Senior Site Reliability Engineer I - job 2 of 2

The Senior Site Reliability Engineer I at Careem will be responsible for developing and maintaining our distributed monitoring systems, focusing on scalability, reliability, and functionality. You'll design and architect solutions, mentor colleagues, and collaborate across teams to enhance our infrastructure monitoring framework, ensuring optimal system performance and timely incident notifications.

To be successful as a Senior Site Reliability Engineer I at Careem, candidates should have a minimum of 5 years of experience with monitoring systems like Prometheus or NewRelic. Proficiency in programming languages such as Java, Python, Bash, or Go, along with expert knowledge of Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure (preferably AWS) are essential. Experience in infrastructure automation and developing high-availability systems is also required.

Key skills for a Senior Site Reliability Engineer I at Careem include strong expertise in monitoring technologies, a solid understanding of network stacks, and Unix/Linux systems. Candidates are expected to have a data-driven mindset for problem resolution, experience in building monitoring tools, and an obsession with maintaining low operational costs while delivering quality solutions.

Careem is committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and development for its employees. As a Senior Site Reliability Engineer I, you'll have access to mentorship opportunities, a community of inspiring colleagues, and resources that encourage professional growth. Additionally, the flexible work environment promotes innovation and skill enhancement in a purposeful organization.

The work culture at Careem for a Senior Site Reliability Engineer I is dynamic and collaborative. Employees enjoy a blend of in-office and remote work, enabling a balanced work-life environment. With a focus on teamwork, mentorship, and professional development, the culture encourages individuals to put their passion to work while striving towards a common goal of making a difference in the community.

When asked about improving a monitoring system, provide a specific example where you identified shortcomings in an existing set-up and implemented changes. Discuss the actions you took, the technologies used, and how your improvements enhanced system visibility or reduced incident response times.

Your approach to reliability and scalability should include the assessment of current system performance, identifying bottlenecks, and defining a clear strategy for incorporating monitoring and alerting mechanisms. Highlight any experience with load testing and incrementally improving system capacity.

Discuss your experience with various monitoring tools like Prometheus, NewRelic, or AppDynamics. Share your preferences based on their features, ease of use, and how they integrate with your workflow, providing insights into why they align with your project needs.

To ensure code quality, it's crucial to follow best practices like code reviews, automated testing, and adhering to coding standards. Explain your process for writing clean, maintainable code, and how you involve your team in practices that uphold quality across projects.

For incident management, share your methodology for addressing incidents, from initial detection to resolution. Include tools you’ve used to track incidents, how you prioritize them, and any retrospective processes you engage in to minimize future occurrences.

Be prepared to discuss specific challenges related to cloud infrastructure, such as cost management or compliance issues. Describe how you navigated these hurdles and any lessons learned that could benefit your potential team at Careem.

Staying updated is vital, so mention subscribing to leading industry publications, participating in webcasts, joining professional networks, and attending conferences. Highlight instances where knowledge gained led to improvements in your work.

Discuss your mentoring style, focusing on fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment. Mention strategies you employ, such as paired programming or introducing hands-on projects, to ensure junior engineers effectively develop their skills.

Share specific technologies you have utilized for Infrastructure as Code, such as Terraform or Ansible. Detail how you implemented these practices in projects to automate deployment and configuration management, reinforcing reliability and efficiency.

Discuss strategies such as resource utilization monitoring, right-sizing of resources, and choosing appropriate pricing models offered by cloud providers. Provide examples of how implementing these strategies resulted in reduced costs in past roles.