At a Glance
- Tasks: Manage and optimise Kubernetes infrastructure while supporting ~300 microservices.
- Company: Join Depop, a vibrant tech company focused on innovation and collaboration.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, competitive salary, health perks, and generous leave policies.
- Other info: Dynamic work environment with excellent growth opportunities and a supportive culture.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by enhancing platform reliability and developer experience.
- Qualifications: Strong Kubernetes and AWS experience, plus skills in CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 € per year.
The Platform Applications team owns and operates the infrastructure that almost every product engineering team at Depop builds on - Kubernetes (EKS), the Linkerd service mesh, CI/CD pipelines, container patterns/practices, and observability stewardship via Datadog.
As an engineer on this team, you would be working to keep Depop's ~300 microservices running reliably while driving improvements that help the wider engineering organisation ship faster and safer. Day to day, that means managing EKS cluster upgrades, building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, hardening container images, maintaining self-hosted infrastructure, and improving the deployment toolchain.
You would be hands-on with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Crossplane), Karpenter autoscaling, and Kubernetes internals, whilst also thinking about how your work reduces friction for the engineers who depend on the platform every day. The role blends deep infrastructure expertise with a product mindset— the team's customers are internal engineers, and success is measured by pipeline reliability, deployment speed, developer sentiment, and vulnerability reduction, not just uptime.
Responsibilities
- Kubernetes (EKS)
- Cluster management, upgrades, and lifecycle across all environments (dev, staging, prod, ops)
- Node group configuration and autoscaling via Karpenter
- Disaster recovery planning for Kubernetes workloads
- CI/CD
- Owning the "how code gets to production" path
- Owning the "how database schemas are updated" path
- Maintaining Jenkins pipelines (legacy) and building GitHub Actions workflows (migration target)
- Self-hosted runner fleet management (ARC runner scale sets on EKS)
- Pipeline optimisation—speed, reliability, failure rate reduction
- Building robust CI/CD for future business scale
- Containerisation
- ECR container registry—lifecycle policies, access controls, vulnerability scanning
- Secure-by-default base images—reducing supply chain risk and vulnerability counts
- Container image build and publish workflows
- Observability Stewardship (Datadog)
- Setting observability standards—naming conventions, tagging, dashboard structure
- Cost management and optimisation
- Onboarding support for teams adopting Datadog features
- Maintaining shared dashboards and monitors for platform health
- Building best-in-class observability patterns
- Infrastructure as Code & GitOps
- Terraform for infrastructure provisioning
- Crossplane for GitOps-based GitHub repository management
- Maintaining compliance guardrails across the repository estate
- Platform Reliability
- Monitoring and responding to platform-level issues (ingress, runners, mesh, clusters)
- BAU maintenance—patching, upgrades, security remediations
- Supporting ~300 microservices and ~11,600 production deployments per period at 100% success rate
- Supporting the Wider Org
- Ad hoc SME support for product engineering teams
- Collaborating with other platform teams to maintain alignment with our Platform Strategy
Requirements
- Strong experience with Kubernetes in production—cluster operations, troubleshooting, resource management, autoscaling
- Hands-on experience with AWS (EKS, EC2, IAM, ECR, RDS, EBS) or equivalent cloud provider at scale
- Solid Infrastructure as Code skills—Terraform in particular
- Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or similar)
- Comfortable with containerisation—Docker, image builds, registry management, supply chain security concepts
- Strong understanding of networking fundamentals—DNS, load balancing, TLS, ingress, service discovery
- Experience with observability tooling—metrics, logs, traces, alerting (Datadog preferred but Prometheus/Grafana/similar acceptable)
- Proficient in at least one scripting/automation language (Python, Go, Bash)
- Comfortable working in a Linux environment
- Experience operating infrastructure supporting microservices architectures
- Strong debugging and incident response skills—able to diagnose issues across distributed systems under pressure
Preferred
- Experience with Linkerd or similar service mesh (Istio, Cilium)
- Experience with Karpenter or other Kubernetes autoscaling solutions (Cluster Autoscaler, KEDA)
- Familiarity with Helm for Kubernetes package management
- Experience with GitOps workflows (Crossplane, ArgoCD, Flux)
- Exposure to Backstage or other internal developer portals
- Experience with hardened container image solutions
- Understanding of compliance and security in a CI/CD context—OIDC, IAM roles, branch protection, audit logging
- Experience managing self-hosted CI/CD runners at scale
- Familiarity with the Scala or Node.js/TypeScript build ecosystems (as a consumer, not necessarily a developer)
- Experience with incident management tooling and on-call practices
- Exposure to developer experience as a discipline—thinking about internal engineers as your users
Qualities
- Product mindset applied to infrastructure—thinks about the engineer experience, not just the system
- Comfortable balancing BAU maintenance with longer-term strategic work
- Able to communicate technical decisions clearly to non-platform engineers
- Pragmatic approach to trade-offs—knows when "good enough" beats "perfect"
- Comfortable working across a broad surface area rather than deep in one niche
Additional information
- Health + Mental Wellbeing: PMI and cash plan, healthcare access with Bupa, subsidised counselling and coaching with Self Space, Cycle to Work scheme with options from Evans or the Green Commute Initiative. Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for 24/7 confidential support, Mental Health First Aiders across the business for support and signposting.
- Work/Life Balance: 25 days annual leave with option to carry over up to 5 days, 1 company-wide day off per quarter, impact hours: up to 2 days additional paid leave per year for volunteering. Fully paid 4-week sabbatical after completion of 5 years of consecutive service with Depop, to give you a chance to recharge or do something you love.
- Flexible Working: MyMode hybrid-working model with Flex, Office Based, and Remote options—role dependent. All offices are dog-friendly. Ability to work abroad for 4 weeks per year in UK tax treaty countries.
- Family Life: 18 weeks of paid parental leave for full-time regular employees, IVF leave, shared parental leave, and paid emergency parent/carer leave.
- Learn + Grow: budgets for conferences, learning subscriptions, and more. Mentorship and programmes to upskill employees.
- Your Future: Life Insurance (financial compensation of 3x your salary), pension matching up to 6% of qualifying earnings. Depop Extras: Employees enjoy free shipping on their Depop sales within the UK. Special milestones are celebrated with gifts and rewards!
Platform Engineer employer: Depop
Depop is an exceptional employer that prioritises the well-being and growth of its employees, offering a vibrant work culture that embraces flexibility and innovation. With a strong focus on mental health support, generous leave policies, and opportunities for professional development, employees are empowered to thrive both personally and professionally. Located in a dynamic environment, Depop fosters collaboration and creativity, making it an ideal place for those looking to make a meaningful impact in the tech industry.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Platform Engineer
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former employees at Depop on LinkedIn. A friendly chat can give you insider info and maybe even a referral, which can really boost your chances.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills in real-time! Consider contributing to open-source projects or creating your own GitHub repo that showcases your expertise with Kubernetes, CI/CD, or Terraform. This hands-on experience speaks volumes.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for the interview by brushing up on your problem-solving skills. Expect technical questions that test your knowledge of Kubernetes and CI/CD pipelines. Practise explaining your thought process clearly—it's all about showing how you think!
✨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 genuinely interested in joining the team at Depop.
We think you need these skills to ace Platform Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Platform Engineer role. Highlight your experience with Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and any relevant cloud technologies. We want to see how your skills align with what we do at Depop!
Show Off Your Projects:If you've worked on any cool projects involving infrastructure as code or containerisation, don’t hold back! Share specific examples that demonstrate your hands-on experience. This helps us understand your practical skills and how you approach problem-solving.
Be Clear and Concise:When writing your application, keep it clear and to the point. Use bullet points where possible to make it easy for us to read. We appreciate a well-structured application that gets straight to the good stuff!
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to the right people. Plus, it shows us you're keen on joining our team at Depop!
How to prepare for a job interview at Depop
✨Know Your Kubernetes Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your Kubernetes knowledge, especially around cluster operations and troubleshooting. Be ready to discuss your hands-on experience with EKS and how you've managed resource allocation and autoscaling in production environments.
✨Showcase Your CI/CD Pipeline Skills
Prepare to talk about your experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, particularly with GitHub Actions or Jenkins. Highlight specific examples where you've optimised pipeline speed and reliability, as this will resonate well with the team’s focus on deployment efficiency.
✨Demonstrate a Product Mindset
Remember, the engineers you'll be supporting are your 'customers'. Think about how your work impacts their experience and be ready to share examples of how you've improved developer sentiment or reduced friction in previous roles.
✨Be Ready for Technical Scenarios
Expect to face technical scenarios during the interview. Brush up on your debugging skills and be prepared to discuss how you've handled incidents in distributed systems. This will show your ability to perform under pressure and your understanding of platform reliability.
