledge of Kubernetes (API machinery, Operators, or Networking stack).
• Mastery of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, ARM/Bicep) and GitOps workflows.
• Expert understanding of Hybrid Cloud networking and security (VNETs, Private Link, Encryption).
• Experience integrating AI/LLM frameworks into software engineering workflows or product features.
• Exceptional troubleshooting skills for complex, multi-layered distributed environments.

Nice To Haves

• Active maintainer status or significant contributions to relevant CNCF Open Source projects (e.g., Kubernetes, Cluster API, or KubeVirt).
• Deep experience with Red Hat OpenShift and the Operator SDK/Controller-runtime.
• Familiarity with Hosted Control Plane architectures (e.g., HyperShift) and high-density multi-tenant environments.
• Experience with Azure-specific hybrid technologies like Azure Arc or Private Link at scale.
• Background in SRE or Production Engineering for a global, 24/7 SaaS or managed service.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the evolution of Azure Red Hat OpenShift, focusing on scalability, high availability, and seamless lifecycle management within the Azure ecosystem.
• Drive the strategy for AI integration within the platform while championing the use of AI-assisted development tools to improve team velocity and code quality.
• Act as a contributor to upstream projects, ensuring Red Hat’s interests and customer needs are represented in the broader CNCF community.
• Collaborate across organizational boundaries with Microsoft Azure engineering teams to co-develop integrated cloud-native solutions.
• Collaborate deeply with Product Management to advocate for the customer, reconciling customer demands with system constraints to define high-impact product specifications.
• Mentor senior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.
• Work with Red Hat's Global Customer Support team and partner support teams on resolving customer issues.
• Influence the long-term product roadmap by identifying customer needs and emerging industry trends, translating them into architectural requirements, design, and code.
• Publicize the team's work through blogs, web postings, or conference talks.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible Spending Account - healthcare and dependent care
• Health Savings Account - high deductible medical plan
• Retirement 401(k) with employer match
• Paid time off and holidays
• Paid parental leave plans for all new parents
• Leave benefits including disability, paid family medical leave, and paid military leave
• Additional benefits including employee stock purchase plan, family planning reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, transportation expense account, employee assistance program, and more!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed