Backend Engineer - Platform Productivity (Remote, UK)

As a Backend Engineer - Platform Productivity at Grafana Labs, you will lead automation efforts in CI/CD and assist internal teams in releasing their software efficiently. Your role will encompass developing and maintaining our Internal Engineering Platform, collaborating with various teams, and being part of an on-call rotation to support platform tooling.

Grafana Labs seeks a Backend Engineer - Platform Productivity with software development experience, familiarity with cloud environments, and a solid understanding of Kubernetes and Docker, as well as Infrastructure as Code principles. A passion for collaborative work and the eagerness to learn are equally important.

Success as a Backend Engineer - Platform Productivity at Grafana Labs is defined by your ability to deliver on automation projects, contribute to team discussions, and effectively collaborate across teams to enhance our internal engineering platform. You're making a significant impact on the performance and reliability of our tools.

In this role, you’ll primarily work with Go, Kubernetes, Docker, and Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform and Tanka. You'll also help develop CI/CD processes and automation solutions to improve overall productivity within the engineering team.

Absolutely! Grafana Labs encourages continuous learning and offers plenty of opportunities for growth. With a supportive team and an emphasis on developing new skills, you’ll find that your professional journey can flourish here.

Be prepared to share specific projects where you've automated or improved CI/CD processes. Highlight the tools you used, challenges you overcame, and how your contributions increased efficiency or reliability in deployments.

Discuss specific instances where you've deployed or managed applications using Kubernetes and Docker. Emphasize your understanding of container orchestration and the benefits it brings to the development process.

Detail your strategy for responding to incidents. Highlight how you prioritize tasks, communicate with team members, and your process for documenting and learning from incidents to prevent future occurrences.

Share your knowledge and hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code tools, particularly Terraform and Tanka. Discuss a project where you’ve implemented these tools and the impact it had on deployment processes.

Narrate a situation where you analyzed a teammate’s process, identified areas for improvement, provided mentorship, and resulted in a successful implementation that benefitted the team.

Acknowledge potential challenges such as maintaining system reliability, ensuring security compliance, or supporting diverse team needs, and discuss how you'd address these challenges proactively.

Explain your methods for ensuring clear communication and engagement with remote colleagues, such as regular check-ins, leveraging collaboration tools, and encouraging openness in discussions.

Convey your appreciation for Grafana’s products and community impact. Share how the company’s values align with your professional goals and why you’re excited about contributing to their platform.

Discuss your experience with code reviews, automated testing, and adherence to best practices such as coding standards and documentation. Provide examples of how these techniques improved the quality of your team's deliverables.

Share your thoughts on emerging technologies or practices within platform engineering, such as the integration of observability into CI/CD processes, and how you see them shaping the future of software development and deployment.