Site Reliability Engineer (USA Only - 100% Remote)

ABOUT US

Since 2013, we've been building a CRM that gets out of your way and helps your team sell more, faster. No manual data entry, no 10-click workflows. Just communication-first sales software designed to help you succeed and scale.

We're bootstrapped and profitable which means we answer to our customers and play by our rules. We're proud of our 120-person, 100% remote team, focused on building Close so that no small, scaling business fails because it can't figure out sales.

OUR STACK

Our backend tech stack https://stackshare.io/close-crm/close consists primarily of Python Flask web apps with our TaskTiger https://github.com/closeio/tasktiger scheduler handling many of the backend asynchronous task processing chores. Our data stores include MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, and Redis. The underlying infrastructure runs on AWS using a combination of managed services like EKS, MSK, RDS and ElasticCache and non-managed services running on EC2 instances. We have CI/CD pipelines that build Docker images, run automated tests and deploy to Kubernetes clusters. We also use these images in our local development environment allowing coding locally against all of our services. We have a well-documented public API https://developer.close.com/ that is consumed by our front-end JavaScript app as well as numerous integrations. Our infrastructure is heavily automated using Terraform, Ansible and other AWS tools.

We love open sourcing our code and ideas on our GitHub https://github.com/closeio and on The Making of Close https://making.close.com/, our behind-the-scenes Product & Engineering blog. Check out our open source projects like close-mongo-ops-manager https://github.com/closeio/close-mongo-ops-manager, SocketShark https://github.com/closeio/socketshark, TaskTiger https://github.com/closeio/tasktiger, LimitLion https://github.com/closeio/limitlion and ciso8601 https://github.com/closeio/ciso8601.

ABOUT THE ROLE

You will be joining the Infrastructure Team at Close. This team builds and maintains the platform that runs all Close systems (and do we have a lot of those). Work with us and you’ll be working with:

• Multi-terabyte MongoDB https://www.mongodb.com/, PostgreSQL https://www.postgresql.org/, and Elasticsearch https://www.elastic.co/elasticsearch clusters
• Telemetry systems built on Grafana’s LGTM https://grafana.com/go/webinar/getting-started-with-grafana-lgtm-stack/ stack and ClickHouse https://clickhouse.com/ processing over 130 TB per month
• Multiple Kubernetes https://kubernetes.io/ clusters running tens of thousands of pods
• Github Actions https://docs.github.com/en/actions/hosting-your-own-runners/managing-self-hosted-runners/about-self-hosted-runners & ArgoCD https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/ powered CI/CD that can go from merged, to production, to rolled back in 10 minutes
• A system that is stable, up to date, and hasn’t needed scheduled downtime in 4 years

ABOUT YOU

• You are a rock in the storm. With your hard won expertise, gained through battles won and lost, you consistently build robust systems from quality components fit to underpin mission critical applications. You value simplicity over familiarity. You value resilience over speed. You take pride in building composable and maintainable tools.
• You’ve worked with a diverse array of infrastructure tools and systems, including:
• CICD (CircleCI, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD)
• Configuration Management (Ansible, Terraform)
• Databases (Elasticsearch, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse)
• Cloud Computing (Kubernetes, AWS)
• Telemetry (Loki, Tempo, Grafana, Mimir/Prometheus)
• You're comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with a small and talented team where you're supported in your efforts to grow professionally. You're able to manage time well, communicate effectively, and collaborate in a fully distributed team.

COME HELP US WITH PROJECTS LIKE...

• Fully automating our database’s lifecycles with Argo Workflow
• Eliminating all static credentials where they may be
• Reducing downtime and disruption due to maintenance or disaster to new lows
• Help us improve our multi-region disaster recovery system.

REQUIREMENTS...

• Senior 1 & 2 level candidates should have 5+ years of experience building modern infrastructure systems.
• Staff level candidates should have 8+ years of experience.
• The buck stops with you! You are the kind of person who is respected as an expert on the systems you run.
• You have been the final point of escalation in the support of mission critical production systems
• You are familiar with some of the following technologies: AWS, Terraform, Kubernetes, Ansible, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch
• You have a strong grasp of common networking and data transfer protocols such as DNS, HTTP, TCP
• You are able to speak and write in English
• You are located in the USA (ET, CT, MT, PT)

BONUS POINTS IF YOU HAVE…

• Contributed open source code related to our tech stack.
• Experience maintaining very large databases
• Been through a successful disaster response
• Experience with multi-region architectures
• Run MLOps systems
• Experience scaling Temporal

BENEFITS

• Compensation: Competitive pay plus an organization-wide goal-based bonus
• Paid Time Off: ~5 weeks of PTO to start. Plus a 1-week all-company Winter Holiday Break and paid US holidays. You'll earn 2 extra days for every year you're with Close.
• 80% Work Option: Work with your manager to choose between a standard 5-day week or a 4-day week at 80% pay
• Parental Leave: Paid leave for primary and secondary caregivers
• Sabbatical: A 1-month paid sabbatical every 5 years with the team
• Healthcare (US residents): Two medical plans with Close covering 99% of your premium, plus Dental, Vision, HSA, FSA, and company-paid Long-Term Disability
• 401k (US residents): We match your contributions up to 6%, vested immediately

OUR VALUES

• Build a house you want to live in - Examine long-term thinking and action
• No BS - Practice transparency and honesty, especially when it’s hard
• Invest in each other - Build successful relationships with your coworkers and customers
• Discipline equals freedom - Keep your word to yourself and others
• Strive for greatness - Constantly challenge yourself and others

LEARN MORE

Listen to our CEO and Founder, Steli Efti, tell the story of Close’s journey in the $0-30m Blueprint https://www.close.com/blueprint.

Watch our culture video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maXKi1GN2MI from our 2023 team retreat in Milan. Every year our entire team gathers in person to build connection, foster cross-functional collaboration, and have fun. In 2027, we're headed to Dusseldorf, Germany!

Explore our product. Check out a demo https://www.close.com/demo-site!

OUR HIRING PROCESS

We ask a few role-specific questions as part of our application process. These questions are designed to help us learn more about you from the start, so please answer each one thoughtfully. We see this as an opportunity to get to know you beyond your resume.

We use AI tools daily at Close and expect candidates to do the same. In evaluating your application, we aim to get a sense for you - the way you think, how you communicate, the work you've done. Applications that read as fully AI-generated will not be considered.

Regardless of fit, you can expect to hear back from our team with an update on the status of your candidacy.

If you progress to the interview process, you'll receive a full outline of the role-specific steps in your first touchpoint with us. We do our best to make the hiring process clear and human.