Senior/Lead Platform Engineer

About the Position

We are seeking a Lead Platform Engineer to drive the architecture, evolution, and operational excellence of a large-scale cloud-native platform on AWS. You will design and build core platform capabilities using Kubernetes, Terraform, and a deep AWS services stack, including EKS, ECS, Lambda, and VPC, while owning platform reliability, scalability, and developer experience across multiple product engineering teams. This is an on-site position based in Chennai, India.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and evolve cloud platform capabilities following engineering best practices while leveraging AI-assisted development tools where appropriate;
• Lead the design and implementation of scalable, resilient, and maintainable platform services;
• Prototype and validate architectural solutions to establish a solid technical foundation for future platform development;
• Own the long-term evolution of the platform, ensuring consistency, scalability, operational excellence, and an outstanding developer experience;
• Own the technical health of the platform, including reliability, scalability, performance, quality, and engineering velocity;
• Perform code reviews focused on architecture, maintainability, security, and implementation quality;
• Drive continuous improvements through refactoring, performance optimization, and technical debt reduction;
• Mentor software engineers by promoting engineering best practices, technical excellence, and knowledge sharing;
• Identify technical bottlenecks and lead initiatives that improve engineering effectiveness and developer productivity;
• Partner with product and engineering stakeholders to evaluate technical opportunities, trade-offs, and implementation constraints;
• Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, cloud services, and engineering practices that strengthen the platform;
• Communicate technical designs through documentation, architecture diagrams, design reviews, and technical discussions;
• Contribute to technical documentation and long-term engineering knowledge sharing.

Requirements

• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, including significant technical leadership experience;
• Strong hands-on experience designing, building, and operating AWS-based production platforms;
• Experience designing platform capabilities that improve developer productivity and developer experience;
• Deep expertise with AWS services, including EC2, Auto Scaling, EKS, ECS, Lambda, VPC, ALB, NLB, Route 53, PrivateLink, EBS, EFS, S3, IAM, KMS, and Secrets Manager;
• Strong production experience with Kubernetes;
• Strong experience implementing Infrastructure as Code using Terraform or equivalent technologies;
• Experience implementing logging, monitoring, and observability solutions using CloudWatch, CloudTrail, or similar tools;
• Experience analyzing, optimizing, and managing AWS infrastructure costs;
• Strong programming experience with Java, Python, or Go;
• Strong understanding of Distributed Systems, cloud networking, scalability, and highly available architectures;
• Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills;
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across distributed engineering teams;
• Upper-intermediate English level.

Nice to Have

• Experience building internal platform services or developer platforms;
• Experience with cloud security best practices and compliance frameworks;
• Experience improving developer experience through platform automation and self-service tooling;
• Experience leading architectural initiatives spanning multiple engineering teams;
• Experience implementing AI-assisted software development practices;
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines;
• Experience with Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles;
• Experience contributing to technical documentation, architecture standards, and engineering knowledge bases.

We Offer

• Growth without limits: build your skills through mentorship, internal TechTalks, challenging projects, and a dedicated annual learning budget
• Competitive compensation: get recognition that reflects your skills and impact, with regular performance and compensation reviews
• Flexibility: work 100% remotely with flexible hours that support focus, autonomy, and a healthy work rhythm
• Meaningful, modern projects: build impactful products using modern technologies alongside global teams and leading brands
• Collaborative culture: join a supportive environment with zero micromanagement where ideas are welcomed and contributions are recognized
• Well-being & support: access local well-being programs and people-focused support tailored to your location

About the Company

At Appian, we empower businesses to transform through intelligent automation. Our platform enables organizations to design, build, and run complex processes with ease, driving efficiency and innovation. Join our team to make a significant impact on the way businesses operate in the digital age.