Principal SRE Engineer
Mercury Insurance · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $252,194 / year
- United States
Job highlights
- Senior SRE role designing and maintaining hybrid application platforms.
- Orchestrate and automate software packaging, testing, and deployment.
- Build self-service tooling for cloud databases.
- Collaborate with business, development, and security teams.
- Drive automation using IaC and CI/CD tools.
About the role
Principal Site Reliability Engineer
Join an amazing team that is consistently recognized for our achievements and culture, including our most recent Forbes award of being one of America's Best Midsize Employers for 2026! This Principal SRE will bridge the platform engineering and database team by building self-service tooling for cloud databases.
Position Summary
The Principal Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) is a senior level technical position responsible for the design, implementation, and maintenance of a reliable, scalable, and agile enterprise hybrid application platform. A very significant part of Principal SRE’s responsibility is to orchestrate and automate software packaging, integration, testing, and deployment from technology, process, practice, and skillset perspectives.
This individual must be a technologist & engineer at heart and be comfortable in enabling new technology and being hands-on with the execution of the strategy. Must exhibit a deep understanding of modern technology stack and agile delivery models, demonstrated focus on customer experience, and must have a proven track record of modernizing technologies.
Close collaboration and alignment with business teams, application development teams and security will be required. As such, exceptional abilities in building and maintaining strong working relationships and organizational savvy will be required. High level communication and presentation skills are required. Ability to attract, retain, and develop engineering talent will be critical.
Geo-Salary Information
An in-person interview may be required during the hiring process.
State specific pay scales for this role are as follows:
$128,136 to $252,194 (CA, NJ, NY, WA, HI, AK, MD, CT, RI, MA)
$116,487 to $229,267 (NV, OR, AZ, CO, WY, TX, ND, MN, MO, IL, WI, FL, GA, MI, OH, VA, PA, DE, VT, NH, ME)
$104,839 to $206,340 (UT, ID, MT, NM, SD, NE, KS, OK, IA, AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, KY, IN, SC, NC, WV)
The expected base salary for this position will vary depending on a number of factors, including relevant experience, skills and location. In CA: Typical hiring range is $171,148 to $237,706
Responsibilities
Essential Job Functions:
- Works independently and under supervision, takes initiatives to gather requirements, design and implement CICD with tight collaboration with all other technical teams and customers. Must be able to work in agile style team as well as traditional project team, supporting multiple projects and teams simultaneously.
- Implement best practices for software delivery continuous integration and continuous deployment (CICD).
- Work with our infrastructure organization on environment setup, automation, and streamlining the stand up and scale out of infrastructure using infrastructure as code (IAC).
- Develop and improve our monitoring and alerting systems.
- Automate security-related activities such as code scanning, package scanning, and vulnerability scanning.
- Assist in developing automated test, deployment test, code versioning and Github actions.
- Defining and setting development, test, release, update, and support processes for DevOps operation in consultation with other teams of the technology group.
- Strive for continuous improvement and build continuous integration, continuous development, and constant deployment pipeline.
- Architect, design and deploy AWS resources including provisioning, monitoring and maintenance.
- Effectively manage and leverage Docker and Kubernetes container platforms.
- Work with various Engineering teams to outline the DevOps execution strategy for different projects.
- Drive Automation efforts across the organization utilizing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform, Configuration Management, and Continuous Integration (CI) / Continuous Delivery (CD) tools such as Jenkins.
- Assist with organization wide security considerations. Find the best ways to identify security risks and incidents and suggest improvements and create automation as needed to detect and mitigate those risks.
- Owns company’s CICD technology stack. Executes on roadmap items in collaboration with SME teams (e.g. infrastructure, application, QA, Governance) and system owners. Research and recommend new technology, solutions, protocols, and standards in support of adoption and upgrade of enterprise CICD platform.
- Owns company’s service hosting decision tree by developing a host of factors tilting decision on-prem, hybrid or in the Cloud.
- Demonstrates Mercury’s core values of People, Service Excellence, Trustworthiness, Process Simplicity and Product Value
- Interacts cordially and professionally with customers, vendors, superiors, and peers
- Regular attendance on a full-time schedule including 7x24 system support as required
- Various marginal functions
Education
Qualifications
Minimum:
- 18 – 20 years overall related technology experience
- 8 - 10 years’ experience in heavy infrastructure, DevOps / CICD in large transformation organizations.
- Experience working with Agile tools such as Jira / Confluence etc.
- Knowledge of web application development
- Deep experience with Docker, Apache Camel, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Python and scripting languages.
- Experience working within Agile development teams.
- Knowledge / Expertise in cloud platforms, Linux Operating Systems, Networking, and Database.
- Deep experience with DevOps Management tools (repository, packaging, unit testing, code scanning, package scanning such as Maven, Gradle, Helm, Sonatype).
- Prior exposure to continuous integration/delivery tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI
- A DevOps Engineer Certificate preferred
Preferred
- 5 or more years of hands on experience with cloud database technologies (AWS RDS, Aurora, and DocumentDB)
Knowledge And Skills
- Ability to work on demand to provide 7x24 mission critical support.
- Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills, with strong ability to collaborate throughout all levels of the organization and with vendors and external partners.
- Initiative driven; self-motivated.
- Learner
- Curious and ask questions.
- Open to new experiences and ideas.
- Willing to take imperfect steps, make mistakes, and learn from them.
- Action oriented
About The Company
Why choose a career at Mercury?
At Mercury, we have been guided by our purpose to help people reduce risk and overcome unexpected events for more than 60 years. We are one team with a common goal to help others. Everyone needs insurance and we can’t imagine a world without it.
Our team will encourage you to grow, make time to have fun, and work together to make great things happen. We embrace the strengths and values of each team member. We believe in having diverse perspectives where everyone is included, to serve customers from all walks of life.
We care about our people, and we mean it. We reward our talented professionals with a competitive salary, bonus potential, and a variety of benefits to help our team members reach their health, retirement, and professional goals.
Learn more about us here: https://www.mercuryinsurance.com/about/careers
Perks And Benefits
We offer many great benefits, including:
- Competitive compensation
- Flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States for most positions
- Paid time off (vacation time, sick time, 9 paid Company holidays, volunteer hours)
- Incentive bonus programs (potential for holiday bonus, referral bonus, and performance-based bonus)
- Medical, dental, vision, life, and pet insurance
- 401 (k) retirement savings plan with company match
- Engaging work environment
- Promotional opportunities
- Education assistance
- Professional and personal development opportunities
- Company recognition program
- Health and wellbeing resources, including free mental wellbeing therapy/coaching sessions, child and eldercare resources, and more
Mercury Insurance is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
Pay Range
USD $128,136.00 - USD $252,194.00 /Yr.
Key skills/competency
- Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)
- DevOps
- CI/CD
- Cloud Databases (AWS RDS, Aurora, DocumentDB)
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Terraform
- Ansible
- Python
- AWS
Skills & topics
- Principal Site Reliability Engineer
- SRE
- DevOps
- CICD
- Cloud Databases
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Terraform
- Ansible
- Python
- AWS
- Infrastructure as Code
- Automation
- Monitoring
- Alerting
- Security Scanning
- Agile
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight your 18-20 years of technology experience and 8-10 years in DevOps/CICD, emphasizing cloud databases, Kubernetes, Docker, and Terraform.
- Showcase relevant skills: Demonstrate deep experience with CI/CD tools (Jenkins, GitHub Actions), IaC (Terraform, Ansible), and scripting (Python) in your application.
- Prepare for technical interviews: Be ready to discuss your experience architecting, deploying, and managing AWS resources, as well as containerization with Docker and Kubernetes.
- Highlight collaboration and communication: Emphasize your ability to work with cross-functional teams and present technical strategies effectively.
- Demonstrate learning agility: Showcase your curiosity, willingness to learn new technologies, and ability to take imperfect steps and learn from mistakes.
Technical preparation
Behavioral questions
Frequently asked questions
- What is the typical career path for a Principal SRE at Mercury Insurance?
- As a Principal SRE at Mercury Insurance, your career path will likely involve deepening your expertise in SRE principles, cloud technologies, and automation. You'll have opportunities to lead complex projects, mentor junior engineers, and contribute to strategic technical decisions. Advancement could lead to roles like Lead SRE, SRE Manager, or even broader platform architecture positions, depending on your interests and the company's needs.
- What are the key technologies for the Principal SRE role at Mercury Insurance?
- The Principal SRE role at Mercury Insurance heavily utilizes technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Python, and various CI/CD tools like Jenkins and GitHub Actions. Deep experience with cloud platforms, particularly AWS, and cloud database technologies like AWS RDS, Aurora, and DocumentDB are also crucial.
- Does Mercury Insurance offer remote work for the Principal SRE position?
- The job description mentions flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States for most positions. While this Principal SRE role requires an in-person interview, it's possible that a remote or hybrid arrangement may be considered after initial stages, depending on business needs and location requirements.
- What is the expected salary range for a Principal SRE at Mercury Insurance?
- The salary range for this Principal SRE position is quite competitive, with stated ranges varying by location. For example, in CA, the typical hiring range is $171,148 to $237,706. Nationally, the broad range is $128,136 to $252,194, with specific tiers for different states. The final salary will depend on experience, skills, and exact location.
- How important is experience with cloud databases for this Principal SRE role?
- Experience with cloud databases is highly preferred for this Principal SRE position. While minimum qualifications include general knowledge of databases and cloud platforms, the preferred qualifications specifically mention '5 or more years of hands-on experience with cloud database technologies (AWS RDS, Aurora, and DocumentDB)', indicating its significant importance in bridging the platform engineering and database team.
- What kind of collaboration is expected for the Principal SRE at Mercury Insurance?
- The Principal SRE at Mercury Insurance is expected to collaborate closely with business teams, application development teams, and security teams. This involves providing self-service tooling for cloud databases, defining processes for DevOps operations, and outlining DevOps execution strategies for various projects.
- Is a DevOps Engineer Certificate required for the Principal SRE role at Mercury Insurance?
- A DevOps Engineer Certificate is preferred but not strictly required for the Principal SRE role at Mercury Insurance. The minimum qualifications list it as a 'preferred' item, meaning strong practical experience in the listed technologies and responsibilities will be highly valued.