Software Engineer, Infrastructure

At Sift, we’re redefining how modern machines are built, tested, and operated. Our platform gives engineers real-time observability over high-frequency telemetry—eliminating bottlenecks and enabling faster, more reliable development.Sift was born from our work at SpaceX on Dragon, Falcon, Starlink, and Starship—where scaling telemetry, debugging flight systems, and ensuring mission reliability demanded new infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Google, and Palantir, Sift is built for mission-critical systems where precision and scalability are non-negotiable.As an early engineer at Sift, you won’t just write code—you’ll help define the architecture, shape the product, and influence the culture of a company focused on solving real engineering problems. If you’re looking for complex technical challenges and the opportunity to build foundational systems supporting complex machines from the ground up, we want to hear from you.In This Role, You'll:Design, build, and maintain scalable, resilient infrastructure solutions to support our growing platform and customer base.Collaborate with software engineers to optimize application performance and reliability.Implement monitoring, alerting, and logging systems to ensure proactive identification and resolution of issues.Automate deployment processes and streamline infrastructure management using modern DevOps tools and methodologies.Evolve our backend architecture/infrastructure for both cloud and on-premise deployments.Work with the team to set and prioritize our roadmap to maximize customer impact.Lead initiatives to improve infrastructure reliability, performance, and cost efficiency.The Skillset You'll Bring:5+ years of relevant distributed systems experience focusing on designing and managing cloud-based environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).Hands-on experience with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) and container orchestration platforms.Passion for building and operating developer productivity tools, frameworks, and other aspects of platform engineering.Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and version control systems.Knowledge of automated testing best practices and frameworks, ensuring software reliability through integration, performance, and end-to-end testing in distributed systems.You're excited by the ambiguity and high-ownership culture of early-stage startups.You are pragmatic, solution-oriented, and scrappy.You enjoy working collaboratively with a broad range of job functions and roles.Experience with our tech stack: Go, Java, React, TypeScript, Kafka/Redpanda, Flink, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform/CDKOr equivalent distributed systemsGood knowledge of cloud, on-prem, networking, and service architecture in multi-region multi-cloud setups.Engineering At Sift:You'll have the opportunity to help evolve and scale our platform because we're still in the early stages of building the product. Relevant technologies include:Web frontend & backend: React, TypeScript, Redux, Tailwind, WebAssembly, D3.js, WebGL, and Go Data: Parquet, Flink, Kafka, Redpanda, Beam, DuckDB, Timescale, QuestDB, InfluxDB, and DruidInfrastructure: GitHub Actions, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and TerraformLocation:The Sift team is based in El Segundo. We collaborate in person two times per week, Monday and Thursday. We work closely with hardware companies, many of which are based in LA, building everything from autonomous vehicles to spacecraft. As a customer-centric company, being nearby for site visits and collaboration is essential. Sift is open to relocating you to LA.Eligibility:US Person Required: Must be a U.S. Citizen or Green Card Holder due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) compliance requirements.Compensation Range: $140K - $180K

At Sift, we’re redefining how modern machines are built, tested, and operated. Our platform gives engineers real-time observability over high-frequency telemetry—eliminating bottlenecks and enabling faster, more reliable development.

Sift was born from our work at SpaceX on Dragon, Falcon, Starlink, and Starship—where scaling telemetry, debugging flight systems, and ensuring mission reliability demanded new infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Google, and Palantir, Sift is built for mission-critical systems where precision and scalability are non-negotiable.

As an early engineer at Sift, you won’t just write code—you’ll help define the architecture, shape the product, and influence the culture of a company focused on solving real engineering problems. If you’re looking for complex technical challenges and the opportunity to build foundational systems supporting complex machines from the ground up, we want to hear from you.

In This Role, You'll:


- Design, build, and maintain scalable, resilient infrastructure solutions to support our growing platform and customer base.
- Collaborate with software engineers to optimize application performance and reliability.
- Implement monitoring, alerting, and logging systems to ensure proactive identification and resolution of issues.
- Automate deployment processes and streamline infrastructure management using modern DevOps tools and methodologies.
- Evolve our backend architecture/infrastructure for both cloud and on-premise deployments.
- Work with the team to set and prioritize our roadmap to maximize customer impact.
- Lead initiatives to improve infrastructure reliability, performance, and cost efficiency.

The Skillset You'll Bring:


- 5+ years of relevant distributed systems experience focusing on designing and managing cloud-based environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Hands-on experience with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) and container orchestration platforms.
- Passion for building and operating developer productivity tools, frameworks, and other aspects of platform engineering.
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and version control systems.
- Knowledge of automated testing best practices and frameworks, ensuring software reliability through integration, performance, and end-to-end testing in distributed systems.
- You're excited by the ambiguity and high-ownership culture of early-stage startups.
- You are pragmatic, solution-oriented, and scrappy.
- You enjoy working collaboratively with a broad range of job functions and roles.
- Experience with our tech stack: Go, Java, React, TypeScript, Kafka/Redpanda, Flink, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform/CDKOr equivalent distributed systems
- Or equivalent distributed systems
- Good knowledge of cloud, on-prem, networking, and service architecture in multi-region multi-cloud setups.

Engineering At Sift:

You'll have the opportunity to help evolve and scale our platform because we're still in the early stages of building the product. Relevant technologies include:


- Web frontend & backend: React, TypeScript, Redux, Tailwind, WebAssembly, D3.js, WebGL, and Go 
- Data: Parquet, Flink, Kafka, Redpanda, Beam, DuckDB, Timescale, QuestDB, InfluxDB, and Druid
- Infrastructure: GitHub Actions, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform

Location:

The Sift team is based in El Segundo. We collaborate in person two times per week, Monday and Thursday. We work closely with hardware companies, many of which are based in LA, building everything from autonomous vehicles to spacecraft. As a customer-centric company, being nearby for site visits and collaboration is essential. Sift is open to relocating you to LA.

Eligibility:

US Person Required: Must be a U.S. Citizen or Green Card Holder due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) compliance requirements.

Compensation Range: $140K - $180K

LocationEl Segundo, CAEmployment TypeFull timeLocation TypeHybridDepartmentEngineeringCompensationEstimated Base $140K – $180K • Offers Equity • Offers Bonus • Offers BenefitsSift's Guide to Understanding Startup Equity

LocationEl Segundo, CA


LOCATION
El Segundo, CA
Employment TypeFull time


EMPLOYMENT TYPE
Full time
Location TypeHybrid


LOCATION TYPE
Hybrid
DepartmentEngineering


DEPARTMENT
Engineering


CompensationEstimated Base $140K – $180K • Offers Equity • Offers Bonus • Offers Benefits


COMPENSATION

- Estimated Base $140K – $180K • Offers Equity • Offers Bonus • Offers Benefits

Sift's Guide to Understanding Startup Equity

Sift's Guide to Understanding Startup Equity