📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Site Reliability Engineer
Company: GoCardless
Location: Riga, Latvia
Job Type: Hybrid
Category: DevOps Engineer
Date Posted: 2025-07-08
Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)
Remote Status: On-site/Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

GoCardless is seeking a Site Reliability Engineer to join their Foundations group, working collaboratively with diverse engineering teams to build and scale the global platform for their payment and open banking products. This role focuses on infrastructure management and site reliability engineering, offering an exciting opportunity for an engineer interested in these areas and eager to create an impact.

💻 Primary Responsibilities

🌐 Infrastructure Management

Design, implement, and maintain scalable, secure, and highly available infrastructure using tools like Terraform, AWS, and GCP.
Automate operational tasks to eliminate toil, ensuring systems are safe and secure against cybersecurity threats.
Collaborate with software engineers and data scientists to build and maintain automation for new and existing infrastructure.

🔄 Site Reliability Engineering

Ensure that systems are reliable, scalable, and performant, with a focus on minimizing downtime and maximizing efficiency.
Monitor and troubleshoot production issues, working with development teams to identify and resolve root causes.
Participate in on-call rotations to provide 24/7 support for critical systems.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Experience: Proven experience (2-5 years) in infrastructure management, site reliability engineering, or a similar role.

Required Skills:

Proficiency in at least one programming language, such as Python, Ruby, or Golang.
Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools, such as Terraform.
Familiarity with cloud computing providers, such as AWS or GCP.
Experience with containerized applications and container orchestration, such as Kubernetes and GKE.
Knowledge of CI/CD tooling, such as GitHub, GitHub Actions, or ArgoCD.
Experience with monitoring tools, such as Grafana, Prometheus, or Elastic.
Strong teamwork and communication skills.

Preferred Skills:

Experience with Terraform automation tools, such as Terragrunt or Atlantis.
Familiarity with relational databases and other datastores, especially around high availability and performance optimization.
Awareness of DevOps and Agile principles.

📊 Web Portfolio & Project Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Demonstrate your experience with infrastructure management and site reliability engineering through relevant projects.
Showcase your ability to automate operational tasks and ensure system reliability and security.
Highlight your collaboration skills by presenting projects where you worked with diverse teams to achieve common goals.

Technical Documentation:

Provide clear and concise documentation for your infrastructure projects, explaining the design decisions, implementation details, and any relevant configuration files.
Include any relevant metrics or performance benchmarks to showcase the impact of your work.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The expected base salary range for this position is between €38,400 - €76,800 (gross) per year. Base salary ranges are based on role, job level, location, and market data. Please note that while we strive to offer competitive compensation, our approach is to pay between the minimum and the mid-point of the pay range until performance can be assessed in role. Offers will take into account level of experience, interview assessment, budgets, and parity between you and fellow employees at GoCardless doing similar work.

Benefits:

Wellbeing: Dedicated support and medical cover to keep you healthy.
Work Away Scheme: Work from anywhere for up to 90 days in any 12-month period.
Adaptive Working: Our hybrid model offers flexibility, with in-office days determined by your team.
Equity: All permanently employed GoCardless employees get equity to share in our success.
Parental leave: Tailored leave to support your life's great adventure.
Time Off: Generous holidays, 3 volunteer days, and 4 wellness days annually.

Working Hours: Full-time position with standard working hours, including opportunities for flexible working and remote work.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: GoCardless is a global bank payment company, processing over US$130bn+ of payments annually across 30+ countries. They help customers collect and send both recurring and one-off payments through direct debit, real-time payments, and open banking.

Company Size: GoCardless has over 500 employees across multiple offices worldwide, providing a mid-sized company culture with opportunities for growth and impact.

Founded: 2011, with a strong focus on innovation and continuous improvement.

Team Structure:

The Foundations group is a distributed team working with all other engineering teams to build and scale the global platform for payments and open banking products.
The team consists of Site Reliability Engineers, Infrastructure Engineers, and other technical roles, collaborating to ensure the platform's reliability, scalability, and performance.

Development Methodology:

GoCardless uses Agile methodologies, with a focus on continuous integration, continuous deployment, and regular code reviews.
The company emphasizes collaboration, communication, and cross-functional teamwork to deliver high-quality products and services.

Company Website: GoCardless

📝 Enhancement Note: GoCardless' focus on innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement creates an exciting environment for Site Reliability Engineers to grow and make a significant impact on the company's global platform.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Web Technology Career Level: Mid-Level Site Reliability Engineer, responsible for managing and improving the reliability and performance of GoCardless' global infrastructure. This role offers opportunities to work on complex, high-impact projects and collaborate with diverse teams to drive the company's success.

Reporting Structure: The Site Reliability Engineer reports directly to the Engineering Manager within the Foundations group, working closely with other engineering teams, such as Product, Data, and Infrastructure.

Technical Impact: In this role, you will have a direct impact on the reliability, scalability, and performance of GoCardless' global payment and open banking platform. Your work will enable the company to process over US$130bn+ of payments annually, supporting the growth and success of over 100,000 businesses worldwide.

Growth Opportunities:

Technical Growth: Deepen your expertise in infrastructure management, site reliability engineering, and related technologies through hands-on experience and collaboration with experienced team members.
Leadership Development: Develop your leadership skills by mentoring junior team members, driving technical decision-making, and contributing to the team's strategic direction.
Architecture Decisions: Gain experience in making critical architecture decisions that impact the scalability, security, and performance of GoCardless' global infrastructure.

📝 Enhancement Note: GoCardless' focus on growth and development provides Site Reliability Engineers with ample opportunities to advance their careers and make a significant impact on the company's global platform.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid work environment, with offices in Riga, Latvia, and other global locations. The company offers a flexible, adaptive working model that combines in-office days with remote work options.

Office Location(s): Riga, Latvia, with additional offices in the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Ireland, Portugal, and the United States.

Workspace Context:

Collaboration: The hybrid work environment fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing between team members, both in-person and remotely.
Development Tools: GoCardless provides access to the necessary tools and technologies for Site Reliability Engineers to perform their jobs effectively, including laptops, multiple monitors, and testing devices.
Cross-Functional Interaction: Site Reliability Engineers work closely with software engineers, data scientists, and other teams to ensure the reliability, scalability, and performance of GoCardless' global infrastructure.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time working hours, with opportunities for flexible working and remote work arrangements. The company offers a work away scheme, allowing employees to work from anywhere for up to 90 days in any 12-month period.

📝 Enhancement Note: GoCardless' hybrid work environment and flexible work arrangements provide Site Reliability Engineers with the best of both in-office collaboration and remote work flexibility.

📄 Application & Technical Interview Process

Interview Process:

Technical Phone Screen: A 45-minute phone or video call to assess your technical skills and cultural fit.
Technical Deep Dive: A 2-hour technical interview focusing on your infrastructure management and site reliability engineering skills, as well as your problem-solving abilities.
Behavioral Interview: A 45-minute interview to discuss your career history, motivations, and cultural fit with GoCardless.
Final Interview: A 30-minute interview with the Engineering Manager to discuss your expectations, answer any remaining questions, and make a final decision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Highlight your experience with infrastructure management and site reliability engineering through relevant projects.
Showcase your ability to automate operational tasks, ensure system reliability and security, and collaborate with diverse teams.
Include any relevant metrics or performance benchmarks to demonstrate the impact of your work.

Technical Challenge Preparation:

Brush up on your knowledge of Terraform, AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, and other relevant technologies.
Practice problem-solving exercises and coding challenges to demonstrate your technical skills and problem-solving abilities.
Familiarize yourself with GoCardless' products, services, and company culture to showcase your enthusiasm and cultural fit.

ATS Keywords: Infrastructure Management, Site Reliability Engineering, Terraform, AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, GKE, GitHub, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, Grafana, Prometheus, Elastic, DevOps, Agile, Cloud Computing, Containerization, Container Orchestration, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, IaC, Technical Leadership, Architecture Decisions, Global Infrastructure, Payment Processing, Open Banking.

📝 Enhancement Note: GoCardless' interview process focuses on assessing your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit, providing a comprehensive evaluation of your suitability for the Site Reliability Engineer role.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Site Reliability Engineer position at GoCardless:

Customize Your Portfolio: Tailor your portfolio to highlight your experience with infrastructure management, site reliability engineering, and relevant projects, showcasing your ability to automate operational tasks, ensure system reliability and security, and collaborate with diverse teams.
Optimize Your Resume: Highlight your relevant skills, experiences, and achievements in infrastructure management, site reliability engineering, and related technologies. Include any relevant metrics or performance benchmarks to demonstrate the impact of your work.
Prepare for Technical Interviews: Brush up on your knowledge of the required technologies, practice problem-solving exercises and coding challenges, and familiarize yourself with GoCardless' products, services, and company culture.
Research the Company: Learn about GoCardless' industry, products, services, and company culture to showcase your enthusiasm and cultural fit during the interview process.

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

Site Reliability Engineer