Job Description

Our Technology

Our environment includes:

AWS • Kubernetes/EKS • Pulumi • Argo CD • Azure DevOps • Python • PowerShell • Bash • Linux • Windows • Grafana • AI Engineering Tools

You don't need experience with every tool. Strong engineering fundamentals, curiosity, and the ability to learn matter more than matching our stack exactly.

• Build and operate highly available AWS and Kubernetes infrastructure.
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code and automation.
• Improve CI/CD and GitOps workflows.
• Automate operational tasks with Python, PowerShell, Bash, or similar tools.
• Troubleshoot production issues across applications, containers, networking, and cloud infrastructure.
• Improve observability, reliability, security, performance, and cost efficiency.
• Partner with development and data teams to promote DevOps and shift-left practices.
• Participate in incident response and help eliminate root causes.
• Document solutions, share knowledge, and mentor teammates.
• Support customer-impacting issues when needed.

AI-Native Engineering

We expect our engineers to be highly effective with modern AI development and engineering tools.

That means going beyond basic prompting or code completion. You should be comfortable using tools such as Claude Code and similar AI agents to accelerate development, troubleshooting, automation, documentation, and research.

We value engineers who can:

• Give agents clear context, constraints, and acceptance criteria.
• Build reusable skills, hooks, instructions, and workflows.
• Connect agents to appropriate tools, repositories, APIs, and documentation.
• Use automated validation and guardrails around agent-driven work.
• Critically review AI-generated code, infrastructure, and recommendations.
• Understand the security implications of agent access and permissions.
• Recognize when AI is the right tool - and when it isn't.

We view AI as an engineering multiplier, not a substitute for engineering judgment.

What We're Looking For

• Experience building or supporting production cloud infrastructure.
• Strong AWS knowledge or experience with another major cloud provider.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code such as Pulumi, Terraform, CloudFormation, or Ansible.
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience building or maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Ability to automate using Python, PowerShell, Bash, or another programming language.
• Experience with Linux and/or Windows environments.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• Understanding of CI/CD, automation, and shift-left engineering practices.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with others.
• Strong communication, ownership, and technical judgment.

Nice to Have

Experience with any of the following is helpful, but not required:

Kubernetes/EKS, Helm, Argo CD, Datadog, Grafana, Prometheus, networking and DNS, REST or GraphQL APIs, .NET, Node.js, Python development, DevSecOps, SRE practices, MCP servers, or AI agent/tool integrations.

How We Work

We value engineers who:

• Shift left and automate recurring problems.
• Own outcomes, not just assigned tasks.
• Keep learning and adapt as technology changes.
• Embrace ambiguity and work through unfamiliar problems.
• Choose simplicity over unnecessary complexity.
• Use AI effectively while validating its work.
• Think about the customer and the reliability of the systems they depend on.
• Share knowledge and help the team improve.

Why Black Book?

Black Book offers the scale and stability of Hearst while giving engineers the opportunity to work across modern cloud, Kubernetes, automation, data, and AI technologies.

Benefits include comprehensive health coverage, 401(k) with company match, HSA contributions, paid time off, volunteer days.

If you enjoy solving hard technical problems, automating repetitive work, and improving the way engineering teams operate, we'd like to talk.