Senior Systems Development Engineer, Public Sector

Google•Reston, VA

11h•$156,000 - $229,000

About The Position

As a Senior Systems Development Engineer, you will lead the deployment and architectural evolution of Google’s advanced cloud and AI technologies, including Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) and Gemini models, within ambiguous environments. You are expected to own projects, managing strategic technical decisions that fix broad classes of problems and eliminate systemic toil across the organization. You will serve as a technical authority for United States Government customers, providing expert guidance and high-level escalation support. You will proactively identify, design, and implement robust infrastructure solutions that guarantee the reliability and security of our platforms, often operating within high-stakes, air-gapped, or secure environments. Joining a team of senior engineers, you will bridge the gap between product development and production excellence. Your role involves leading the full product life-cycle: influencing product road maps with engineering partners, architecting deployment frameworks, and mentoring junior engineers to elevate the team’s collective technical bar. You will act as a primary point of contact for cross-functional partners, ensuring that our systems are not only operational but also scalable and future-proof. This role requires a high degree of autonomy, a research-oriented mindset for novel problem-solving, and the ability to simplify complex systems into standardized, reliable solutions. This role requires an on-call rotation. Google Public Sector [https://about.google/intl/ALL_us/public-sector/#:~:text=We're%20committed%20to%20advancing,%2C%20research%2C%20and%20edtech%20companies.] brings the magic of Google to the mission of government and education with solutions purpose-built for enterprises. We focus on helping United States public sector institutions accelerate their digital transformations, and we continue to make significant investments and grow our team to meet the complex needs of local, state and federal government and educational institutions. The US base salary range for this full-time position is $156,000-$229,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google [https://careers.google.com/benefits/].

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or IT-related field, or equivalent practical experience.
5 years of experience with technical infrastructure (e.g., design, deployment, and troubleshooting).
5 years of experience with Linux system administration, containerization (Docker, Podman), Kubernetes, and Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Ansible).
Experience in scripting/programming languages (e.g., Python, Go) networking and security architectures.
Active US Government Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmentalized Information (TS/SCI) security clearance with Polygraph.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading implementations on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Google Distributed Cloud (GDC), or similar edge/hosted products.
Experience designing and maintaining secure systems within air-gapped environments or under strict regulatory frameworks.
Expert-level understanding of Kubernetes internals, service mesh, and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Ansible).
Proven track record of managing production AI/ML workloads and large-scale observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana).
Proven track record of self-direction and execution on ambiguous projects, transforming high-level requirements into well-architected, secure technical realities.
Strong influence and communication skills, with the ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and mentor technical teams.

Responsibilities

Design and oversee the deployment of scalable infrastructure and AI/ML systems on Google Distributed Cloud, setting the standard for security protocols and system architecture.
Lead the management of containerized workloads (Kubernetes, Gemini) and engineer sophisticated, proactive monitoring and self-healing systems to ensure mission-critical performance.
Architect complex automation frameworks and tools (Python, Go) to standardize operations, prevent recurring issues, and reduce operational toil.
Partner with product engineering to influence technical direction and roadmap, resolving the most complex architectural bottlenecks and system-level issues.
Serve as an expert and mentor for junior engineers while leading the on-call response for the most critical customer-impacting escalations.