Senior Infrastructure Engineer

QuantumScape is on a mission to transform energy storage with solid-state lithium-metal battery technology. The company’s next-generation batteries are designed to enable greater energy density, faster charging and enhanced safety to support the transition away from legacy energy sources toward a lower carbon future.

About the team

As Senior Infrastructure Engineer, you will be the technical foundation that lets our scientists, engineers, and operators move faster. You will have direct impact on a real-world hybrid environment spanning corporate, R&D, and manufacturing -- and your work will ladder up to something larger than itself.

If you want depth, ownership, and the satisfaction of knowing your infrastructure is enabling a technology that matters, we would like to talk.

What we need

QuantumScape is seeking a Senior Infrastructure Engineer to serve as the deep technical foundation of our Enterprise IT Infrastructure team. This is a hands‑on individual contributor role designed for an engineer who thrives in the details -- configuring systems, solving hard problems, and setting the technical bar for the organization. You will be the go‑to expert across cloud platforms (GCP, Azure), Kubernetes (GKE), enterprise networking, identity, and endpoint management, working closely with the Director of Enterprise IT Infrastructure to execute the infrastructure roadmap and ensure our systems are resilient, secure, and built to scale. This role is ideal for a seasoned engineer who wants deep technical impact without a management track.

What you’ll work on

• Cloud platforms (GCP, Azure) -- hands‑on administration of Compute Engine, GKE, Cloud Storage, IAM, VPC, and hybrid connectivity; own the configuration, optimization, and reliability of our cloud estate.
• Kubernetes (GKE) -- deploy, manage, and troubleshoot containerized workloads; maintain cluster health, resource governance, network policies, and CI/CD pipeline integrations.
• Enterprise networking -- configure and maintain multi‑site LAN/WAN, Wi‑Fi, SD‑WAN, Palo Alto firewalls, network segmentation, and zero‑trust access controls.
• Identity and endpoint -- administer SSO/MFA, MDM, EDR, ThreatLocker, and device lifecycle programs for office, lab, and shop‑floor users.
• Collaboration and productivity -- administer and optimize Google Workspace, MS 365, JIRA, ManageEngine, and the tools R&D and engineering rely on daily.
• Lab and manufacturing IT -- support instrumentation networks, OT/IT integration, and the infrastructure underpinning pilot lines moving toward commercial production.
• Automation and observability -- build and maintain infrastructure‑as‑code, monitoring, alerting, and SRE practices that move the team from reactive to proactive.
• AI‑driven operations -- develop and deploy AIOps tooling, agentic workflows, and automation that validate configurations, detect drift, enforce policy‑as‑code, and self‑heal systems at scale.

What you’ll do

• Serve as the primary technical expert and hands‑on administrator across cloud (GCP, Azure), Kubernetes (GKE), networking, identity, and endpoint infrastructure, resolving complex issues that exceed L1/L2 scope.
• Design, build, and maintain infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform, Ansible, or equivalent) across cloud and on‑prem environments, ensuring consistency, repeatability, and audit readiness.
• Manage and optimize GKE clusters and containerized workloads, including networking policies, RBAC, node pool scaling, and integration with CI/CD pipelines.
• Administer enterprise network infrastructure including Palo Alto firewalls, SD‑WAN, LAN/WAN, and Wi‑Fi across corporate, R&D, and manufacturing sites, with strong emphasis on segmentation and zero‑trust principles.
• Own identity and access infrastructure -- SSO, MFA, SAML/OIDC integrations, MDM/EDR platforms, and ThreatLocker -- ensuring enforcement and audit compliance.
• Partner with InfoSec on vulnerability remediation, security hardening, configuration drift detection, and compliance controls aligned to NIST CSF, SOC 2, and export control requirements.
• Develop and deploy AI and automation capabilities including AIOps monitoring, ticket deflection, anomaly detection, capacity forecasting, and self‑healing workflows that reduce manual toil and improve service reliability.
• Support lab and OT/IT environments, including instrumentation networks and pilot manufacturing infrastructure, partnering with R&D and engineering operations to maintain uptime for critical research systems.
• Produce and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, architecture diagrams, and change records that keep the team and stakeholders aligned.
• Mentor junior engineers, conduct peer reviews, and contribute to the technical standards and practices that define how the Infrastructure team operates.

Skills you’ll need

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent practical experience considered.
• 8+ years of hands‑on infrastructure engineering experience in complex, heterogeneous, hybrid cloud/on‑prem environments.
• Deep expertise in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) -- Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, IAM, VPC, hybrid connectivity -- and Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), including cluster administration, workload management, and network policies. Azure experience a strong plus.
• Strong systems administration background across Linux and Windows in multi‑platform, multi‑vendor environments, with proven ability to operate and troubleshoot at the infrastructure layer.
• Hands‑on experience with enterprise networking -- Palo Alto firewalls, SD‑WAN, LAN/WAN, Wi‑Fi -- and a solid understanding of network segmentation, routing, and zero‑trust architecture.
• Proficiency with infrastructure‑as‑code tools (Terraform, Ansible, or equivalent) and scripting languages (Python, Bash) for automation and configuration management.
• Experience with identity platforms (SSO, MFA, SAML, OIDC) and endpoint management tools (MDM, EDR, ThreatLocker).
• Practical experience applying AI, automation, and observability tooling to infrastructure operations -- AIOps, anomaly detection, capacity forecasting, or self‑healing workflows -- with a bias toward measurable outcomes.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity frameworks (NIST CSF, SOC 2, ISO 27001) and tools; comfortable partnering with InfoSec on hardening, compliance, and incident response.
• Certifications such as Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), CCNP, or equivalent are a strong plus.

Nice to have

• Experience supporting R&D, lab, or manufacturing environments -- instrumentation networks, OT/IT integration, or pilot/production lines.
• Familiarity with OT/ICS environments and the constraints of lab equipment, MES, and production‑line connectivity.
• Comfortable operating across both legacy and cutting‑edge systems, adapting approach based on what the environment requires rather than what is newest.
• Experience in a pre‑commercial or growth‑stage manufacturing and R&D organization, including scaling infrastructure as the business transitions from pilot to production.
• Strong opinions about automation, observability, and operational excellence, and the discipline to make them real through mature change management, incident response, and SRE practices.
• Personal fluency with modern AI tooling and a bias toward experimentation; experience deploying AI copilots, agentic workflows, or LLM‑based automation in an enterprise context.

ONSITE

This position is required to work onsite 5 days per week to meet the minimum essential duties and requirements of this position. As an on‑site R&D and manufacturing operations organization, in‑person face to face interaction is essential to building authentic relationships, trust, teamwork, and collaboration.

Compensation and benefits

Expected salary range for this role is from $126,400 to $192,800, and a final salary will be determined by the candidate's experience and educational background. QuantumScape also offers an annual bonus and a generous RSU/Equity package as part of its compensation plan. In addition, we do offer a tremendous benefits plan including employee paid health care, Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), and other benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request an accommodation.