Principal Software Engineer (Application SRE) at Circles.Life

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer (Application SRE)
Company: Circles.Life
Location: Bangalore, Karnātaka, India
Job Type: On-site
Category: DevOps & Site Reliability Engineering
Date Posted: 2025-06-19
Experience Level: 14+ years (6+ years in SRE)

🚀 Role Summary

Key Responsibility 1: Architect and implement highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure using cloud-native technologies.
Key Responsibility 2: Establish robust monitoring, logging, and alerting systems to proactively detect and resolve issues.
Key Responsibility 3: Automate infrastructure management, deployment, and provisioning to enhance efficiency and consistency.
Key Responsibility 4: Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, define and measure SLOs/SLIs to maintain high service reliability.
Key Responsibility 5: Lead incident response, conduct post-incident reviews, and implement preventative measures.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role requires a strong background in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) within the telco domain, with a focus on ensuring high availability and resilience of business-critical applications.

💻 Primary Responsibilities

Responsibility 1: Design and implement highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure using cloud-native technologies.
Responsibility 2: Establish and maintain comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions using tools like Prometheus, Grafana, New Relic, or Dynatrace.
Responsibility 3: Lead incident response, perform root cause analysis (RCA), and drive continuous improvement through post-mortems.
Responsibility 4: Conduct performance tuning, capacity planning, and load testing to improve system efficiency and optimize resource utilization.
Responsibility 5: Develop and maintain automated deployment pipelines using tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Helm, and Kubernetes.
Responsibility 6: Collaborate with development, operations, security, and other teams to streamline continuous integration and delivery, and drive a culture of reliability.
Responsibility 7: Work across AWS, OCI, or GCP environments, ensuring cloud-native and hybrid architectures are optimized for high availability and performance.
Responsibility 8: Mentor junior engineers and foster a collaborative SRE culture, driving team evolution and proactively preventing issues.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role requires a strong understanding of the technical aspects of product development and experience with project management tools such as JIRA.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. A Master's degree would be an asset.

Experience: 14+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 6 years in Site Reliability Engineering within the telco domain. Proven experience in end-to-end observability, performance tuning, and automation.

Required Skills:

Proven expertise in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and cloud-native technologies.
Strong experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure.
Deep understanding of monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions using tools like Prometheus, Grafana, New Relic, or Dynatrace.
Excellent incident response and problem-solving skills, with a focus on root cause analysis (RCA) and post-mortem reviews.
Strong experience in performance tuning, capacity planning, and load testing.
Proficiency in automation tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Helm, and Kubernetes.
Experience working with AWS, OCI, or GCP environments and optimizing cloud-native and hybrid architectures.
Strong collaboration and mentoring skills, with the ability to drive a culture of reliability and foster team evolution.
Experience with project management tools such as JIRA is essential.

Preferred Skills:

Experience with infrastructure as code (IaC) tools and practices.
Familiarity with containerization and orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes.
Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps best practices.
Experience with scripting languages such as Python, Bash, or PowerShell.
Familiarity with Agile methodologies and Scrum frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates with a strong background in SRE within the telco domain and experience in leading incident response efforts are highly sought after for this role.

📊 Web Portfolio & Project Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Project 1: Demonstrate your experience in designing and implementing highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure using cloud-native technologies. Highlight the architecture, tools used, and the outcome of your efforts.
Project 2: Showcase your expertise in establishing and maintaining comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions. Explain the tools used, how you ensured high coverage, and the improvements made to incident response times.
Project 3: Present a case study of a significant incident you led, detailing the root cause analysis (RCA), post-mortem process, and preventative measures implemented to avoid recurrence.
Project 4: Highlight your experience in performance tuning, capacity planning, and load testing. Explain the methodologies used, the improvements made, and the impact on system efficiency.

Technical Documentation:

Documentation 1: Provide code quality, commenting, and documentation standards used in your projects. Explain how you ensure code readability and maintainability.
Documentation 2: Detail your version control, deployment processes, and server configuration practices. Explain how you ensure consistency and automation in your workflows.
Documentation 3: Describe your testing methodologies, performance metrics, and optimization techniques. Explain how you ensure the quality and reliability of your applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: For this role, focus on demonstrating your SRE expertise, incident response leadership, and performance optimization skills in your portfolio. Highlight projects that showcase your ability to ensure high availability and resilience in business-critical applications.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: INR 2,500,000 - 3,500,000 per annum (Estimated based on industry standards for senior SRE roles in Bangalore)

Benefits:

Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
Retirement savings plans with company matching.
Generous time-off policies, including vacation, sick leave, and company holidays.
Employee assistance programs for mental health and wellness.
Professional development opportunities, including training, conferences, and certifications.
A dynamic and collaborative work environment with a strong focus on innovation and growth.

Working Hours: Full-time (40 hours per week), with flexible working hours and remote work options available for some roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is an estimate based on industry standards for senior SRE roles in Bangalore. The actual salary may vary depending on the candidate's experience, skills, and the company's internal compensation structure.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Circles.Life operates in the global telecommunications industry, reimagining telco services through innovative SaaS platforms and digital brands.

Company Size: Circles.Life is a mid-sized company with a global presence, employing over 500 people across multiple countries.

Founded: Circles.Life was founded in 2014, with a mission to empower telco operators worldwide to launch innovative digital brands or refresh existing ones, accelerating their transformation into techcos.

Team Structure:

The SRE team works closely with development, operations, and product teams to ensure high availability, reliability, and performance of Circles.Life's platforms and services.
The team is structured with SRE engineers, team leads, and a manager, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment.
The SRE team is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining monitoring, logging, and alerting systems, as well as leading incident response efforts.

Development Methodology:

Circles.Life follows Agile methodologies, with a focus on continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous improvement.
The company uses JIRA for project management and Git for version control, with a strong emphasis on code reviews, testing, and quality assurance.
Circles.Life employs CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment strategies to ensure high velocity and low risk in its software development processes.

Company Website: https://circles.co/

📝 Enhancement Note: Circles.Life's company culture emphasizes innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. The company values diversity, inclusion, and work-life balance, providing a supportive environment for its employees to thrive.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Web Technology Career Level: This role is a senior-level position, requiring extensive experience in Site Reliability Engineering within the telco domain. The role offers significant technical impact and the opportunity to mentor junior engineers and drive team evolution.

Reporting Structure: The Principal Software Engineer (Application SRE) reports directly to the leader of Platform Engineering and Site Reliability Engineering. They work closely with development, operations, and product teams to ensure high availability, reliability, and performance of Circles.Life's platforms and services.

Technical Impact: The Principal Software Engineer (Application SRE) is responsible for architecting and implementing highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure. They establish robust monitoring, logging, and alerting systems, lead incident response efforts, and mentor engineers to foster a collaborative SRE culture. Their work directly impacts the reliability and performance of Circles.Life's platforms and services, ensuring high availability and resilience for millions of users worldwide.

Growth Opportunities:

Growth Opportunity 1: Technical leadership and architecture decision-making, with the potential to lead teams and drive SRE best practices across the organization.
Growth Opportunity 2: Specialization in specific domains, such as cloud-native architecture, performance optimization, or incident management, with the opportunity to become a subject matter expert and drive innovation in those areas.
Growth Opportunity 3: Career progression into senior leadership roles, such as Director or Vice President of Engineering, with the opportunity to shape the company's technical strategy and drive its growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: Circles.Life offers significant growth opportunities for experienced SRE professionals looking to advance their careers in a dynamic and innovative global technology company.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Circles.Life's offices are modern, collaborative workspaces designed to foster innovation and creativity. The company encourages a flexible and agile work environment, with a strong focus on employee well-being and work-life balance.

Office Location(s): Circles.Life's headquarters are in Singapore, with additional offices in Bangalore, India, and other global locations. The Bangalore office is located in a modern business park with easy access to public transportation and amenities.

Workspace Context:

Workspace Aspect 1: Circles.Life's offices are equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including multiple monitors, testing devices, and development tools to support the work of its engineers.
Workspace Aspect 2: The company fosters a collaborative work environment, with open-plan offices and dedicated team spaces for meetings and brainstorming sessions.
Workspace Aspect 3: Circles.Life encourages cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing, with regular team-building activities and social events to strengthen bonds between team members.

Work Schedule: Circles.Life offers flexible working hours and remote work options for some roles, with a focus on results and productivity. The company also provides generous time-off policies, including vacation, sick leave, and company holidays.

📝 Enhancement Note: Circles.Life's work environment is designed to support the well-being and productivity of its employees, with a strong focus on collaboration, innovation, and work-life balance.

📄 Application & Technical Interview Process

Interview Process:

Process Step 1: Technical screening with a focus on SRE best practices, cloud-native technologies, and incident response leadership. Candidates can expect questions on system design, performance optimization, and automation tools.
Process Step 2: Deep dive into the candidate's technical expertise, with a focus on their experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure. Candidates can expect architecture-focused questions and case studies.
Process Step 3: Behavioral interviews to assess the candidate's problem-solving skills, leadership potential, and cultural fit. Candidates can expect questions on incident response leadership, mentoring, and team dynamics.
Process Step 4: Final evaluation, including a presentation of the candidate's portfolio and a discussion of their technical impact and growth potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Tip 1: Highlight your experience in designing and implementing highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure using cloud-native technologies. Showcase your understanding of SRE best practices and your ability to ensure high availability and resilience in business-critical applications.
Tip 2: Demonstrate your expertise in establishing and maintaining comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions. Explain how you ensure high coverage, minimize false positives, and drive continuous improvement in incident response times.
Tip 3: Present a case study of a significant incident you led, detailing your root cause analysis (RCA), post-mortem process, and preventative measures implemented to avoid recurrence. Highlight your leadership skills and ability to drive a culture of reliability.
Tip 4: Showcase your experience in performance tuning, capacity planning, and load testing. Explain your methodologies for improving system efficiency and optimizing resource utilization.

Technical Challenge Preparation:

Challenge 1: Familiarize yourself with cloud-native technologies, such as Kubernetes, Docker, and serverless architectures. Brush up on your knowledge of monitoring tools like Prometheus, Grafana, New Relic, or Dynatrace.
Challenge 2: Practice incident response scenarios, focusing on root cause analysis (RCA), post-mortem processes, and preventative measures. Familiarize yourself with the incident management process and tools used by Circles.Life.
Challenge 3: Prepare for architecture-focused questions and case studies, focusing on system design, performance optimization, and scalability. Brush up on your knowledge of AWS, OCI, or GCP environments and best practices for cloud-native and hybrid architectures.

ATS Keywords:

Programming Languages: Python, Bash, PowerShell, Go, Java, C++
Web Frameworks: Flask, Django, Spring Boot, Express.js
Server Technologies: Kubernetes, Docker, AWS EKS, OCI Container Engine, GCP Kubernetes Engine
Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis
Tools: Terraform, Ansible, Helm, Prometheus, Grafana, New Relic, Dynatrace, JIRA, Git
Methodologies: Agile, Scrum, Kanban, CI/CD, DevOps, SRE, ITIL
Soft Skills: Leadership, Mentoring, Problem-Solving, Communication, Collaboration, Teamwork
Industry Terms: Site Reliability Engineering, Cloud-Native, High Availability, Fault Tolerance, Incident Response, Performance Optimization, Capacity Planning, Load Testing, Monitoring, Logging, Alerting, Automation, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Containerization, Orchestration, CI/CD, DevOps, SRE, ITIL

📝 Enhancement Note: Circles.Life's interview process focuses on assessing the candidate's technical expertise, leadership potential, and cultural fit. The company values candidates with a strong background in SRE within the telco domain and a proven track record of driving high availability and resilience in business-critical applications.

🛠 Technology Stack & Web Infrastructure

Frontend Technologies: N/A (This role focuses on backend and infrastructure technologies)

Backend & Server Technologies:

Technology 1: Kubernetes - Circles.Life uses Kubernetes for container orchestration and deployment, ensuring high availability and scalability of its applications and services.
Technology 2: Docker - Circles.Life employs Docker for containerization, enabling consistent and efficient deployment across different environments.
Technology 3: AWS, OCI, or GCP - Circles.Life operates in multi-cloud environments, leveraging AWS, OCI, or GCP for infrastructure services, depending on the specific project requirements.

Development & DevOps Tools:

Tool 1: Terraform - Circles.Life uses Terraform for infrastructure as code (IaC), enabling automated provisioning and management of its cloud resources.
Tool 2: Ansible - Circles.Life employs Ansible for configuration management, ensuring consistent deployment and configuration across its environments.
Tool 3: Helm - Circles.Life uses Helm for package management, enabling efficient deployment and upgrade of its Kubernetes applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: Circles.Life's technology stack focuses on cloud-native and containerized architectures, ensuring high availability, scalability, and efficiency in its applications and services.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Web Development Values:

Value 1: Innovation - Circles.Life values innovation and encourages its engineers to explore new technologies and approaches to drive continuous improvement.
Value 2: Collaboration - Circles.Life fosters a collaborative work environment, with a strong emphasis on cross-functional teamwork and knowledge sharing.
Value 3: Customer Focus - Circles.Life prioritizes the needs of its customers, ensuring high availability, reliability, and performance of its platforms and services.
Value 4: Technical Excellence - Circles.Life values technical expertise and encourages its engineers to maintain their skills and stay up-to-date with industry best practices.

Collaboration Style:

Style 1: Circles.Life encourages cross-functional integration between development, operations, and product teams, with a focus on Agile methodologies and continuous improvement.
Style 2: Circles.Life fosters a culture of code review and peer programming, with a strong emphasis on knowledge sharing and mentoring.
Style 3: Circles.Life encourages regular team-building activities and social events to strengthen bonds between team members and foster a positive work environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: Circles.Life's team culture values innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence, with a strong focus on driving high availability, reliability, and performance in its platforms and services.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Technical Challenges:

Challenge 1: Designing and implementing highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure using cloud-native technologies, with a focus on minimizing downtime and ensuring business continuity.
Challenge 2: Establishing and maintaining comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions, with a focus on minimizing false positives and driving continuous improvement in incident response times.
Challenge 3: Leading incident response efforts, with a focus on root cause analysis (RCA), post-mortem processes, and preventative measures to minimize the impact of outages and ensure high availability.
Challenge 4: Mentoring junior engineers and fostering a collaborative SRE culture, with a focus on driving team evolution and proactively preventing issues to maintain optimal service levels.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Opportunity 1: Circles.Life offers professional development opportunities, including training, conferences, and certifications, to help its engineers stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and best practices.
Opportunity 2: Circles.Life encourages its engineers to engage with the broader tech community, with opportunities to attend industry events, contribute to open-source projects, and network with other professionals.
Opportunity 3: Circles.Life provides mentorship and leadership development programs, with a focus on driving technical and career growth within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: Circles.Life offers significant learning and development opportunities for experienced SRE professionals looking to advance their careers in a dynamic and innovative global technology company.

💡 Interview Preparation

Technical Questions:

Question 1: Can you describe your experience in designing and implementing highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure using cloud-native technologies? What tools and methodologies did you use, and what were the outcomes of your efforts?
Question 2: How have you established and maintained comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions in your previous roles? What tools did you use, and how did you ensure high coverage and minimize false positives?
Question 3: Can you walk us through a significant incident you led, detailing your root cause analysis (RCA), post-mortem process, and preventative measures implemented to avoid recurrence? How did you ensure high availability and resilience in your applications and services?
Question 4: How have you approached performance tuning, capacity planning, and load testing in your previous roles? What methodologies did you use, and what improvements did you make to system efficiency and resource utilization?

Company & Culture Questions:

Question 1: How do you stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and best practices in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)? What resources and networks do you use to learn and grow professionally?
Question 2: Can you describe your experience with Agile methodologies and Scrum frameworks? How have you applied these methodologies in your previous roles, and what were the outcomes of your efforts?
Question 3: How do you approach mentoring and knowledge sharing with junior engineers? Can you provide an example of a time when you helped a team member grow professionally and drive team success?

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

Strategy 1: Highlight your experience in designing and implementing highly available, fault-tolerant applications and infrastructure using cloud-native technologies. Showcase your understanding of SRE best practices and your ability to ensure high availability and resilience in business-critical applications.
Strategy 2: Demonstrate your expertise in establishing and maintaining comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions. Explain how you ensure high coverage, minimize false positives, and drive continuous improvement in incident response times.
Strategy 3: Present a case study of a significant incident you led, detailing your root cause analysis (RCA), post-mortem process, and preventative measures implemented to avoid recurrence. Highlight your leadership skills and ability to drive a culture of reliability.

📝 Enhancement Note: Circles.Life's interview process focuses on assessing the candidate's technical expertise, leadership potential, and cultural fit. The company values candidates with a strong background in SRE within the telco domain and a proven track record of driving high availability and resilience in business-critical applications.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal Software Engineer (Application SRE) position at Circles.Life:

Submit your application through the application link provided.
Customize your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), cloud-native technologies, and incident response leadership.
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your knowledge of cloud-native technologies, monitoring tools, and incident management processes.
Research Circles.Life's company culture, values, and technology stack to ensure a strong fit and demonstrate your enthusiasm for the role.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and web development/server administration industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

Principal Software Engineer (Application SRE)