Lead DevOps Engineer - USA

Lead DevOps / Platform Engineer - Kafka & OpenSearch

The Lead DevOps / Platform Engineer - Kafka & OpenSearch will drive the strategic design, automation, and operations of large-scale data platform services, with a strong emphasis on event streaming (Kafka) and search/analytics (OpenSearch). This role involves building resilient, scalable pipelines, managing infrastructure with modern DevOps practices, and ensuring the performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency of mission-critical systems. You will partner with global engineering, database, and platform teams to deliver automation, observability, and orchestration frameworks that support enterprise-wide data services. As a lead contributor, you'll tackle complex challenges, guide technical direction for Kafka and OpenSearch services, and align DevOps strategies with business objectives and organizational goals.

Here is how, through this exciting role, YOU will contribute to BMC's and your own success:

• Architect and manage scalable Kafka and OpenSearch clusters for low-latency streaming, log analytics, and enterprise search
• Define and implement patterns for scaling, replication, retention, disaster recovery, and cost optimization across distributed environments
• Lead infrastructure automation using Terraform, Ansible, Jenkins, and GitOps to provision, patch, and upgrade hybrid cloud platforms
• Design CI/CD workflows that support streaming pipelines and search services, including schema management and data ingestion automation
• Deploy and orchestrate Kafka and OpenSearch on Kubernetes using Helm and operators, ensuring resilience, elasticity, and multi-tenancy
• Build observability frameworks with logging, metrics, and alerting to monitor Kafka brokers, consumers, and OpenSearch nodes, supporting 99.99% uptime SLAs
• Enforce security and compliance through RBAC, encryption, vulnerability patching, auditing, and certificate automation
• Mentor engineers on distributed data best practices while driving initiatives to reduce operational overhead and align platform strategies with business goals

To ensure you're set up for success, you will bring the following skillset & experience:

• 8+ years of experience in DevOps, platform engineering, and distributed systems
• Deep expertise in Kafka, OpenSearch, Kubernetes, and hybrid cloud infrastructure
• Strong skills in automation using Terraform, Ansible, Jenkins, and GitOps workflows
• Proven ability to design scalable data platforms and CI/CD pipelines for streaming and search
• Experience implementing observability, security, and compliance for mission-critical systems
• Demonstrated leadership in mentoring engineers and driving cross-team collaboration
• Creative problem-solver with a track record of building innovative frameworks and reducing operational overhead

Why Work Here? Because You'll Matter.

We're not hiring for roles-we're hiring for impact. At Helix, you'll solve hard problems, build smart solutions, and work with people who challenge and champion you. You'll see your ideas come to life-and your work make a difference.

We believe in trust, transparency, and grit. Our culture is inclusive, flexible, and built for people who want to stretch themselves - and support others doing the same. Whether you're remote or in-office, you'll find space to show up fully and contribute meaningfully. You won't be boxed in-you'll be backed up.

Make Your Mark At Helix

If Helix excites you but you're unsure if you meet every qualification, apply anyway. We value diverse perspectives and believe the best ideas come from everywhere.

EEOC Statement

Helix is committed to equal opportunity employment regardless of race, age, sex, creed, color, religion, citizenship status, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy, disabled veteran or status asa protected veteran. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, visit the accommodation request page.