Sr. Manager - Observability Engineering - job 13 of 20

The Sr. Manager - Observability Engineering at Visa is responsible for designing, developing, and implementing observability solutions that are critical to Visa's operational success. This includes collaborating with cross-functional teams to gather requirements, developing scalable cloud observability solutions, and leading a team of engineers to ensure high-quality outputs. The role also involves ensuring that the observability solutions meet both business needs and internal standards for scalability and security.

Candidates for the Sr. Manager - Observability Engineering position at Visa should possess experience in building modern services and web applications, with a focus on scalability and quality. Familiarity with technologies like Angular, React, Kubernetes, and Docker is beneficial. Beyond technical skills, a growth mindset, curiosity about technology, and a proven ability to work collaboratively with product and development teams are essential for success in this role.

The Sr. Manager - Observability Engineering plays a pivotal role in supporting Visa's business goals by developing observability solutions that enhance operational reliability and transparency. By ensuring that systems can be monitored effectively, the role contributes to a more efficient payment technology infrastructure, improving response times, user experiences, and ensuring that Visa remains a leader in the commerce space.

At Visa, the work culture for a Sr. Manager - Observability Engineering is collaborative and innovative. Teams work together across disciplines to foster an environment where ideas can be shared freely. With an emphasis on continuous learning and pushing technological boundaries, you will find that you are encouraged to take on challenging projects that have a global impact.

A typical day for a Sr. Manager - Observability Engineering at Visa is varied and engaging. You might start the day with team stand-ups discussing progress and roadblocks on ongoing projects, followed by collaborative design sessions with stakeholders to refine observability requirements. Throughout the day, you'll also review code, mentor team members, and work on cross-functional initiatives that involve multiple teams within the organization.

When handling requirements gathering for observability solutions, I prioritize understanding stakeholder needs, conducting interviews, and facilitating workshops to gather comprehensive insights. I aim to translate those needs into actionable requirements while ensuring alignment across all teams, adapting to feedback as necessary to refine the objectives.

I have extensive experience leveraging cloud observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and AWS CloudWatch to monitor system performance and troubleshoot issues. These tools allow me to establish and analyze key metrics that provide insights into system behavior and help ensure the robustness of applications deployed across cloud environments.

To ensure my team adheres to best practices in observability, I implement a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Regular training sessions focused on current trends in observability and coding standards are essential, alongside conducting code reviews and fostering open communication to discuss challenges and successes openly.

Leading a multi-functional team requires clear communication and a shared vision. I establish regular check-ins to facilitate updates and feedback, utilize collaborative tools for project management, and emphasize the importance of each team member's contributions. By creating an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives, I find we achieve optimal results.

My approach to troubleshooting in a complex distributed system begins with isolating the issue through logs and monitoring data. I employ a systematic methodology to diagnose the problem, including root cause analysis, collaborating with team members to gather insights, and executing solutions promptly to reduce downtime. This ensures a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced.

My most challenging observability project involved implementing a new monitoring system across various services within a tight timeline. To overcome obstacles, I broke down the project into manageable phases, prioritized tasks, and collaborated closely with stakeholders. Regular check-ins to review progress and adapt to any emerging challenges were crucial in maintaining momentum.

Staying updated with the latest trends in observability and technology is vital. I regularly attend industry conferences, participate in webinars, and subscribe to relevant newsletters and journals. Engaging with online communities such as forums and social media discussions also enhances my knowledge and allows me to exchange insights with other professionals in the field.

I have significant experience designing scalable observability solutions tailored to the specific needs of the system architecture. I focus on creating modular observability frameworks that can easily adapt to growing traffic and data and emphasize leveraging containerization technologies and microservices to maintain high levels of resilience and efficiency.

Integrating observability solutions into existing development workflows involves collaboration with DevOps and engineering teams to ensure seamless adoption. I promote early involvement in the development lifecycle, emphasizing the importance of observability from the outset to enhance system reliability, all while making necessary adjustments based on feedback from developers and operations teams.

Observability plays a critical role in enhancing customer experience by providing insights into system performance and identifying potential issues before they impact users. It enables proactive monitoring, quick issue resolution, and ensures that services are reliable and performant. Ultimately, this leads to increased customer satisfaction and trust in the service provided.