Staff Site Reliability Engineer - IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR) - job 14 of 20

As a Staff Site Reliability Engineer in IT Disaster Recovery at Visa, your primary responsibilities include developing and executing the Disaster Recovery Program, establishing recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs), and leading annual disaster recovery testing activities. You'll work collaboratively across various teams to identify risks and create effective recovery solutions while ensuring that information security measures are in place.

To excel as a Staff Site Reliability Engineer within Visa's IT Disaster Recovery team, you should possess strong leadership skills, an ability to collaborate effectively, and a knack for executing projects with excellence. Technical proficiency in network configurations, cloud-hosted services, storage devices, and databases like MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB will also be essential to your role.

The Disaster Recovery Program at Visa ensures information security by establishing comprehensive processes and best practices. Staff Site Reliability Engineers are required to implement appropriate safeguards, such as data backups, replication, and encryption. Regular validation through thorough testing and ongoing maintenance of disaster recovery plans also contributes to safeguarding Visa’s crucial information assets.

As a Staff Site Reliability Engineer at Visa, you'll enjoy a hybrid work environment, allowing you to work both remotely and in-office. While you’re expected to be in the office 2-3 days a week, this setup promotes a flexible work-life balance while ensuring collaboration with your teams. You'll actively engage in a supportive culture that values innovation and teamwork.

A Staff Site Reliability Engineer at Visa will have a significant impact on the organization’s disaster recovery capabilities by leading the development of strategic standards for disaster recovery design and implementation. You’ll play a pivotal role in maintaining system readiness, reducing recovery time during incidents, and enhancing overall resilience, thus ensuring that Visa continues to operate seamlessly through challenges.

In answering this question, focus on specific projects where you've played a key role in disaster recovery planning. Highlight your involvement in conducting risk assessments, establishing recovery time objectives, and ensuring that appropriate backup strategies are in place. Use concrete examples demonstrating effective collaboration with cross-functional teams to showcase your hands-on experience.

When discussing how you determine RTOs and RPOs, emphasize the importance of understanding the business needs and implications of downtime. Explain your process for analyzing the criticality of operations, conducting stakeholder discussions, and using this data to establish achievable recovery targets that align with business continuity efforts.

Discuss the importance of regular, realistic testing scenarios that mirror potential disaster events. Share your approach to planning, execution, and post-test reviews that gather lessons learned. Consider mentioning the necessity of documenting outcomes and improving procedures based on insights gained during these test events.

When validating a disaster recovery plan, explain your method of conducting thorough reviews of existing documentation, executing test scenarios, and ensuring that recovery objectives can be met. Talk about assessing the functionality of all critical systems and the communication protocols in place, emphasizing the iterative nature of refining the plan through continuous improvement.

Here, detail your expertise in implementing cloud-hosted services as part of disaster recovery strategies. Explain the advantages of scalability, cost-effectiveness, and rapid deployment during a disaster. Bring in examples of using cloud-based backups, remote failover systems, and how they enhance overall resilience for the organization.

When answering this question, underscore your commitment to professional development through industry conferences, certifications, and staying active in online forums or following thought leaders in disaster recovery. Mention any resources such as blogs, webinars, or industry publications that you find valuable and how you leverage this knowledge in your work.

Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to outline a specific scenario. Describe the context, the risk you identified, the steps you took to mitigate that risk, and the outcome. Delve into how that experience shaped your approach to disaster recovery and risk management moving forward.

Highlight the tools and techniques you employ for documenting disaster recovery processes. Emphasize the importance of clarity and thoroughness in documentation, as well as the need for regular updates. Mention using diagrams, flowcharts, and structured methodologies to ensure all stakeholders can easily comprehend and act upon the plans.

Discuss the significance of learning from failures. Outline how you would conduct a thorough post-mortem analysis, identify failure points, and engage teams to adjust the recovery plan accordingly. Emphasize the importance of maintaining open communication and fostering a culture of transparency during such situations.

Express the benefit of tailored training programs that fit job roles and responsibilities. Discuss your experience in creating engaging training sessions that include hands-on exercises, simulations, and clear documentation that staff can reference when needed. Highlight the importance of ongoing education to ensure everyone is prepared for a potential incident.