Principal Devops Engineer Jobs
Principal Devops Engineer jobs are open across enterprise technology, fintech, healthtech, and cloud-native startups, from senior engineer to staff and principal levels, with specializations in platform engineering, site reliability, and infrastructure automation. Find a role that fits from the openings below and apply directly.
Find JobsLooking for remote work? View remote principal devops engineer jobs →Overview
Showing 5 of 80+ Principal Devops Engineer jobs









DESCRIPTION
In this role, you'll design and build the services and agents that make telemetry data available and impactful. The role includes writing and maintaining agents that run on a range of compute platforms, including network devices, Linux-based clients, and robotics platforms. You'll also build the backend services that analyze and distribute metrics and insights and also control configurations, storage, and reporting.
Key job responsibilities
- Design, build, and maintain software services that operate reliably at scale.
- Write and maintain agents that run across multiple device platforms, including network devices, Linux-based clients, and robotics platforms, working at the layer where hardware and software meet.
- Get into the low-level details of running software on varied hardware: packaging, deployment, permissions, configuration, and service lifecycle across different operating systems and device types.
- Build the backend services that process, analyze, and distribute data and handle configuration, storage, and reporting.
- Debug problems across the full stack, from the operating system and networking layer on the device up through the backend services.
A day in the life
Amazon offers a full range of benefits to support you and eligible family members, including domestic partners and children. Benefits can vary by location, the number of regularly scheduled hours you work, length of employment, and job status such as seasonal or temporary employment. The benefits that generally apply to regular, full-time employees include:
1. Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
2. Maternity and Parental Leave Options
3. Paid Time Off (PTO)
4. 401(k) Plan
If you are not sure that every qualification on the list above describes you exactly, we'd still love to hear from you! At Amazon, we value people with unique backgrounds, experiences, and skillsets. If you’re passionate about this role and want to make an impact on a global scale, please apply!
About the team
The Telemetry Engineering team prioritizes creating trustworthy signals and responding to feedback from consumers. We iterate quickly and aim to ship improvements and features regularly to deliver value continuously. Team members work closely with partner teams who depend on timely delivery of accurate data.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- 3+ years of designing or architecting (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- Experience programming with at least one modern language such as Python, Ruby, Golang, Java, C++, C#, Rust
- Experience in automating, deploying, and supporting large-scale infrastructure
- Experience with Linux/Unix
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines build processes
- Experience in networking, storage systems, operating systems and hands-on systems engineering
- Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with distributed systems at scale
- Experience working in an Agile environment
- Experience with logging and monitoring tools, such as: AWS CloudWatch, Datadog, New Relic and Splunk
- Experience with embedded systems, consumer devices, or mobile apps
- Experience with a systems language such as C, C++, or Rust for on-device or performance-critical software
- Experience writing or maintaining agents or daemons that run on devices such as embedded Linux, Android, or network hardware
- Experience with a network operating system such as SONiC, Junos, or a similar Linux-based platform
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, VA, Arlington - 129,200.00 - 174,800.00 USD annually
Principal Devops Engineer Jobs by Experience Level
See All 80 Principal Devops Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsPrincipal Devops Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring



Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Banking & Financial Services
- Retail
- Cybersecurity
- Manufacturing
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in principal devops engineer jobs.
- 8 or more years of experience in DevOps, platform engineering, or site reliability engineering
- Deep expertise with Kubernetes, Helm, and container orchestration at production scale
- Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform, Pulumi, or AWS CDK
- Hands-on experience with major cloud platforms including AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
- Strong background designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or similar tools
- Experience leading technical direction across multiple engineering teams or a large platform organization
Tips for Your Principal Devops Engineer Job Search
Tailor your resume to platform scope
Principal-level roles expect you to show org-wide impact, not just technical execution. Reframe your bullet points around platform adoption, reliability improvements across multiple teams, and the engineering decisions you owned end-to-end rather than tasks you completed.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists principal devops engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Highlight your infrastructure-as-code depth
Hiring managers at this level distinguish between engineers who use Terraform or Pulumi and those who architect and maintain shared modules across dozens of teams. Be explicit about the scale of the codebase you owned and the number of consumers it supported.
Filter openings by tech stack before applying
Principal devops roles are often stack-specific: Kubernetes-heavy platform teams, AWS-first orgs, and on-prem hybrid shops all have different expectations. Applying to roles where your primary cloud provider and container orchestration experience match directly increases your callback rate.
Prepare a design exercise for the loop
Most principal-level devops interviews include a system design or platform architecture exercise. Practice designing a CI/CD pipeline, multi-region deployment strategy, or observability stack from scratch, explaining your tradeoffs at each step rather than just naming the tools you would use.
Negotiate scope before negotiating title
At the principal level, reporting structure and cross-team authority matter as much as compensation. Before accepting, clarify whether you will have a defined platform mandate, direct influence over engineering standards, and access to leadership when advocating for infrastructure investment.
Principal Devops Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most principal devops engineers?
The companies hiring the most principal devops engineers right now include Northrop Grumman, Amazon, and BAE Systems USA, with the largest share of openings in Texas, Colorado, and Maryland, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Demand is concentrated in organizations with large platform or cloud infrastructure teams.
How many principal devops engineer jobs are remote?
About 66% of principal devops engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how much of this work happens across distributed engineering teams. Platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, and SRE-adjacent specializations tend to have the highest share of remote-eligible roles compared to on-prem or regulated-environment positions.
How do you become a principal devops engineer?
You typically move into a principal devops engineer role by progressing from senior engineer to staff level, building a record of owning platform decisions that affect multiple teams. Focus on developing infrastructure-as-code expertise, cloud architecture depth, and experience leading technical initiatives without direct management authority. Earning a cloud certification such as AWS Solutions Architect Professional or a Kubernetes certification can also accelerate your path.
Can you get hired as a principal devops engineer without prior principal-level experience?
You can get hired at the principal level without the exact title if your work history shows principal-level scope. Employers focus on whether you have led platform strategy, made architecture decisions with org-wide consequences, and influenced engineering standards across teams. Document specific initiatives where you drove those outcomes, even if your official title was senior or staff engineer.
What does the principal devops engineer interview process look like?
The interview process for a principal devops engineer typically includes a recruiter screen, a technical phone interview focused on your platform and infrastructure experience, a system design or architecture exercise where you design a deployment pipeline or cloud environment live, and a cross-functional loop with engineering managers and peer principals. Expect questions about how you have influenced engineering culture and resolved technical disagreements at scale.
Where can I find and apply to principal devops engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to principal devops engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search the listings to find roles that match your cloud platform expertise, industry preference, and seniority level, then apply directly to each one.
See All 80 Principal Devops Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Jobs