Role at a Glance
Illumio is hiring a senior Go/Kubernetes engineer to build real-time cloud security microservices at its Sunnyvale HQ. You will own the full development lifecycle — design through production — for a distributed, multi-tenant platform serving enterprise customers across AWS, Azure, and GCP. Salary: $170,000–$196,000/yr. Fully on-site, 5 days per week. No remote option listed.
What This Role Is Actually About
This senior-level engineering position sits at the intersection of distributed systems and cloud security. The team builds containerized microservices that ingest real-time network telemetry from major public clouds, then surface actionable risk insights to enterprise clients. Engineers here carry deep end-to-end ownership — from whiteboarding architecture with peers to keeping services healthy in production. The primary language is Go; the infrastructure runs on Kubernetes. If you have spent years building reliable, observable backend systems and want to apply that experience toward stopping ransomware propagation at scale, this role is worth a close look.
About Illumio
Illumio takes a different angle on enterprise security: rather than trying to prevent every breach, its platform assumes intrusions will happen and focuses on containing them before they can spread. The technology uses an AI-driven security graph to map and segment traffic flows across hybrid, multi-cloud environments — cutting off the lateral movement that turns a contained incident into a catastrophe. The company holds a Leader designation in the Forrester Wave for Microsegmentation and is a recognized player in Zero Trust network architecture. Its engineering culture emphasizes autonomy and deep ownership: teams are expected to define, defend, and deliver their own solutions with minimal hand-holding.
What You Will Own Day-to-Day
- Build and evolve containerized microservices within a distributed, multi-tenant cloud security platform that processes live network telemetry from AWS, Azure, and GCP to generate real-time risk and visibility data for enterprise customers.
- Design your own services end-to-end: draft the architecture, present and defend it in peer review, then own the implementation all the way through to production.
- Mentor junior engineers, new graduates, and interns — helping them build technical judgment and become self-sufficient contributors to the team.
- Write production code primarily in Go and work with data pipelines via SQL or similar query interfaces on a Kubernetes-based infrastructure platform.
- Take full ownership of critical features and subsystems across the entire software development lifecycle, from requirements clarification through to successful customer adoption.
- Participate in the operational side of the system: triage live incidents, monitor production behavior, and use that hands-on experience to write more supportable and observable code.
- Uphold code quality through early developer testing and comprehensive functional and integration testing before features ship.
- Work closely with Product Management to sharpen requirements and raise the bar for what gets delivered to customers.
- Build a working understanding of the core problems your customers face through direct engagement with stakeholders and cross-functional peers.
Must-Have Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a closely related field
- 4 or more years of professional experience building distributed, scalable software systems
- Hands-on cloud experience with at least one of AWS, Azure, or GCP at the API or SDK level — not just console usage
- Production-grade proficiency in Go and SQL
- Experience building or consuming RESTful APIs
- Solid working knowledge of TCP/IP networking fundamentals
- Comfortable developing and debugging in a Unix/Linux environment
- Experience delivering containerized services; Kubernetes familiarity strongly preferred given the production platform
Nice-to-Have Skills
- Infrastructure-as-code tooling: CloudFormation, Terraform, or Ansible
- Background in networking and cloud security controls
- Master's degree in Computer Science or an equivalent advanced degree
Skills Breakdown: Required vs. Preferred
At the must-have level this role demands Go and SQL for daily engineering work, plus hands-on cloud API experience with at least one of AWS, Azure, or GCP. Kubernetes-based containerization is effectively required given the production platform. TCP/IP networking fundamentals matter here because the product operates close to the network layer. At the nice-to-have tier, IaC tooling (Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible) and explicit network security experience differentiate candidates but will not disqualify otherwise strong applicants. The four-year minimum for distributed systems signals a genuine senior bar: you should already understand fault tolerance, observability, and operational hygiene from real production experience — not be learning them in this role.
Salary and Compensation
Illumio lists a base salary range of $170,000 to $196,000 per year for this role. The posting does not detail equity (RSUs or stock options), performance bonuses, or the broader benefits package — those specifics typically surface during the interview process or at offer stage. Candidates should ask Illumio's recruiting team directly for a complete total-compensation picture. No signing bonus or relocation assistance is mentioned anywhere in the job posting.
Location and Work Model
This position is fully on-site at Illumio's headquarters in Sunnyvale, California — five days per week, with no remote or hybrid option stated in the posting. Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance are not mentioned. The posting includes a U.S. export control disclosure: any offer is contingent on the candidate's eligibility to work with export-controlled technology under U.S. law. Verify your visa status and relocation options directly with Illumio's recruiting team before applying.