SRE Tech Lead/Expert - Cloud Infrastructure

Responsibilities

About the Team
We manage critical infrastructure systems across storage, computing, and databases. As a leading SRE team at TikTok's Technical Infrastructure, we solve complex scalability challenges through expert system design and automation. You'll work independently on diverse projects while receiving strong mentorship, applying your skills in coding, algorithms, and systems architecture to maintain reliable infrastructure at scale.

Our team combines technical excellence with a collaborative culture that values intellectual curiosity and diverse perspectives. We provide an environment where engineers can take ownership of projects while growing their expertise in large-scale system design and operations.

Responsibilities
- Grow and lead a high-performing SRE engineering team focused on developing and maintaining scalable, production-grade AI Platform systems, with emphasis on reliability, performance, and operational excellence
- Balance hands-on technical contributions in system design and implementation while effectively managing team growth, performance, and professional development
- Provide strategic technical direction and architectural guidance to strengthen engineering practices, mentor team members, and drive technical excellence across collaborative projects
- Build and maintain strong partnerships across engineering teams, business units, and external stakeholders to align technical initiatives with organizational goals and drive successful outcomes
- Champion innovation within the team by evaluating emerging technologies, implementing modern engineering practices, and driving continuous improvements to the AI Platform infrastructure

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field involving software/system engineering, or equivalent working experience
- Solid foundation in software engineering principles, algorithms, and data structures
- Deep understanding of Linux systems, distributed storage architectures, networking fundamentals, and system performance optimization
- Proficiency in at least one modern programming language (Python, Go, or Java), experienced in applying software design patterns and clean code principles in production environments
- Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams through complex projects and changing priorities

Preferred Qualifications
- 5+ years of relevant software engineering experience, including team leadership
- Extensive hands-on experience with distributed storage technologies (KV stores, Redis, MySQL, MongoDB)
- Strong background in message queuing systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ) and data processing frameworks
- Production experience with container orchestration (Kubernetes), microservices architecture, and cloud-native technologies
- Demonstrated track record of building and operating large-scale distributed systems

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