Principal Software Engineer, Backend - Advanced Cluster Security

Job Summary: Principal Software Engineer, Backend - Advanced Cluster Security (RHACS) Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security (RHACS) Engineering is dedicated to creating robust security solutions for OpenShift and Kubernetes deployments. Our mission is to cement OpenShift's position as the most secure Kubernetes distribution by designing comprehensive security workflows across the entire software development lifecycle. We are seeking an experienced Software Engineer with a strong background in Backend Development and Automation to join our Advanced Cluster Security team. This senior‑level role offers an immediate opportunity to make a significant impact on our product, APIs, architecture, and engineering processes. You will be responsible for developing innovative features and substantially enhancing the product's resilience. The ideal candidate possesses deep technical expertise in system internals, backend architecture, and automation tooling. Your primary focus will be on: Developing new features and core backend components and services of ACS. Enabling customers to securely operate the world's largest commercial Kubernetes clusters across various public and private cloud environments. Elevating our solutions to meet the evolving, high‑demand requirements of Kubernetes and OpenShift users, ensuring ACS maintains its leadership in security and efficiency. Responsibilities Lead the entire lifecycle for core product areas. Design, develop, and maintain critical backend services, automation tools, and Linux data collection software, prioritizing scalability, performance, and reliability. Contribute to the technical roadmap, proactively identifying future challenges and opportunities within Kubernetes security. Focus development efforts across the product on efficient data collection, event processing, storage, and persistence mechanisms. Spearhead the integration of new technologies, programming languages, and frameworks to boost developer productivity and drive product innovation. Uphold high standards for software quality, promoting a "design document-first" methodology and facilitating technical growth through code reviews and mentorship. Address complex customer issues, leveraging deep expertise in Kubernetes, Linux internals, and distributed systems to provide expert support. Collaborate cross‑functionally with product managers, designers, and fellow engineers to refine and expand ACS features, maintaining a sharp focus on user experience and operational excellence. Provide technical guidance and foster peer learning through code reviews and design feedback to colleagues. Engage with the open‑source community, sharing knowledge and contributing to projects foundational to ACS technologies. Requirements Open to learning new technologies, programming languages, and concepts; we work in Golang, but we care much more about your general engineering skills than knowledge of a specific programming language. Proven track record in architecting and implementing high‑performance, scalable backend services, including RESTful and gRPC APIs. Experience should include designing, optimizing, and maintaining complex systems, ideally in high‑traffic environments. Demonstrated experience with the complexities of building and maintaining scalable distributed systems and APIs. Knowledge of and experience with automation frameworks and tools (e.g., Terraform, Helm). This should be demonstrated through the automation of significant infrastructure or development pipelines. Experience creating or contributing to tools that enhance developer productivity or system reliability is expected. Understanding of and experience with Kubernetes, including deployment, scaling, management, and securing clusters in production environments (preferred, but not required). Enjoy delivering high‑quality software through a principled, "design document-first" approach. Thrive in a collaborative environment working with different stakeholders and subject matter experts. Exhibit innovative thinking and strong problem‑solving capacity, demonstrated through practical solutions to complex engineering challenges. Communication and collaboration skills are essential and demonstrated experience working in highly diverse and dynamic teams is required. A history of contributions to open‑source projects is preferred, and active participation in community discussions and events is expected. Leadership roles within these communities are highly regarded. Candidates should exhibit innovative thinking and problem‑solving capacity, demonstrated through practical solutions to complex engineering challenges. The ability to think critically and provide leadership in container security and distributed systems is a plus. Education and Minimum Experience Advanced Degree: A Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Engineering, or related STEM fields, with a minimum of five years of software development experience focusing on security, system internals, or distributed systems. Bachelor's Degree: Alternatively, individuals with a Bachelor's degree in the same fields should bring a minimum of seven years of similar experience. Technical Expertise: This role requires deep technical expertise and a demonstrated ability to solve complex problems in software security and infrastructure. The salary range for this position is $151,510.00 - $249,950.00. Actual offer will be based on your qualifications. Pay Transparency Red Hat determines compensation based on several factors including but not limited to job location, experience, applicable skills and training, external market value, and internal pay equity. Annual salary is one component of Red Hat’s compensation package. This position may also be eligible for bonus, commission, and/or equity. For positions with Remote-US locations, the actual salary range for the position may differ based on location but will be commensurate with job duties and relevant work experience. Benefits Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage Flexible Spending Account – healthcare and dependent care Health Savings Account – high deductible medical plan Retirement 401(k) with employer match Paid time off and holidays Paid parental leave plans for all new parents Leave benefits including disability, paid family medical leave, and paid military leave Additional benefits including employee stock purchase plan, family planning reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, transportation expense account, employee assistance program, and more! Note: These benefits are only applicable to full time, permanent associates at Red Hat located in the United States. Equal Opportunity Policy (EEO) Red Hat is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We review applications for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, or any other basis prohibited by law. #J-18808-Ljbffr Red Hat, Inc.