Sr. Staff Systems Engineer

About Cloudera

At Cloudera, we empower people to transform complex data into clear and actionable insights. With as much data under management as the hyperscalers, we're the preferred data partner for the top companies in almost every industry. Powered by the relentless innovation of the open source community, Cloudera advances digital transformation for the world’s largest enterprises.

Job Description

Cloudera IT is looking for a talented, motivated, and passionate Sr. Staff Systems Engineer to join our Technical Operations team. This role is a cornerstone of our IT operations, focusing on the deployment, high availability, and automated management of our internal IT infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on on-premise Linux environments and a growing cloud footprint. You’ll be a technical leader and subject matter expert, responsible for the core systems that power our business. You will leverage your deep systems administration background and modern automation skills (like infrastructure-as-code) to help us scale efficiently while ensuring resilience and compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, deploy, and provide senior-level operational support for our on-premise and cloud-based Linux infrastructure and core IT services (e.g., virtualization, baremetal, storage, DNS), ensuring high availability and reliability.
• Develop, maintain, and champion our Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and automation frameworks using tools like Terraform, Ansible, and Foreman/MaaS to manage and deploy platform services.
• Implement and automate system-level security best practices, including patching, hardening, and configuration management, ensuring compliance and resilience from the ground up.
• Build and automate deployment pipelines for IT infrastructure services (e.g., system images, configuration, platform services) using tools like GitHub/Git, Ansible, and scripting tools.
• Serve as a technical Subject Matter Expert (SME), working with IT Systems, CloudOps, Security, and Engineering teams to design and implement robust, scalable, and optimal solutions.
• Participate in a shared on-call rotation to support mission-critical IT services (with clear documentation and runbooks provided).
• Create and maintain accurate documentation for automation, operational audits, and compliance.
• Proactively identify and drive improvements in system performance, monitoring, and operational processes through automation and observability.
• Mentor junior team members.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or 6+ years of equivalent experience in a large-scale enterprise environment.
• Deep, expert-level Linux systems administration experience (e.g., Red Hat, Rocky, Ubuntu) and mastery of common Command Line Interface (CLI) tools and services.
• Strong hands-on skills with Python and shell scripting, used for systems automation, tooling, and integration.
• Proven experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (e.g., Terraform, Ansible) and version control (GitHub/Git).
• Solid experience managing hybrid infrastructure, with deep expertise in on-premise environments (virtualization/Platform9, storage, networking) and a strong understanding of core public cloud services (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Advanced knowledge configuring, operating, and integrating authentication systems: LDAP, AD, Kerberos, SAML, OIDC, etc.
• A security-first mindset and experience designing, building, and operating secure, automated infrastructure.
• Strong networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, firewalls), including public cloud equivalents.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications such as Red Hat (RHCE), Terraform, or public cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Knowledge of enterprise security principles, cryptography, PKI, and operational security practices.
• Experience operating in regulated/high-governance/compliance environments (e.g., FedRAMP, PCI, ISO27001, SOC2, etc.).
• Familiarity with monitoring and observability tools.
• Experience with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes).
• Project management experience.
• Previous experience mentoring junior team members.

What Cloudera Offers

• Generous PTO Policy
• Support work life balance with Unplugged Days
• Flexible WFH Policy
• Mental & Physical Wellness programs
• Phone and Internet Reimbursement program
• Access to Continued Career Development
• Comprehensive Benefits and Competitive Packages
• Paid Volunteer Time
• Employee Resource Groups

Key skills/competency

Sr. Staff Systems Engineer, Linux Administration, Infrastructure as Code, Automation, Python Scripting, Shell Scripting, Terraform, Ansible, Cloud Operations, System Security.