Principal Engineer - Core Cloud Platform

About the Role: 

The Core Cloud Platform team is responsible for AlphaSense's entire cloud infrastructure, including AWS account management, networking, data storages, and Kubernetes clusters. We build the underlying platform that supports hundreds of services and is used by over 400 globally distributed engineers.

We're scaling into a cell-based architecture, and the number of cells we run is growing fast, taking our Kubernetes footprint from dozens of clusters toward hundreds. That takes the platform in three directions at once: infrastructure configuration becomes a first-class layer with its own lifecycle, independent of application code; provisioning a new cell becomes a days-long automated operation rather than a multi-week effort; and cross-cell control points become standard, reusable, and consistent everywhere.

This is a Principal Engineer role with real breadth within the cloud platform. You'll set the architectural roadmap for our cloud, Kubernetes, and storage platform as it scales with AlphaSense's growth, and take dedicated ownership of the cloud-side configuration and Helm chart layer that every service depends on. Data storages are a critical part of this surface, and we're looking for genuine depth there.

It requires a deep cloud of both operational and software development skills, the ability to lead ambitious technical programmes, and the credibility to set direction with Engineering leaders and very senior engineers across dozens of teams.

We're looking for someone who genuinely embraces AI tooling in their day-to-day work, appreciates the productivity value it brings, and is motivated to make our infrastructure ever-more AI friendly.

What You’ll Do: 

• Own the architectural roadmap for our cloud, Kubernetes, and storage platform
• Own cloud-side configuration and the Helm chart layer for Cloud Core
• Build the cell registry and automate provisioning to take new cell setup from weeks to days
• Design the cross-cell gate mechanism as the reusable standard checkpoint across every cell
• Own, operate and evolve our Cloud and Kubernetes platform, including our data storage layers
• Make operations (upgrades, patching, lifecycle management) routine across hundreds of clusters
• Continuously improve the security, reliability, cost efficiency and performance of our infrastructure
• Champion standards and drive initiatives to promote uniformisation and eliminate duplication
• Enable truly self-service and agentic workflow patterns that support a Build it - Own it model
• Build tooling and AI powered integrations that reduce the cognitive load in cloud 
• Architect, design and implement simple and maintainable solutions

Who You Are:

• Extremely experienced in Kubernetes and its various components, containerisation and AWS cloud
• Proven track record of running Kubernetes and Cloud based production SaaS systems at scale
• Experience operating Kubernetes as a large fleet with hundreds of clusters
• Strong knowledge of data storages across SQL, MongoDB, ClickHouse and Elasticsearch
• Strong operational and troubleshooting skill with Kubernetes, databases and messaging systems
• Deep understanding of networking and production level usage of service meshes and gateways
• Experience separating infrastructure configuration from application code at scale
• Experience with cell-based, multi-tenant or multi-region architectures 
• Proficiency in Python and Golang
• Evangelist of highly performant CI/CD practices that are supportive of agentic workflows
• Ability and desire to design, lead, influence and deliver on ambitious technical roadmaps

Nice to have:

• Experience with Vespa
• Automated provisioning of new environments, regions or cells end-to-end
• Management of large fleets of Kubernetes clusters with lifecycle management tools 
• Production usage of Hashicorp Vault or similar secret management systems