Infrastructure Engineer

About the role

This role focuses on owning and advancing the foundational OpenStack infrastructure that powers Kraken's global financial platform. You will be responsible for the end-to-end operations of compute, networking, and provisioning services within a high-availability environment. The position requires deep engagement with storage technologies, ensuring robust integration between OpenStack Cinder and Kubernetes CSI drivers. You will collaborate daily with SRE, Networking, and Security teams to streamline incident response and reduce operational risk. A key part of this role is automating repetitive tasks to eliminate manual toil and increase system reliability. You will also author clear documentation and runbooks that enable the team to troubleshoot complex issues efficiently. Participation in on-call rotations ensures you play a direct role in maintaining platform stability for all engineering teams. This position is ideal for a hands-on engineer who wants to build the future of open finance infrastructure.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Operate and maintain the core OpenStack platform, including compute (Nova), networking (Neutron), and provisioning (Ironic) services.
• Troubleshoot storage systems by applying Ceph architecture knowledge to diagnose and resolve performance and reliability issues.
• Handle feature requests and support tickets for both OpenStack and Storage platforms, resolving them with a customer-first mindset.
• Reduce operational burden by working with senior engineers to troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues across the full technology stack.
• Integrate storage solutions effectively, determining whether to use OpenStack Cinder or Kubernetes CSI based on workload requirements.
• Build automation and tooling using scripting and programming skills to improve team efficiency and reduce manual repetitive tasks.
• Contribute to internal documentation and runbooks that standardize operations and troubleshooting procedures for the platform.
• Participate in on-call rotation to ensure rapid response to incidents and maintain high platform reliability standards.
• Leverage AI tools and agents such as Claude and OpenAI to accelerate issue resolution and deliver business value efficiently.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate technical requirements into infrastructure solutions that support open finance.
• Monitor system health and performance metrics to proactively identify and mitigate potential infrastructure risks.
• Implement infrastructure as code practices to ensure consistent, repeatable, and auditable platform deployments.
• Support the evolution of the platform toward containerized workloads and cloud-native patterns where applicable.
• Assist in capacity planning and infrastructure scaling to meet growing demands from trading and institutional clients.
• Maintain strong security and networking fundamentals to support secure communication and access controls across systems.
• Partner with development teams to enable robust and scalable environments for application deployment and testing.

Requirements

• Bring 3+ years of proven experience as an Infrastructure/Platform/DevOps Engineer or Software Engineer in a similar technical role.
• Demonstrate a strong passion for providing technical guidance to stakeholders with excellent communication and customer-focused problem-solving skills.
• Hands-on experience building and maintaining either an OpenStack private cloud or Ceph networked storage platform is essential.
• Show a strong understanding of distributed systems fundamentals and how they apply to real-world infrastructure challenges.
• Exhibit strong Linux systems knowledge, including comfort with the shell, process management, networking basics, file systems, and permissions.
• Possess networking fundamentals such as TCP/IP, DNS, ports, IP addressing, basic routing, TLS, and PKI concepts.
• Display the ability to leverage AI tools and agents such as Claude and OpenAI to efficiently deliver business value and solve technical problems.
• Have scripting or programming experience in languages such as Python, Bash, or Go to automate tasks and build tools.

Nice to have

• Working experience running Kubernetes clusters in production environments.
• Exposure to major cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure, or on-premises infrastructure deployments.
• Knowledge of Terraform or other Infrastructure as Code tools for managing cloud and on-prem resources.
• Experience with storage systems like Ceph or Rook and understanding of their operational nuances.

Practical notes

Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

OUR COMMITMENT

Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.

We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, or any other protected status.