At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the strategy for cutting-edge cluster infrastructure and automation.
- Company: Join Anthropic, a leader in developing safe and beneficial AI systems.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, hybrid work model, and visa sponsorship available.
- Other info: Dynamic team environment with opportunities for mentorship and growth.
- Why this job: Shape the future of AI infrastructure and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in software engineering with expertise in distributed systems.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
About Anthropic
Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.
About the role
Anthropic's Infrastructure organization is foundational to our mission of developing AI systems that are reliable, interpretable, and steerable. The systems we build determine how quickly we can train new models, how reliably we can run safety experiments, and how effectively we can scale Claude to millions of users — demonstrating that safe, reliable infrastructure and frontier capabilities can go hand in hand.
Cluster Infra owns the full lifecycle of compute clusters at Anthropic. We build agent-driven automation for cluster provisioning and lifecycle management across all major cloud providers and our own datacenters. Our systems stand up clusters that are interconnected with high bandwidth, secure‑by‑default, and able to automatically drain and recover in response to failure. As a Staff engineer on this team, you'll set the technical direction for how Anthropic brings compute online - at a moment when the scale of that compute is growing faster than at almost any company in the world.
Key responsibilities
- Own the technical strategy and roadmap for agent‑driven cluster lifecycle management - provisioning, updates and decommissioning
- Partner across teams to ensure new compute capacity is ingested on time
- Align with partner teams on physical build‑out and leverage cloud solutions to deliver high‑bandwidth inter‑cluster connectivity
- Collaborate with security owners to ensure clusters are provisioned secure‑by‑default
- Define and drive strategy on cluster scalability, homogeneity and fault tolerance
- Work closely with cloud providers and internal research, inference and product teams to shape long‑term compute, data, and infrastructure strategy
- Establish and evolve operational‑excellence practices: incident response, postmortem culture and on‑call health
- Support the growth of engineers around you through technical mentorship and coaching
- Deep expertise in distributed systems, reliability, and cloud platforms (e.g., Kubernetes, IaC, AWS/GCP/Azure)
- Strong proficiency in at least one systems language (e.g., Rust, Go, or Python), IaC proficiency with Terraform.
- Track record of leading complex, multi‑quarter technical initiatives spanning multiple teams or systems
- Ability to build alignment across senior stakeholders and communicate effectively at all levels
Preferred qualifications
- 10+ years of software engineering experience, including time as a technical lead setting direction for a team
- Experience operating large‑scale compute infrastructure at hyperscale (100+ clusters, 10K+ nodes)
- Depth in one or more of: Kubernetes internals, cluster provisioning and management systems, cluster orchestration systems (Mesos, Borg‑like)
- Experience with cloud networking: VPC design and peering, Shared VPC/Transit Gateway, Cloud Interconnect/Direct Connect, Cloud NAT, cross‑cloud private connectivity, BGP and route control, edge load balancing and DDoS mitigation (Cloud Armor / AWS Shield)
- Experience with cluster and host networking: CNI (Cilium), eBPF, NetworkPolicy, multi‑NIC, sFlow, service mesh (Istio/Envoy/Linkerd, mTLS)
- Experience with cluster security: pod security standards and admission control, RBAC and least‑privilege IAM, node and container hardening, supply‑chain/image provenance
- Deep experience with infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform, Atlantis), workflow orchestration (Temporal, Argo Workflows)
- Skill in quickly understanding systems design tradeoffs and keeping track of rapidly evolving software systems
Logistics
- Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience
- Required field of study: A field relevant to the role as demonstrated through coursework, training, or professional experience
- Minimum years of experience: Years of experience required will correlate with the internal job level requirements for the position
- Location‑based hybrid policy: Currently, we expect all staff to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time. However, some roles may require more time in our offices.
- Visa sponsorship: We do sponsor visas! However, we aren't able to successfully sponsor visas for every role and every candidate. But if we make you an offer, we will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa, and we retain an immigration lawyer to help with this.
We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification.
Staff+ Infrastructure Engineer, Cluster Infrastructure London, UK employer: Anthropic
At Anthropic, we pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative and innovative work culture that empowers our employees to drive meaningful change in the AI landscape. Located in London, our team enjoys a dynamic environment with ample opportunities for professional growth, mentorship, and the chance to work on cutting-edge technology that prioritises safety and reliability. With a commitment to employee well-being and a supportive hybrid work policy, Anthropic is an exceptional employer for those looking to make a significant impact in the field of AI.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff+ Infrastructure Engineer, Cluster Infrastructure London, UK
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees at Anthropic on LinkedIn or other platforms. Ask them about their experiences and any tips they might have for the interview process. It’s all about making connections!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your systems knowledge. Dive deep into distributed systems, cloud platforms, and infrastructure-as-code. Practice coding challenges in languages like Rust, Go, or Python to show off your skills.
✨Tip Number 3
Show your passion for AI and infrastructure! During interviews, share your thoughts on how reliable and interpretable AI systems can be built. This will demonstrate that you’re not just looking for a job, but you genuinely care about the mission.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining the team at Anthropic. Let’s get you that dream job!
We think you need these skills to ace Staff+ Infrastructure Engineer, Cluster Infrastructure London, UK
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Staff+ Infrastructure Engineer role. Highlight your expertise in distributed systems, cloud platforms, and any relevant projects you've led.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Use your cover letter to tell us why you're passionate about building reliable AI systems. Share specific examples of how you've contributed to similar projects and how you can help Anthropic achieve its mission.
Showcase Your Technical Skills:Don’t forget to mention your proficiency in systems languages like Rust, Go, or Python, and your experience with tools like Terraform. We want to see how your technical background fits into our infrastructure needs.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it shows us you’re keen on joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Anthropic
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of distributed systems, cloud platforms, and infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform. Be ready to discuss your experience with Kubernetes and any large-scale compute infrastructure you've managed. This will show that you're not just familiar with the tech but can also apply it effectively.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Staff Engineer, you'll need to demonstrate your ability to lead complex initiatives. Prepare examples of past projects where you set the technical direction or mentored other engineers. Highlight how you built alignment across teams and communicated effectively with stakeholders at all levels.
✨Understand Anthropic's Mission
Familiarise yourself with Anthropic’s mission to create reliable and interpretable AI systems. Think about how your role in infrastructure can support this mission. Being able to connect your technical expertise to their goals will make you stand out as a candidate who truly understands the company’s vision.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving skills in real-world scenarios. Think through potential challenges related to cluster lifecycle management, security, and scalability. Practising these scenarios will help you articulate your thought process and decision-making skills during the interview.
