Senior Staff Software Engineer, Core Infrastructure

As a Senior Staff Software Engineer on the Core Infrastructure team at Robinhood, you own the architectural evolution of service mesh and connectivity, compute platform, and infrastructure provisioning. Your decisions directly shape engineering velocity, operational reliability, and Robinhood's ability to expand to new regions and markets. This is a once-in-a-platform-lifecycle opportunity to redesign the foundation before complexity becomes permanent.

What you'll do

• Own service mesh architecture end-to-end - standardize and evolve Robinhood's Istio and Envoy deployment, eliminate deprecated communication patterns, and build the networking foundation for multi-region operation
• Drive Kubernetes compute platform evolution - define the long-term direction for cluster lifecycle, scheduling strategy, control plane architecture, and multi-region resiliency across Robinhood's entire compute fleet
• Redesign infrastructure provisioning - transform Terraform from a collection of ad-hoc configurations into a scalable, self-service platform capability that enables rapid region provisioning and developer autonomy
• Operate with source-level depth - diagnose and resolve issues at the Kubernetes API machinery, etcd, Envoy xDS, and Terraform provider layer, and contribute upstream where it serves the platform
• Define technical direction across teams - produce architecture proposals, lead design reviews, and drive cross-functional alignment on infrastructure decisions that affect every engineering organization at Robinhood

What you bring

• Deep, hands-on expertise with Kubernetes internals including API server, controller reconciliation, etcd watch propagation, scheduler mechanics, and admission control
• Deep working knowledge of Istio and/or Envoy at the source code level, including the xDS API as a protocol, and experience debugging at the control-plane/data-plane boundary
• HTTP/2 and gRPC wire-level knowledge of connection management, flow control, stream multiplexing, and observability
• Terraform at architectural scale, including module design patterns, provider internals, remote state management, and multi-region provisioning
• Production Go or Python for infrastructure tooling with strong fundamentals in writing well-structured, tested, operationally sound code
• Proven ability to drive cross-functional architectural change across large or complex engineering organizations, influencing without authority and shipping durable decisions

What we offer

• Base salary of $264,000 to $310,000 USD (varies by location zone), plus bonus opportunities and equity
• Performance-driven compensation with multipliers for outsized impact
• Top-tier benefits including supplemental health insurance, ancillary insurance, and mental health support programs
• Access to leading AI tools and continuous AI skill-building for all employees
• Lifestyle wallet, a flexible employer-paid benefits spending account for wellness, childcare, learning, and more
• Comprehensive time off including company holidays, paid time off, sick time, paid volunteer time off, and parental leave
• Exceptional office experience with catered meals, events, and comfortable workspaces
• Monthly commuter stipend to offset in-office commuting costs

This role is based in Menlo Park, California, with in-person attendance expected at least 3 days per week.

About Robinhood

Robinhood's mission is to democratize finance for all. The company is building an elite team applying frontier technologies to the world's biggest financial problems, enabling 24/7 trading, crypto, and global expansion.