📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Platform Engineer
Company: Hedra
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Job Type: On-site, Full-time
Category: DevOps, Infrastructure
Date Posted: June 11, 2025
Experience Level: Mid-Senior level (5-10 years)
Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

Design and build an internal developer platform to empower engineering teams to deploy, scale, and manage AI-powered products efficiently.
Create self-service infrastructure tooling, abstract complexity, and enable rapid innovation on the Character-3 foundation model.
Collaborate with product engineers and researchers to understand their needs and translate them into scalable platform solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role requires a strong background in platform engineering, with a focus on Kubernetes and Terraform, to create developer-friendly APIs, interfaces, and automated provisioning workflows. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of multi-modal AI workloads and video processing infrastructure.

💻 Primary Responsibilities

Platform Architecture & Design: Architect developer-friendly APIs and interfaces for infrastructure resources, and design platform services that abstract underlying complexity.
Infrastructure as Code: Master Terraform to create reusable modules and standardized infrastructure patterns, ensuring reliability, security, and cost efficiency.
Kubernetes Platform Expertise: Build abstractions, operators, and custom resources to create developer-friendly deployment workflows on Kubernetes.
Container Platform Design: Design and manage image registries, security scanning, and standardized base images for AI/ML workloads.
Platform Observability: Implement centralized logging, metrics, and tracing that developers can easily consume, improving platform reliability and performance.
Self-service Automation: Build workflows that allow teams to provision resources without platform team intervention, reducing cognitive load for engineering teams.
Cost Transparency & Governance: Implement resource quotas, cost allocation, and usage visibility across teams to optimize resource utilization and minimize waste.
Security by Default: Design platform services with built-in security controls, secrets management, and compliance guardrails to protect sensitive data and maintain security standards.
Multi-tenancy & Isolation: Ensure teams can work independently while sharing platform resources safely, maintaining data privacy and security.
Developer Advocacy: Gather requirements from engineering teams and translate them into platform capabilities, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role requires a strong focus on developer experience, with a deep understanding of platform economics and developer productivity. The ideal candidate will have experience building internal platforms that reduce cognitive load for engineering teams and accelerate engineering velocity.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. Relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

Experience: At least 4+ years of experience in building developer platforms, internal tooling, or platform engineering at technology companies.

Required Skills:

Platform API design and building internal developer tooling, CLIs, and self-service portals for infrastructure resources.
Kubernetes platform expertise, including building abstractions, operators, custom resources, and developer-friendly deployment workflows.
Infrastructure as Code mastery with Terraform for creating reusable modules and standardized infrastructure patterns.
Container platform design, including image registries, security scanning, and standardized base images for AI/ML workloads.
Service templating and standardization using tools like Helm, Kustomize, or custom controllers for consistent deployments.
Platform observability, implementing centralized logging, metrics, and tracing that developers can easily consume.
Self-service automation, building workflows that allow teams to provision resources without platform team intervention.
Cost transparency and governance, implementing resource quotas, cost allocation, and usage visibility across teams.
Security by default, designing platform services with built-in security controls, secrets management, and compliance guardrails.
Multi-tenancy and isolation, ensuring teams can work independently while sharing platform resources safely.
Startup experience, with a passion for building impactful products that change the status quo.
Developer advocacy mindset, with experience gathering requirements from engineering teams and translating them into platform capabilities.
Scalable platform architecture for supporting rapid team growth and varying workload demands.

Preferred Skills:

Experience with multi-modal AI workloads and video processing infrastructure.
Familiarity with the Hedra Studio platform and Character-3 foundation model.
Knowledge of the San Francisco tech scene and local startup ecosystem.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates with experience in multi-modal AI workloads and video processing infrastructure may have a competitive advantage in this role. Familiarity with the Hedra Studio platform and Character-3 foundation model is also highly desirable.

📊 Web Portfolio & Project Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Demonstrate your ability to design and build scalable platform services using Kubernetes and Terraform.
Showcase your experience with API design and internal developer tooling, highlighting your understanding of developer experience principles.
Highlight your expertise in container platform design, including image registries, security scanning, and standardized base images.
Provide examples of your work in platform observability, self-service automation, cost transparency, and security by default.

Technical Documentation:

Document your approach to platform architecture and design, explaining how you abstract complexity and enable rapid innovation.
Describe your experience with infrastructure as code, highlighting your proficiency with Terraform and other relevant tools.
Explain your approach to Kubernetes platform expertise, including building abstractions, operators, and custom resources.
Detail your experience with platform observability, self-service automation, cost transparency, and security by default, providing examples of how you've implemented these principles in previous roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should focus on providing concrete examples of their work in platform engineering, API design, and internal developer tooling. Highlighting their understanding of multi-modal AI workloads and video processing infrastructure will also be beneficial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Competitive compensation, with an estimated salary range of $150,000 - $200,000 per year for a mid-senior level role in San Francisco, based on regional market data and industry benchmarks for platform engineering professionals.

Benefits:

Equity
401k
Healthcare (Silver PPO Medical, Vision, Dental)
Lunch and snacks at the office

Working Hours: Full-time, with a standard workweek of 40 hours. The role may require occasional work outside of regular hours to support maintenance windows and project deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is an estimate based on regional market data and industry benchmarks for platform engineering professionals in San Francisco. The actual salary offer may vary depending on the candidate's experience, skills, and the company's internal compensation structure.

🎯 Team & Company Context

Company Culture: Hedra is a pioneering generative media company backed by top investors, building Hedra Studio, a multimodal creation platform capable of control, emotion, and creative intelligence. The company values innovation, collaboration, and a mission-driven approach to building transformative AI-powered products.

Industry: Hedra operates in the generative media and AI sectors, focusing on multimodal content creation and video generation using its Character-3 foundation model.

Company Size: Hedra is a startup with a small, close-knit team, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment. The company is fully in-person in San Francisco and New York, with a shared love of solving hard problems using whiteboards.

Founded: Hedra was founded in [Year], with a mission to fundamentally change content creation and build a generational company.

Team Structure:

The platform engineering team is responsible for designing and building the internal developer platform that empowers engineering teams to deploy, scale, and manage AI-powered products efficiently.
The team works closely with product engineers and researchers to understand their needs and translate them into scalable platform solutions.
The platform engineering team is part of the broader engineering organization, which includes teams focused on product, research, and infrastructure.

Development Methodology:

Hedra follows an Agile development methodology, with a focus on rapid iteration and continuous improvement.
The company uses GitHub for version control and collaborative development, with a strong emphasis on code review, testing, and quality assurance practices.
Hedra employs CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment strategies to ensure rapid and reliable delivery of new features and updates.

Company Website: www.hedra.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Hedra's company culture values innovation, collaboration, and a mission-driven approach to building transformative AI-powered products. The company operates in the generative media and AI sectors, focusing on multimodal content creation and video generation using its Character-3 foundation model. The platform engineering team works closely with product engineers and researchers to understand their needs and translate them into scalable platform solutions.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Web Technology Career Level: This role is at the mid-senior level, focusing on platform engineering and API design for internal developer tooling. The ideal candidate will have at least 4+ years of experience in building developer platforms, internal tooling, or platform engineering at technology companies.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Platform Engineer will report directly to the Head of Platform Engineering and work closely with product engineers, researchers, and other platform team members to ensure the platform meets the needs of engineering teams and supports rapid innovation.

Technical Impact: The Senior Platform Engineer will have a significant impact on the development and deployment of AI-powered products, enabling engineering teams to work more efficiently and effectively. Their work will directly contribute to the success of Hedra's multimodal creation platform and the company's mission to fundamentally change content creation.

Growth Opportunities:

Technical Leadership: As Hedra grows, there will be opportunities for the Senior Platform Engineer to take on more technical leadership responsibilities, mentoring junior team members and driving the technical direction of the platform.
Architecture Decisions: The Senior Platform Engineer will have the opportunity to make critical architecture decisions that shape the future of Hedra's internal developer platform and enable rapid innovation on the Character-3 foundation model.
Emerging Technology Adoption: Hedra is at the forefront of generative media and AI, offering the Senior Platform Engineer the chance to work with cutting-edge technologies and stay ahead of industry trends.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant growth opportunities for the right candidate, with the potential to take on more technical leadership responsibilities and make critical architecture decisions that shape the future of Hedra's internal developer platform. The company's focus on emerging technology adoption also provides an excellent opportunity for the Senior Platform Engineer to stay ahead of industry trends and work with cutting-edge technologies.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hedra's office is a collaborative workspace designed to foster innovation and creativity. The company provides a comfortable and well-equipped environment for its team members, with multiple monitors, testing devices, and development tools available to support their work.

Office Location(s): Hedra's headquarters are in San Francisco, with a satellite office in New York. The company's offices are easily accessible by public transportation, with nearby amenities and dining options.

Workspace Context:

Hedra's workspace is designed to encourage collaboration and cross-functional interaction between developers, designers, and stakeholders.
The company provides a well-equipped workspace, with multiple monitors, testing devices, and development tools to support the needs of its team members.
Hedra's workspace is also designed to be flexible, with adaptable workspaces and meeting areas to accommodate team growth and changing project requirements.

Work Schedule: Hedra operates on a standard workweek of 40 hours, with occasional work outside of regular hours to support maintenance windows and project deadlines. The company offers flexible working arrangements to accommodate the needs of its team members.

📝 Enhancement Note: Hedra's workspace is designed to foster collaboration and cross-functional interaction between developers, designers, and stakeholders. The company provides a well-equipped workspace, with multiple monitors, testing devices, and development tools to support the needs of its team members. Hedra's workspace is also designed to be flexible, with adaptable workspaces and meeting areas to accommodate team growth and changing project requirements.

📄 Application & Technical Interview Process

Interview Process:

Technical Preparation: Candidates should familiarize themselves with Hedra's platform engineering stack, including Kubernetes, Terraform, and other relevant tools. They should also brush up on their API design skills and be prepared to discuss their experience with internal developer tooling and self-service automation.
Phone Screen: A brief phone screen to assess the candidate's technical fit and cultural alignment with Hedra's mission and values.
Technical Deep Dive: A comprehensive technical interview focusing on the candidate's platform engineering experience, API design skills, and internal developer tooling expertise. The interview may include coding challenges, architecture discussions, and platform design exercises.
Team Fit: A meeting with the platform engineering team to assess the candidate's cultural fit and ability to work collaboratively in a small, close-knit team.
Final Decision: A final decision based on the candidate's technical skills, cultural fit, and alignment with Hedra's mission and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Highlight your experience with platform engineering, API design, and internal developer tooling, providing concrete examples of your work.
Showcase your understanding of multi-modal AI workloads and video processing infrastructure, explaining how your platform engineering experience can support Hedra's mission to fundamentally change content creation.
Demonstrate your ability to work collaboratively and effectively in a small, close-knit team, highlighting your experience with cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder communication.

Technical Challenge Preparation:

Brush up on your platform engineering skills, focusing on Kubernetes, Terraform, and other relevant tools.
Familiarize yourself with Hedra's platform engineering stack and be prepared to discuss your experience with API design, internal developer tooling, and self-service automation.
Practice coding challenges and architecture discussions, focusing on your ability to design and build scalable platform services that enable rapid innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Hedra's interview process is designed to assess the candidate's technical skills, cultural fit, and alignment with the company's mission and values. The technical deep dive focuses on the candidate's platform engineering experience, API design skills, and internal developer tooling expertise. The team fit meeting assesses the candidate's ability to work collaboratively in a small, close-knit team.

🛠 Technology Stack & Web Infrastructure

Frontend Technologies: Not applicable for this role.

Backend & Server Technologies:

Kubernetes: Hedra's platform is built on Kubernetes, enabling the company to deploy, scale, and manage AI-powered products efficiently. The Senior Platform Engineer will have extensive experience with Kubernetes, including building abstractions, operators, and custom resources.
Terraform: Hedra uses Terraform to create reusable modules and standardized infrastructure patterns, ensuring reliability, security, and cost efficiency. The Senior Platform Engineer will have mastery of Terraform and be able to create automated provisioning workflows using the tool.
API Design: The Senior Platform Engineer will have experience designing and building internal developer tooling, CLIs, and self-service portals for infrastructure resources. They will be proficient in API design principles and able to create developer-friendly APIs and interfaces.

Development & DevOps Tools:

GitHub: Hedra uses GitHub for version control and collaborative development, with a strong emphasis on code review, testing, and quality assurance practices.
CI/CD Pipelines: Hedra employs CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment strategies to ensure rapid and reliable delivery of new features and updates. The Senior Platform Engineer will have experience with CI/CD pipelines and be able to create automated deployment workflows.
Monitoring Tools: Hedra uses monitoring tools to ensure the reliability and performance of its internal developer platform. The Senior Platform Engineer will have experience with centralized logging, metrics, and tracing, and be able to implement platform observability practices that enable developers to easily consume these resources.

📝 Enhancement Note: Hedra's technology stack is focused on platform engineering, API design, and internal developer tooling. The company uses Kubernetes and Terraform to create a scalable and efficient internal developer platform, with a strong emphasis on API design and automated provisioning workflows. Hedra also employs CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment strategies to ensure rapid and reliable delivery of new features and updates.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Web Development Values:

Innovation: Hedra values innovation and encourages its team members to think creatively and push the boundaries of what's possible in generative media and AI.
Collaboration: Hedra fosters a culture of collaboration, with a strong emphasis on cross-functional teamwork and stakeholder communication.
Mission-driven: Hedra is driven by a mission to fundamentally change content creation and build a generational company. The company values team members who are passionate about its mission and committed to its success.
User-focused: Hedra prioritizes the user experience and ensures that its products meet the needs of its customers. The company values team members who are user-focused and committed to creating intuitive and engaging experiences.

Collaboration Style:

Cross-functional Integration: Hedra encourages cross-functional integration between developers, designers, and stakeholders, with a strong emphasis on collaboration and communication.
Code Review Culture: Hedra values a code review culture, with a focus on quality, consistency, and continuous improvement.
Knowledge Sharing: Hedra fosters a culture of knowledge sharing, with regular team meetings, workshops, and brown bag sessions to promote learning and growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: Hedra's team culture values innovation, collaboration, and a mission-driven approach to building transformative AI-powered products. The company fosters a culture of collaboration, with a strong emphasis on cross-functional teamwork and stakeholder communication. Hedra also values a code review culture and encourages knowledge sharing, with regular team meetings, workshops, and brown bag sessions to promote learning and growth.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Technical Challenges:

Multi-modal AI Workloads: Hedra's platform must support multi-modal AI workloads, including image, text, and audio processing. The Senior Platform Engineer will need to design and build platform services that abstract the underlying complexity of these workloads and enable rapid innovation on the Character-3 foundation model.
Video Processing Infrastructure: Hedra's platform must also support video processing infrastructure, with a focus on efficient and scalable deployment of AI-powered products. The Senior Platform Engineer will need to design and build platform services that abstract the underlying complexity of video processing and enable rapid innovation on the Character-3 foundation model.
Scalability: Hedra's platform must be designed to support rapid team growth and varying workload demands. The Senior Platform Engineer will need to architect scalable platform services that can scale horizontally and vertically to meet the needs of engineering teams.
Cost Efficiency: Hedra's platform must be designed to optimize resource utilization and minimize waste. The Senior Platform Engineer will need to implement cost transparency and governance practices that ensure engineering teams are aware of their resource usage and able to make informed decisions about cost optimization.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Emerging Technology Adoption: Hedra is at the forefront of generative media and AI, offering the Senior Platform Engineer the chance to work with cutting-edge technologies and stay ahead of industry trends.
Technical Mentorship: Hedra values technical mentorship and offers opportunities for the Senior Platform Engineer to mentor junior team members and drive the technical direction of the platform.
Leadership Development: As Hedra grows, there will be opportunities for the Senior Platform Engineer to take on more technical leadership responsibilities and drive the company's technical vision.

📝 Enhancement Note: Hedra's technical challenges include supporting multi-modal AI workloads, video processing infrastructure, scalability, and cost efficiency. The company offers learning and development opportunities, including emerging technology adoption, technical mentorship, and leadership development, to help the Senior Platform Engineer grow and succeed in their role.

💡 Interview Preparation

Technical Questions:

Platform Architecture & Design: Can you describe your approach to platform architecture and design? How do you abstract complexity and enable rapid innovation on AI-powered products?
Infrastructure as Code: How do you use Terraform to create reusable modules and standardized infrastructure patterns? Can you provide an example of a Terraform module you've built and how it improved the efficiency of your platform?
Kubernetes Platform Expertise: How do you build abstractions, operators, and custom resources to create developer-friendly deployment workflows on Kubernetes? Can you provide an example of a Kubernetes deployment you've designed and how it improved the developer experience?
API Design: How do you design and build internal developer tooling, CLIs, and self-service portals for infrastructure resources? Can you provide an example of an API you've designed and how it improved the efficiency of your platform?
Platform Observability: How do you implement centralized logging, metrics, and tracing that developers can easily consume? Can you provide an example of a platform observability practice you've implemented and how it improved the reliability and performance of your platform?

Company & Culture Questions:

Technical Culture: How do you approach technical culture in a small, close-knit team? Can you provide an example of a technical culture initiative you've led or contributed to in a previous role?
Mission-driven: How do you stay motivated and focused on Hedra's mission to fundamentally change content creation? Can you provide an example of a time when you went above and beyond to support a company's mission?
Collaboration: How do you approach collaboration in a cross-functional team? Can you provide an example of a time when you worked effectively with stakeholders to deliver a successful project?

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

Platform Architecture: Highlight your experience with platform architecture and design, explaining how you abstract complexity and enable rapid innovation on AI-powered products.
Infrastructure as Code: Showcase your proficiency with Terraform, providing examples of reusable modules and standardized infrastructure patterns you've created.
Kubernetes Platform Expertise: Demonstrate your ability to build abstractions, operators, and custom resources, explaining how you create developer-friendly deployment workflows on Kubernetes.
API Design: Highlight your experience with API design, internal developer tooling, and self-service automation, explaining how you improve the efficiency of your platform.
Platform Observability: Showcase your ability to implement centralized logging, metrics, and tracing, explaining how you improve the reliability and performance of your platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: Hedra's interview process focuses on assessing the candidate's technical skills, cultural fit, and alignment with the company's mission and values. The technical deep dive focuses on the candidate's platform engineering experience, API design skills, and internal developer tooling expertise. The team fit meeting assesses the candidate's ability to work collaboratively in a small, close-knit team.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Platform Engineer position at Hedra:

Customize Your Portfolio: Tailor your portfolio to highlight your experience with platform engineering, API design, and internal developer tooling. Showcase your understanding of multi-modal AI workloads and video processing infrastructure, explaining how your platform engineering experience can support Hedra's mission to fundamentally change content creation.
Optimize Your Resume: Highlight your relevant skills and experience, focusing on your proficiency with Kubernetes, Terraform, and other relevant tools. Use relevant keywords and phrases to optimize your resume for web technology roles.
Prepare for Technical Challenges: Brush up on your platform engineering skills, focusing on Kubernetes, Terraform, and other relevant tools. Practice coding challenges and architecture discussions, focusing on your ability to design and build scalable platform services that enable rapid innovation.
Research Hedra: Familiarize yourself with Hedra's platform engineering stack, API design principles, and internal developer tooling. Understand the company's mission, values, and culture, and be prepared to discuss how you align with Hedra's technical vision and approach to platform engineering.

⚠️ 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.

Senior Platform Engineer