Principal Software Engineer, Application Networking, Platform Infrastructure

Elastic

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Posted
7 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live yesterday

Market check

Salary context

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $192k
$100k most similar roles pay here $249k

This listing doesn't post a salary. Most similar roles pay $169,550–$214,800.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Elastic

Elastic is the company behind Elasticsearch and the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, and Logstash). It sells search, observability, and security products built on that search engine, primarily through its Elastic Cloud managed service.

Elastic currently has 240 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $133,100–$210,600 across 91 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Elastic

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer, Application Networking, Platform Infrastructure

Principal Software Engineer (Application Networking) - Platform Infrastructure joins the Platform Infrastructure team to define the future of Elastic Cloud application networking. This role focuses on the architecture, design, and development of critical infrastructure components including Ingress, security controls, private connectivity, and DNS management for the Elasticsearch and Kibana stack. The engineer will lead multi-quarter cross-organizational projects, manage complex incident investigations, and mentor other engineers while serving as a technical advisor to product management. Key requirements include deep expertise in cloud-native architecture and experience building large-scale distributed systems rather than using off-the-shelf services. Candidates should be proficient in high-availability SaaS platforms and possess skills in Kubernetes networking tools like Cilium, external-dns, Envoy Gateway, and Crossplane. The role addresses the technical challenge of ensuring reliable, secure, and performant connectivity for cloud-based search and observability services.

What does a Software Engineer earn?

Median $197500 from 2196 postings across 133 companies.

See salary data

What you'll do

  • Define technical direction and architecture for major application networking initiatives from proposal through general availability.
  • Lead the development of Ingress, private connectivity, DNS, and security controls for Elastic Cloud.
  • Manage multi-quarter, cross-organizational projects that other engineering teams rely on for their infrastructure.
  • Resolve complex incident investigations and lead high-level operational reviews to improve service reliability.
  • Serve as a subject matter expert and technical advisor to the wider engineering organization.
  • Advise product management and senior stakeholders on technical trade-offs, feasibility, and roadmap direction.
  • Identify and implement improvements for security, stability, and cost efficiency across the platform.

What we're looking for

  • Experience building software and setting technical direction for complex distributed systems at a Staff or Principal level.
  • Deep expertise in application networking and cloud-native architecture, including Ingress, private connectivity, DNS, and security controls.
  • Experience building large-scale distributed systems rather than using off-the-shelf services.
  • Proven ability to own projects from inception to completion while guiding the work of multiple engineers.
  • Experience operating high-availability SaaS platforms and managing incident response and reliability improvements.
  • Demonstrated track record of using AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code.
  • Ability to communicate clearly and influence direction across teams without formal authority in a distributed environment.
  • Knowledge of Kubernetes networking (Cilium, external-dns, Envoy Gateway, Crossplane) and major cloud provider ecosystems is preferred.

More like this

Similar roles