Senior Manager, Cloud Operations Engineering
Appian · McLean, VA · Engineering
About this role
Appian is hiring a senior-level Technical Lead in the software engineering function based in McLean, VA. The posting calls out experience with AWS, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Distributed Systems and roughly 7+ years of relevant work. Compensation is listed at $175,000–$350,000 per year.
- Role
- Technical Lead
- Function
- software engineering
- Level
- senior
- Track
- hybrid
- Employment
- Full-time
- Location
- McLean, VA
- Experience
- 7+ years
- Department
- Engineering
Job description
from Appian careersHere at Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards and live up to them, ensuring that everything we do is done with care and quality. We approach every challenge with ambition and commitment, holding ourselves and each other accountable to achieve the best results. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things, together.
Responsibilities
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Build and lead a team of approximately 11 engineers focused on Tier 2 operational support for platform engineering services running in Appian Cloud
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Define and enforce onboarding requirements for new features entering production, including runbooks, operational scripts, and support documentation
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Establish operational standards and processes that ensure no feature ships without proper support readiness — regardless of where it was built
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Serve as the escalation path beyond Tier 1/Solutions Engineering for complex incidents and infrastructure recovery efforts
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Partner with infrastructure and development teams in Chennai, the US, Europe, and Australia to ensure features are supportable and well-documented
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Drive operational hygiene across the platform, closing gaps in feature supportability for existing services
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Manage deployments and operational access for restricted environments (e.g., FedRAMP/GovCloud) where development teams lack direct access
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Mentor team members on DevOps best practices, incident management, and operational maturity
Qualifications
Required
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Proven experience building and leading a DevOps or Tier 2/Tier 3 operational support team (not just managing one — building one from scratch)
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7+ years in DevOps, SRE, or production operations, with at least 3 years in a people leadership role at the senior manager level or above
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7+ years in Software Engineering with a proven track record of delivery
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Deep experience defining operational onboarding standards — runbooks, documentation gates, deployment checklists — for multi-team engineering organizations
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Hands-on familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS strongly preferred), Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code
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Must be a US Citizen or US Permanent Resident
Preferred
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Strong experience supporting distributed systems at scale, including incident response and recovery coordination
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Experience working across globally distributed teams and time zones
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Experience with FedRAMP, GovCloud, or other restricted deployment environments
Why This Role Matters
Platform Engineering is scaling rapidly, with features being developed across four continents. Without a dedicated support organization enforcing operational hygiene, the gap between shipping features and supporting them in production will become unsustainable. This role is the keystone hire that sets the direction for how we operationalize platform reliability at scale.
The base salary range represents a good faith and reasonable estimate of the range at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant work experience, qualifications, internal peer equity, and market and business conditions that exist when extending an offer. A discretionary bonus may be awarded in recognition of individual and company performance.
In addition, Appian provides generous benefits offerings that include a 401(k) plan with company match, flexible time off, paid parental leave, medical, dental, and vision plans, life insurance, disability insurance, wellness programs, flexible spending accounts, health savings account contributions, an employee referral bonus program, and learning and development resources. Certain positions may be eligible for equity awards.
Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation, commission, bonus, or benefit plans.
Tools and Resources
- Training and Development: During onboarding, we focus on equipping new hires with the skills and knowledge for success through department-specific training. Continuous learning is a central focus at Appian, with dedicated mentorship and the First-Friend program being widely utilized resources for new hires.
- Growth Opportunities: Appian provides a diverse array of growth and development opportunities, including our leadership program tailored for new and aspiring managers, a comprehensive library of specialized department training through Appian University, skills based training, and tuition reimbursement for those aiming to advance their education. This commitment ensures that employees have access to a holistic range of development opportunities.
- Community: We’ll immerse you into our community rooted in respect starting on day one. Appian fosters inclusivity through our 8 employee-led affinity groups. These groups help employees build stronger internal and external networks by planning social, educational, and outreach activities to connect with Appianites and larger initiatives throughout the company.
Benefits
Appian offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and financial future. Benefits may include health coverage, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with free mental health support, life and disability insurance, an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), a retirement/pension plan, wellness dollars, tuition reimbursement, family-forming benefits and more. Benefits vary by country—please ask your Talent Acquisition contact for details specific to the location you are applying to.
About Appian
Appian provides AI automation for mission-critical work. We automate complex processes in large enterprises and governments. Our platform is known for its unique reliability and scale. We’ve been automating processes for more than 25 years and understand enterprise operations like no one else. For more information, visit appian.com. [Nasdaq: APPN]
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Appian is an equal opportunity employer that strives to attract and retain the best talent. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Appian provides reasonable accommodations to applicants in accordance with all applicable laws. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at ReasonableAccommodations@appian.com. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.