Staff Software Engineer - Data Platform - Kubernetes - Distributed Systems - Federal
At a glance
Senior Backend Engineering role at ServiceNow. San Diego · full-time · $149,800–$262,200 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build and run cloud-native platform components, carrying features from their initial design into production
- Turn team project requirements and early concepts into technical plans, then deliver the resulting work
- Coordinate with senior engineers to keep your designs aligned with platform architecture and engineering standards
- Improve service reliability with tests, instrumentation, runbook updates and participation in on-call
- Develop operators, controllers, automation and platform services, while guiding junior engineers through reviews and pairing
What you bring
- Meet one experience path: eight years in software development with a bachelor’s, five with a master’s, three with a PhD, or equivalent experience
- Bring at least five years building, deploying and operating workloads on Kubernetes
- Have practical experience with a major cloud provider, including compute, networking and identity-access services
- Show strong Go skills, or another systems language and readiness to work mainly in Go
Who this fits
This is a hands-on individual contributor role at the staff level, with project ownership and some mentoring. The hybrid arrangement requires two office days per week; San Diego is one listed office. You must be a US citizen, naturalized citizen or permanent resident, and pass the required federal screening, including credit and criminal checks and a drug test.
From the employer
It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.
Join us to put AI to work for people.
Position Location:
This is a Flexible (Hybrid) position. Flexible positions require 2 days per week in a ServiceNow office location. We have offices in several locations, including San Francisco, CA; Pleasanton, CA; Santa Clara, CA; San Diego, CA; and Kirkland, WA
Please Note: This position will include supporting our US Regulated Markets.
“This position requires passing a ServiceNow background screening, USFedPASS (US Federal Personnel Authorization Screening Standards). This includes a credit check, criminal/misdemeanor check and taking a drug test. Any employment is contingent upon passing the screening. Due to Federal requirements, only US citizens, US naturalized citizens or US Permanent Residents, holding a green card, will be considered.
About the team:
We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer (IC4 Level) to join our Data Platform Engineering organization. You are a strong hands-on contributor who will own well-scoped components and projects within the team and deliver them end-to-end.
What you get to do in this role:
- You will design, build, and operate components and services within the cloud-native platform, taking features from design through to production.
- You will lead well-scoped projects within your team, turning requirements and rough ideas into solid technical designs and delivering them.
- You will collaborate with senior, staff, and principal engineers to align your work with the platform’s architecture and standards.
- You will contribute to the reliability, scalability, and operability of what you build — writing tests and instrumentation, improving runbooks, and participating in on-call.
- You will spend most of your time hands-on building — operators, controllers, automation, and platform services that other teams depend on.
- You will help onboard and mentor junior engineers through code review, design feedback, and pairing.
To be successful in this role you have:
- Experience leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into engineering work — whether using AI-powered coding and operational tooling, automating workflows, or reasoning about how AI changes the way software and infrastructure are built.
- 8+ years of software development experience with a Bachelor's degree; OR 5+ years with a Master's degree; OR 3+ years with a PhD; OR equivalent work experience.
- 5+ years of hands-on experience building, deploying and operating workloads on Kubernetes.
- Working experience with at least one major hyperscaler (AWS, Azure, GCP), including its core compute, networking, and IAM primitives.
- A track record of delivering complex features or services as a key contributor.
- Solid working knowledge of containers, CI/CD and GitOps-based delivery, and infrastructure-as-code.
- Strong programming skills in Go (or another systems language with a willingness to work primarily in Go).
It also helps if you have:
- Experience building Kubernetes controllers or working with the operator pattern.
- Familiarity with container networking (CNI) or service mesh.
- Experience with workload identity, mTLS, or secrets management.
- Experience with observability — metrics, tracing, and dashboards.
- Experience with managed Kubernetes (EKS/AKS/GKE) and infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform.
For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $149,800 - $262,200, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.
Work Personas
We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.
Equal Opportunity Employer
ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.
Accommodations
We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact globaltalentss@servicenow.com for assistance.
Export Control Regulations
For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.
From Fortune. ©2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.
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