Staff Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Stem is seeking a Staff Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to design, build, and operate highly reliable, real-time backend systems that power critical energy infrastructure. This role focuses on large-scale distributed systems, cloud-native infrastructure, and operational excellence in always-on, mission-critical environments. The engineer will own and enhance distributed systems for data ingestion, streaming, analytics, and control pipelines, supporting grid-scale energy operations and integrating with industrial control protocols.

Must Have

• Design, build, and operate highly available cloud infrastructure supporting real-time, mission-critical workloads.
• Own and enhance distributed systems that power data ingestion, streaming, analytics, and control pipelines.
• Support real-time data streaming, alerting, and analytics platforms used for grid-scale energy operations.
• Design and operate systems that integrate with SCADA and industrial control protocols (e.g., Modbus, DNP3).
• Build and maintain comprehensive observability solutions, including metrics, logging, and distributed tracing.
• Participate in on-call and pager-duty rotations, ensuring high reliability and rapid incident response.
• Collaborate closely with product, data, and application engineering teams to deliver scalable and resilient solutions.
• Drive architectural decisions with a focus on scalability, performance, security, and operational excellence.
• 8+ years of experience in cloud infrastructure, backend systems, or distributed systems engineering.
• Strong programming experience in Java and Python.
• Deep understanding of distributed systems principles, including consistency models, fault tolerance, and scalability.
• Hands-on production experience operating Kubernetes-based, containerized workloads.
• Experience with real-time and streaming data platforms (e.g., Spark, Flink).
• Solid experience with data storage technologies: Relational (SQL) databases, NoSQL datastores, Search platforms such as Elasticsearch.
• Proven experience supporting mission-critical, always-on production systems.
• Strong background in designing and operating monitoring and observability platforms.

Good to Have

• Experience with SCADA systems or industrial communication protocols (Modbus, DNP3).
• Background in energy systems, grid infrastructure, or industrial IoT environments.
• Experience with data visualization and analytics platforms such as Grafana or Power BI.
• Experience building or operating low-latency, high-throughput data pipelines.
• Prior experience supporting regulated or safety-critical systems.
• Hands-on experience with AWS cloud services and infrastructure.

Perks & Benefits

• A competitive compensation package, including eligibility for a bonus or commission based on the role, and equity.
• Full health benefits on the first day of employment (several medical plan options-HDHP and PPO, dental plans, FSA/HSA-with employer contribution, employer paid vision/LTD/STD/Life, variety of voluntary coverage).
• 401k (pre- or post-tax) on first day of employment.
• 12 paid calendar holidays per year.
• Flexible time-off.

Role Overview

Stem is seeking a Staff Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to design, build, and operate highly reliable, real-time backend systems that power critical energy infrastructure. This role focuses on large-scale distributed systems, cloud-native infrastructure, and operational excellence in always-on, mission-critical environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate highly available cloud infrastructure supporting real-time, mission-critical workloads
• Own and enhance distributed systems that power data ingestion, streaming, analytics, and control pipelines
• Support real-time data streaming, alerting, and analytics platforms used for grid-scale energy operations
• Design and operate systems that integrate with SCADA and industrial control protocols (e.g., Modbus, DNP3)
• Build and maintain comprehensive observability solutions, including metrics, logging, and distributed tracing
• Participate in on-call and pager-duty rotations, ensuring high reliability and rapid incident response
• Collaborate closely with product, data, and application engineering teams to deliver scalable and resilient solutions
• Drive architectural decisions with a focus on scalability, performance, security, and operational excellence

Required Qualifications

• B.S./M.S. in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of experience in cloud infrastructure, backend systems, or distributed systems engineering
• Strong programming experience in Java and Python; C++ experience is a plus
• Deep understanding of distributed systems principles, including consistency models, fault tolerance, and scalability
• Hands-on production experience operating Kubernetes-based, containerized workloads
• Experience with real-time and streaming data platforms (e.g., Spark, Flink)
• Solid experience with data storage technologies, including:
• Relational (SQL) databases
• NoSQL datastores
• Search platforms such as Elasticsearch
• Proven experience supporting mission-critical, always-on production systems
• Strong background in designing and operating monitoring and observability platforms

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with SCADA systems or industrial communication protocols (Modbus, DNP3)
• Background in energy systems, grid infrastructure, or industrial IoT environments
• Experience with data visualization and analytics platforms such as Grafana or Power BI
• Experience building or operating low-latency, high-throughput data pipelines
• Prior experience supporting regulated or safety-critical systems
• Hands-on experience with AWS cloud services and infrastructure

Core Technologies and Platforms

• Java, Python (C++ a plus)
• Kubernetes and cloud-native infrastructure
• Real-time streaming and processing frameworks (Spark, Flink)
• SQL databases, NoSQL datastores, and Elasticsearch
• Observability platforms (metrics, logging, tracing)
• Grafana, Power BI
• SCADA and industrial control system integrations

Salary Range

$145,360.00 - $218,040.00

What We Offer:

At Stem, you will work in a growing, innovative, mission-driven company with talented colleagues that have a passion for building renewable energy systems. Stem offers competitive compensation as well as a comprehensive set of benefits to support the health and wellness of our employee including:

• A competitive compensation package, including eligibility for a bonus or commission based on the role, and equity
• Full health benefits on the first day of employment (several medical plan options-HDHP and PPO, dental plans, FSA/HSA-with employer contribution, employer paid vision/LTD/STD/Life, variety of voluntary coverage)
• 401k (pre- or post-tax) on first day of employment
• 12 paid calendar holidays per year
• Flexible time-off