Principal Site Reliability Engineer

The Principal Site Reliability Engineer at Zuora is responsible for ensuring the reliability of our cloud-based services and applications. This involves acting as an escalation point for technical leadership, swiftly mitigating customer-impacting incidents, and driving cloud reliability initiatives to improve availability and reduce downtime. Additionally, this role includes mentoring junior engineers, managing operational efficiencies, and implementing self-service automations while collaborating closely with teams across Engineering, Customer Support, and Product Management.

To qualify for the Principal Site Reliability Engineer position at Zuora, you should have 12-15 years of extensive experience in architecting and managing large-scale private or public cloud infrastructure. Proficiency in AWS cloud services, troubleshooting availability and performance issues, and a strong background in CI/CD automation practices are essential. A solid understanding of monitoring tools, observability, agile practices, and programming skills in languages like Python will be advantageous.

Zuora is committed to the professional development of our Principal Site Reliability Engineers through various initiatives, including providing a learning and development stipend, mentoring opportunities, and a focus on career advancement. Our collaborative environment encourages continuous learning, and we empower ZEOs to take ownership of their growth, supported by resources for mental wellbeing and flexible time off to balance personal and professional commitments.

The Principal Site Reliability Engineer role at Zuora is a hybrid position. This allows you the flexibility to work both remotely and in our office in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, catering to your lifestyle and working preferences while maintaining efficient communication and collaboration with your global peers.

At Zuora, you can expect a vibrant culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. We prioritize inclusivity and diversity, encouraging all perspectives and experiences to contribute to our success. ZEOs are empowered to take ownership in their roles, and we actively support work-life balance with flexible arrangements and generous benefits. You’ll be joining a team that values open communication, continuous improvement, and making a significant impact in the subscription economy.

When answering this question, focus on specific cloud platforms you've worked with, particularly AWS, and detail your experience in architecting, designing, and managing cloud environments. Highlight your involvement in handling customer-facing applications and the strategies you've used to ensure reliability and performance.

In your response, discuss your methodology for incident management, including your approach to escalation, root cause analysis, and post-incident reviews. Emphasize the importance of collaboration with cross-functional teams and how you track KPIs to improve incident response times.

Discuss the specific tools you're familiar with, such as AWS CloudWatch, ELK stack, or Grafana, and how they contribute to proactive monitoring and incident prevention. Explain how you apply these tools to gain insights into application performance and to ensure uptime.

Emphasize the importance of thorough testing, validation, and monitoring of all automated processes. Explain your strategies for maintaining seamless CI/CD workflows and providing feedback loops to foster continuous improvement.

Choose a specific, significant incident where you played a key role in diagnosing and resolving a performance issue. Discuss the steps you took, the analysis involved, and what lessons you learned that led to improvements in your processes.

Talk about your philosophy on mentorship, emphasizing the importance of knowledge sharing, providing constructive feedback, and creating a supportive learning environment. Highlight any specific examples of successful mentorship experiences you’ve had.

Explain your strategy for prioritizing tasks based on urgency and impact, utilizing tools or methodologies that help organize your workload. Mention your communication with stakeholders to align priorities effectively.

Share a specific instance where you identified and implemented changes that resulted in cost savings. Discuss the processes you reviewed and the innovative solutions you designed to achieve these efficiencies.

Talk about the various ways you ensure you are informed about emerging technologies and industry trends, such as attending conferences, participating in online courses, or engaging in professional networking.

Discuss the importance of effective collaboration across different teams, such as Engineering, Customer Support, and Product Management. Share your approach to building strong relationships to facilitate open communication and teamwork for achieving common goals.