Who we are
Kentik is the network intelligence platform for modern infrastructure teams. Unlike traditional monitoring and observability tools we demystify complex network operations enabling organizations to deliver applications and innovation at scale. Built by network experts to make critical insight accessible to every engineer Kentik is the real-time source of truth that understands every network in context from data center to cloud to the internet. This single platform unifies and correlates cloud device flow synthetic data to turn telemetry into action. Market leaders like Akamai Dropbox and Zoom rely on Kentik to run manage and optimize their networks.
What youll do
Kentik is looking for a deeply technical leader to own the end-to-end lifecycle of our infrastructure delivery. This is a bridge role sitting at the intersection of Infrastructure Product Engineering and the customer.
You are the technical architect of how we land our product in any environment whether its a customers data center or our own. As an owner this role requires much more than acquiring and providing status updates and reporting out milestones.
You will initially focus on the flawless execution of Kentiks on-premises product including hardware selection and logistics. However because our SaaS environment is built on our own bare metal and private data centers you will also apply your expertise to our internal infrastructure programs. You are the glue that ensures the hardware is defensible the logistics are tight and the engineering teams are aligned to execute.
Reporting to the VP Infrastructure Engineering this is a hands-on Individual Contributor role in a rapidly-growing startup environment with the clear potential to grow and lead a dedicated team as we scale.
- Hardware Standards & Certification: Architect and curate the Kentik Certified Hardware standard. You will evaluate customer-provided hardware against our requirements and define the Gold Standard for both our on-prem product and our internal SaaS bare-metal footprint.
- Infrastructure Strategy & Sourcing: Own vendor relationships and the complexity of global hardware sourcing. This includes BOM (Bill of Materials) validation procurement and managing logistics to ensure gear hits the data center floor on time and to spec anywhere in the world.
- Technical Delivery Orchestration: Act as the air traffic controller for product deployment. You will coordinate cross-functionally with SRE Product Engineering and customer-facing teams (and often the customer directly) to ensure the environment is ready and the installation of the Kentik application is executed successfully.
- Internal Infrastructure Programs: Beyond customer delivery you will perform similar tasks for our SaaS environment. Youll help manage our own data center footprint and bare-metal lifecycle ensuring our internal ops are as rigorous as our customer-facing ones.
- Technical Debt & Operational Excellence: Identify and curate the technical debt that hinders our delivery speed or complicates maintenance. You will prioritize and drive the burn-down of this debt to make our product more maintainable stable and scalable from an SRE perspective.
What youll bring
Studies have shown that some candidates tend to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage you to apply if you meet most of the criteria - even if you dont match all of the qualifications your skills and experience could be valuable in this role!
- 8 years of experience in infrastructure operations technical sourcing or data center or technical program management.
- Deep technical knowledge of data center infrastructure:
- Server Hardware: Experience with any or all of Dell HPE and Supermicro as vendors and the configuration tradeoffs between CPU RAM and storage.
- Network & Connectivity: Solid understanding of switches routers and basic network architecture.
- Colocation Operations: Experience managing power cooling space planning and cross-connect logistics.
- Supply Chain & Logistics: Proven ability to manage hardware sourcing BOM validation and global delivery logistics.
- Execution & Orchestration: Ability to map complex dependencies and drive prioritization across multiple engineering and SRE teams.
- Influential Leadership: Strong cross-functional skills with the ability to drive alignment and burn down technical debt without direct authority.
- Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills; comfortable interfacing with both internal engineers and customer leadership.
- Deep Infrastructure Roots: You have a background in data center operations network engineering or NOC/Systems administration. You can talk deeply about CPU/RAM trade-offs NIC performance and Linux internals.
- Delivery Mastery: You have experience managing high-risk company-wide technical programs. You know how to guide multidisciplinary teams through complex execution plans without losing the thread or resorting to status update bureaucracy.
- Startup Scrappiness: You thrive in an environment where you need to build the playbook while youre playing the game. You are an IC today but you have the seniority and vision to eventually build and lead a small team.
- Strategic & Analytical: You understand that shipped is only half the battle. You advocate for long-term operational health and can push back on engineering or sales when a delivery path creates unsustainable technical debt.
Nice to haves
- Bare-Metal SaaS Experience: Background in SaaS or service provider environments running on private bare-metal infrastructure.
- System Architecture: Familiarity with distributed systems concepts and how software interacts with physical infrastructure.
- Infrastructure Tooling: Hands-on experience with Netbox (or similar DCIM) JIRA and monitoring tools like Grafana.
- FinOps & Budgeting: Exposure to technology budgeting CapEx/OpEx management or infrastructure FinOps.
- Domain Expertise: Familiarity with network observability (e.g. Kentik) or large-scale enterprise/service provider network environments.
Our tech stack
- Our core data engine and platform are primarily written in Go
- We use Express for application serving and React as our primary UI framework
- We also use some JS and Python for tooling/scripting
- In addition to our own database we use Postgres Kafka Mysql and Redis
- Internal and public APIs expose both rest/json and gRPC endpoints
- Haproxy Envoy for API traffic routing and balancing
- Github for source control PRs issues
- Jenkins for automated builds
What we offer
Kentik is a fully remote company that operates globally. We seek professionals that will help us thrive as an organization and in turn to broaden and enhance your career. Were very thorough in the interview process to understand your skills and how they will relate to your successful growth here at Kentik. Our compensation philosophy encompasses a fair program for all in order to attract engage and retain talented individuals who will drive our business and wow our customers.
The compensation range for this position is: $163000 $220000. This range reflects the low and high end of the U.S. compensation range Kentik reasonably and generally expects to pay the hired candidate in this role. The actual compensation offered may be lower or higher than the stated range depending on various factors including but not limited to:
- Experience with the skill sets required for success
- Demonstrated competencies and potential
- A geographic market-based approach
In addition to a great career opportunity Kentik offers stellar benefits for our employees which include:
- 100% of premiums are paid by company for health vision and dental coverage for you and your dependents
- Additionally an annual Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) of $3000 for an individual or $4500 for a family
- Paid family & medical leave
- Open PTO a quarterly Wellness Day and a minimum of 10 paid holidays
- 401(k) retirement account
- Home office reimbursement
- Stock options
Note: Benefits are as listed for all US full-time employees. For compensation international applicants will be treated equitably in relation to the laws applicable within the countries in which we operate.
Come work with us
The true meaning of Kentik is visibility. Were committed to making sure everyone feels empowered to use their voice has a sense of belonging and is represented at Kentik.
We dont look for individuals who fit the culture but those who will continue to add to the culture.
We encourage everyone to apply especially those individuals who are underrepresented in the industry: people of color LGBTQI community women individuals with disabilities (both seen and unseen) veterans and people of any age or family status.
Kentik is committed to creating an inclusive interview process. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process please reach out to
Come as you are!
You will be working at a fast-growing well-funded startup alongside industry thought leaders and network aficionados as we build the future of observability and set the high bar for how network operations and digital businesses should run. With a competitive salary and amazing benefits on top of the meaningful and challenging projects youll take on were sure youll enjoy joining the Kentik team.
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