Principal DevOps Engineer at Zoom

San Jose, California, United States

Zoom Logo
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Expert & Leadership (9+ years), Senior (5 to 8 years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Technology, Cloud Infrastructure, CommunicationIndustries

Requirements

  • 15+ years in DevOps, SRE for large-scale, production systems
  • Successful hands-on background in Linux systems, networking, and distributed systems
  • Experience operating and designing low-latency, high-throughput backend services at global scale
  • Knowledge of media or real-time communication systems (e.g., MMR, WebRTC)
  • Knowledge of TCP/IP, routing, DNS, load balancing, and packet capture tools
  • Familiarity with colocation data center operations, including hardware provisioning and troubleshooting
  • Experience with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker, and modern CI/CD pipelines
  • Successful problem-solving, debugging, and systems-level design skills

Responsibilities

  • Leading deep-dive investigations across diverse services and environments, including real-time media systems to web, team chat, and AI to uncover architectural or operational bottlenecks
  • Designing and implementing improvements in deployment pipelines, orchestration frameworks, and CI/CD automation to increase reliability and release velocity
  • Working closely with product and service owners to enhance containerization strategy, improve resource efficiency, and reduce operational friction
  • Partnering with the Meeting DevOps and Cloud Infra teams to modernize hybrid infrastructures spanning colocation data centers, AWS, OCI, and other cloud providers
  • Driving system observability, fault isolation, and resilience engineering, ensuring services meet strict availability and latency SLAs
  • Providing technical mentorship to DevOps engineers and influencing best practices in automation, monitoring, and release engineering
  • Championing a culture of data-driven reliability through postmortems, SLIs/SLOs, and continuous performance optimization

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

DevOpsSRELinuxNetworkingDistributed SystemsCI/CDContainerizationAWSOCIOrchestrationObservabilityResilience EngineeringSLI/SLOPostmortemsLow-Latency SystemsHigh-Throughput Services

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

What is the salary range for the Principal DevOps Engineer position?

The salary range is a minimum of $146,700.00 and a maximum of $339,300.00, based on a Total Direct Compensation philosophy that includes base salary, bonus, and equity value. Starting pay depends on qualifications, experience, and location.

Is this Principal DevOps Engineer role remote or office-based?

This information is not specified in the job description.

What skills and experience are required for this Principal DevOps Engineer role?

Candidates need 15+ years in DevOps or SRE for large-scale systems, hands-on experience with Linux, networking, distributed systems, Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker, and modern CI/CD pipelines. Additional requirements include knowledge of low-latency backend services, real-time communication systems like WebRTC, TCP/IP, routing, DNS, load balancing, and colocation data center operations.

What is the team like for this Principal DevOps Engineer position at Zoom?

The team is building the next generation of Cloud and Colocation infrastructure for seamless communication and collaboration for millions of users worldwide, involving the Meeting DevOps and Cloud Infra teams.

What makes a strong candidate for the Principal DevOps Engineer role?

A strong candidate has 15+ years of DevOps/SRE experience in large-scale systems, technical leadership in debugging and systems design, cross-team collaboration skills, and expertise in tools like Kubernetes, Terraform, and real-time media systems.

Zoom

Video conferencing and online meeting solutions

About Zoom

Zoom provides video conferencing and online meeting solutions that allow users to conduct virtual meetings, webinars, and collaborative sessions. Its main product is video conferencing software, which enables high-quality video and audio communication, along with features like screen sharing, group messaging, and virtual backgrounds. Zoom also offers specialized products for larger events, such as Zoom Webinars and Zoom Events. The company operates on a freemium model, providing basic services for free while charging for advanced features through subscription plans tailored for various users, including businesses, educational institutions, and healthcare providers. Zoom stands out from competitors due to its user-friendly interface, reliable performance, and scalability for different needs, making it a vital tool for remote work, online education, telehealth, and social interactions.

San Jose, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2013Year Founded
$144.5MTotal Funding
IPOCompany Stage
Enterprise Software, Education, HealthcareIndustries
10,001+Employees

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Hybrid Work Options
Flexible Work Hours
Stock Options
Company Equity
Paid Vacation
Paid Sick Leave

Risks

Increased competition from Microsoft Teams and Google Meet threatens Zoom's market share.
Privacy concerns and regulatory scrutiny could impact Zoom's operations and reputation.
Hybrid work models may reduce demand for virtual meetings, affecting Zoom's growth.

Differentiation

Zoom offers a user-friendly interface with reliable performance for virtual meetings.
The platform supports diverse needs, including remote work, education, and telehealth.
Zoom's freemium model attracts a wide range of users with scalable subscription options.

Upsides

Zoom integrates AI tools to enhance virtual meeting effectiveness and productivity.
The expansion of 5G networks improves Zoom's video conferencing quality and accessibility.
Zoom's secure, HIPAA-compliant solutions drive demand in the telehealth sector.

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