Strategic Operations Engineer III

Role Description

We’re seeking a Strategic Ops Engineer III to join our team!

What You'll Do:

• Incident Management
  • Available to Lead and govern the end-to-end incident management lifecycle, including detection, triage, escalation, and resolution.
  • Drive major incident management (MIM) processes and communications.
  • Improve MTTR (Mean Time to Resolution) through automation and process optimization.
  • Establish and maintain incident response playbooks and runbooks.
• Problem Management
  • Maintain and improve intelligent heatmaps leveraging AI/ML to identify recurring technical themes and prioritize long-term remediation.
  • Implement trend analysis and proactive problem identification using observability data and AI.
  • Track and manage problem records to closure.
• Change Management
  • Govern change management processes (lead the CAB), ensuring safe, compliant, and low-risk deployments.
  • Define and enforce change policies, risk assessments, and approval workflows.
  • Drive continuous improvement in release and deployment practices.
• Observability & Service Reliability
  • Maintain a strong understanding of system architecture and monitoring strategies, identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement.
  • Partner with engineering teams to improve system resilience and performance.
  • Reduce alert fatigue by improving signal-to-noise ratio in monitoring systems.
• AI-Driven Operations (AIOps)
  • Leverage AI/ML for anomaly detection, predictive alerting, and automated root cause analysis.
  • Implement AI-driven solutions to optimize incident response and operational workflows.
  • Analyze large-scale operational data to identify patterns and recommend improvements.
  • Experience with AIOps platforms or building AI-driven operational solutions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in IT Operations, SRE, or similar roles.
• Strong expertise in Incident, Problem, and Change Management (ITIL or similar frameworks).
• Proven experience in governing and optimizing operational processes.
• AI & Data Expertise: Strong knowledge of AI/ML concepts, including anomaly detection, predictive analytics, and data modeling.
• AIOps Experience: Hands-on experience with AIOps platforms or building AI-driven operational solutions (event correlation, alert prioritization).

Requirements

• ITIL certification (Foundation or higher).
• Proficiency with platforms such as Jira, SNOW, FireHydrant, Moogsoft, etc.
• Experience working in high-availability, large-scale environments.

Key Competencies

• Positive Attitude!
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Process-oriented mindset with a focus on governance and continuous improvement.
• Excellent stakeholder communication and leadership skills.
• Ability to drive change across cross-functional teams.

Benefits

• The expected salary range for this role is $123,000 - $175,000.

Company Description

At Backblaze, we value being fair and good to our customers, partners, and employees. That’s why diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of our values. We are committed to fostering a workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, socio-economic status, ability, veteran status, and education. We believe that our dedication to cultivating a diverse workspace not only allows us to better serve our customers in over 175 countries but further reinforces our commitment to doing the right thing.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.