Director, Platform Engineering

The Director, Platform Engineering at NetBox Labs is responsible for leading engineering teams focused on infrastructure operations, cloud services, and internal platforms. This includes overseeing the reliability and scalability of our systems, managing AWS cloud infrastructure, supporting team operations, and fostering a developer-centric culture. The role also involves defining platform strategies that serve internal engineering teams as customers, while upholding security and compliance standards.

To apply for the Director, Platform Engineering position at NetBox Labs, candidates should have over 10 years of engineering experience, including 5 years in managing technical teams, preferably within a startup environment. Strong expertise in AWS infrastructure management, cloud security, and experience leading cross-functional engineering teams across international boundaries are essential. Excellent communication skills and a deep comfort with decision-making in ambiguous situations are also crucial for success in this role.

The Director, Platform Engineering at NetBox Labs plays a key role in cultivating a developer-centric culture focused on automation and self-service. By fostering a mindset of problem-solving and continuous improvement, this role helps ensure that teams operate efficiently and collaboratively. Given our remote-first structure, strong communication is paramount, and the director will need to engage effectively with teams across various locations, creating an open and transparent culture.

Candidates for the Director, Platform Engineering role at NetBox Labs should have a strong command of AWS, Kubernetes, IAM, release tooling, and observability tools. Familiarity with programming languages such as Python and Golang, along with experience in B2B SaaS environments, is particularly valuable. Additionally, knowledge of building data platforms and experience with AI tools would be advantageous for this highly technical role.

At NetBox Labs, the work culture is centered around innovation, community support, and simplicity. We encourage problem ownership and a shared knowledge model while remaining focused on getting things done efficiently. With a fully remote team, effective communication and collaboration is a top priority. Team members have the opportunity to connect during company events, industry conferences, and meetups, fostering relationships and sharing insights.

When answering this question, highlight specific projects where you have successfully managed AWS environments. Discuss your approach to cost optimization, security protocols, and how you've ensured reliability and scalability in past roles.

Provide examples of how you've previously created a culture that promotes automation, usability, and self-service. Mention specific initiatives you led or supported that encouraged developers to take ownership of their tools and infrastructure.

Discuss your methods for balancing project timelines and team workloads. Talk about how you assess priorities based on impact, urgency, and resource availability, and provide examples of how you’ve navigated tension between speed and thoroughness.

Share your philosophy on incident management and how you've led teams through incident recovery. Mention specific tools, processes, or frameworks you've used to build a strong incident response plan, and discuss any measurable outcomes from past experiences.

Discuss specific strategies or tools you've used to foster effective communication and alignment on goals across different time zones and cultures. Provide examples of successful cross-functional projects you've led and how you maintained team cohesion.

Reflect on a specific challenge where you had to make a decision with limited information. Describe your thought process and how you engaged your team to navigate the ambiguity.

Talk about the project management methodologies you prefer, such as Agile or Scrum, and how you've adapted them to fit your teams' dynamics. Provide examples of how effective backlog management has led to successful project deliveries.

Share your commitment to professional development through webinars, conferences, and reading industry-specific content. Discuss how you’ve leveraged these resources to implement new technologies or methodologies in your previous roles.

Highlight your experience in deploying, managing, and scaling applications on Kubernetes. Discuss any specific challenges you faced and how you overcame them, including collaboration with other teams.

Outline the key performance indicators (KPIs) you monitor for assessing platform health, such as uptime, incident response time, user satisfaction, and cost efficiency. Provide examples of how these metrics influenced your decisions.