Site Reliability Engineer | Cloud Team

As a Site Reliability Engineer at Garmin, you will ensure the integrity of Garmin's production environment is maintained. Your responsibilities include authoring process improvements throughout the project lifecycle, establishing training on operational processes, and monitoring software releases. You will also lead design activities, implement lifecycle improvements through automation, coordinate monitoring practices, and improve the team's incident response efforts.

To qualify for the Site Reliability Engineer role at Garmin, you should have a minimum of 4 years of relevant experience in site reliability, DevOps, or a similar field. Experience with cloud infrastructures (like AWS or Azure), containerized applications (Kubernetes), and scripting languages (such as Python or Groovy) is essential. Proficiency in infrastructure as code tools, Linux administration, and build and deployment automation is also highly valued.

In your role as a Site Reliability Engineer at Garmin, you will work with a variety of tools and technologies including but not limited to OpenStack, Kubernetes, Jenkins, GitLab, and Terraform. Familiarity with monitoring tools like AppDynamics and New Relic, as well as data storage technologies such as RDBMS and No-SQL, is considered a plus.

Garmin offers an attractive benefits package for Site Reliability Engineers that includes 24 vacation days each year, a health package subscription, and a monthly budget for sports and well-being activities. Additionally, you'll enjoy access to local and global career development programs, meal tickets, and employee stock purchase plans. Among other perks, Garmin also promotes a vibrant community-focused atmosphere with events tailored to enhance your holistic health.

The work culture at Garmin for Site Reliability Engineers is collaborative, innovative, and focused on teamwork. With offices around the world, you'll be part of a diverse team that values open communication and shared ideas. The emphasis on professional development means you'll have opportunities to grow your skills and career while actively contributing to a supportive and energizing work environment.

When answering this question, focus on your hands-on experience with Kubernetes, detailing specific projects you've worked on. Mention how you've utilized its components such as Pods, Services, and Deployments to manage containerized applications. Discuss your understanding of Kubernetes architecture and how you've addressed challenges in scaling applications or troubleshooting issues.

In your response, outline your systematic approach to incident response. Detail steps you take from immediate troubleshooting to documenting the incident, conducting a post-mortem review, and implementing changes to prevent future occurrences. Highlight the importance of communication with your team and stakeholders throughout this process.

Discuss your familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and how they contribute to reliable software delivery. Explain the practices you employ such as automation, thorough testing, code reviews, and continuous monitoring. Mention any specific tools you’ve used to streamline this process and how they enhance team collaboration and outcomes.

Relate a specific project that posed complex challenges in a cloud environment. Describe the objectives, the hurdles you faced (like scaling issues or security concerns), and how you overcame them. Don't forget to emphasize teamwork and how collaboration contributed to achieving success.

In your answer, convey your commitment to continuous learning. Mention the resources you use, such as attending conferences, following industry publications, participating in online communities, or taking courses. Highlight any personal projects that keep your skills sharp and innovative.

Talk about essential tools like Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK stack that you have used for monitoring system health and performance. Discuss how these tools help in identifying issues and ensuring service level objectives (SLOs) are met. Tailor your response to highlight tools you've had extensive experience with.

When addressing this question, recount specific automation tools you've worked with, such as Ansible, Terraform, or Jenkins. Discuss how you’ve implemented these tools in your projects to automate deployments, configurations, or monitoring processes and what impact they had on your team’s efficiency.

Explain how you analyze current and future system requirements to plan for capacity in your cloud applications. Discuss methods you've employed to assess usage trends, performance metrics, and resource allocation for peak demand periods. Highlight your experience in balancing cost-efficiency with the reliability and performance needs.

In your response, discuss the strategies you use to foster collaboration, such as facilitating regular team meetings, promoting open communication platforms, and encouraging knowledge sharing. Emphasize your belief in the importance of a positive team culture and how you contribute to creating it.

Highlight key metrics such as uptime, latency, error rates, and throughput that you consider critical for tracking system reliability. Discuss how you implement monitoring systems to capture these metrics and use them to inform decision-making and continuous improvement efforts.