Lead Systems Engineer - PRE - job 10 of 12

As a Lead Systems Engineer – Observability at Visa, your main responsibilities include leading the technical direction for our monitoring platform, ensuring it meets the secure and compliance needs of our enterprise, collaborating with various teams to deliver effective observability tools, and optimizing the toolchain for better availability and cost efficiency. Your expertise will be crucial in shaping how we observe and maintain our dynamic product suite.

To excel as a Lead Systems Engineer – Observability at Visa, candidates typically need a strong background in systems engineering, experience with monitoring and observability tools, and excellent communication skills. A degree in computer science or a related field is often preferred, alongside several years of experience in a similar role, particularly in large-scale enterprise environments.

The work environment for a Lead Systems Engineer – Observability at Visa is collaborative and innovative. You'll work in a hybrid setting, combining remote work with in-office collaboration, fostering teamwork and creativity. With various departments involved, you will engage with diverse groups, which makes for a dynamic and enriching professional atmosphere.

Visa's observability platform enhances software performance by providing pivotal insights into application health and operations. As a Lead Systems Engineer – Observability, you will implement tools that monitor and visualize performance metrics, helping teams quickly identify and resolve issues before they impact users or business operations.

Success in the Lead Systems Engineer – Observability role at Visa requires a blend of technical and interpersonal skills. Key skills include proficiency in systems engineering and observability tools, strong problem-solving capabilities, effective communication for team collaboration, and a proactive mindset towards process improvement and compliance.

In your response, highlight specific tools you've worked with, like Prometheus, Grafana, or Elasticsearch, and describe how you've used them to improve system reliability or performance.

Detail a specific instance where you identified a performance bottleneck or security issue within a system. Discuss the steps you took to diagnose the problem and the solutions you implemented.

Share your methodology for prioritizing projects, including tools you use for project management, how you assess urgency, and ways you maintain communication with various teams.

Emphasize the importance of teamwork, discussing how collaboration with development, operations, and other teams is essential for crafting effective observability strategies.

Discuss your process for evaluating tools, ensuring compatibility, and training teams on new systems while mitigating disruption to existing workflows.

Talk about best practices you follow for securing observability tools, such as regular audits, access controls, and keeping systems updated to protect sensitive data.

Be specific about cloud platforms you’ve used, such as AWS or Azure, and how you’ve leveraged their services to enhance observability and performance.

Explain your understanding of enterprise governance needs, and provide examples of how you've aligned observability practices with compliance requirements in past roles.

List important metrics, such as latency, error rates, and uptime, and explain why monitoring these is crucial for operational success.

Discuss the importance of fostering an open feedback culture, illustrating how you have acted on team input to improve observability processes and tool effectiveness.