Infrastructure Operations Engineer

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems—designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction. Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in. We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London.

The people who thrive here are builders who move fast, communicate openly, take ownership, and continuously improve themselves, their teams, and our company. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• Move with Urgency: We move quickly, make thoughtful decisions, and keep momentum. We value action over perfection and learn by shipping.
• Take Ownership: We own outcomes, not just our individual work. We make decisions that move the company forward and follow through.
• Communicate Openly: We communicate directly, seek to understand, and create clarity for others. Honest conversations help us move faster together.
• Build Great Teams: We lead by example, empower others, and create healthy teams where people can do their best work.
• Raise the Bar: We're always improving ourselves. We learn from feedback, consistently challenge ourselves to grow, and focus on the work that matters most.
• Think Long-Term: We design for what's next. We create scalable systems, simplify complexity, and use AI and automation to amplify our impact.

Lightning AI is seeking an experienced Infrastructure Operations Engineer to help scale and operate our next-generation AI infrastructure platform. Our InfraOps team sits at the center of reliability, automation, and operational scale for GPU infrastructure. This team owns break/fix operations, incident response, customer provisioning, observability, and the automation systems that keep complex infrastructure running efficiently. In this role, you’ll work hands-on with large-scale GPU environments, Linux systems, bare metal infrastructure, provisioning workflows, and platform reliability. You’ll partner closely with Infrastructure Engineering, Network Operations, and Software Platform teams to troubleshoot issues, improve operational efficiency, and build automation that reduces manual toil over time. This role is based in one of our hubs (NYC, SF, Seattle, or London), with a minimum of 2 in-office days per week and occasional team and company offsites. We are not able to provide visa sponsorship for this position at this time.

At the direction of the Manager of Infrastructure Operations, you will:

• Design, build, and roll out new platforms and patterns to minimize incidents and enable customer facing and internal features.
• Deploy updates and improvements to support both Voltage Park’s internal and end customer use cases.
• Collaborate with colleagues in Infrastructure Engineering, Network Operations, Customer Success and Software and Platform Development Teams.
• Participate in the on-call rotation which is evenly distributed across all team members in a primary / secondary pattern.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years working with Linux as a server / hosting platform, extra points for Ubuntu experience.
• 5+ years experience with AWS.
• 2+ years experience with Kubernetes and strong container fundamentals.
• 2+ years experience with Terraform and Ansible.
• 2+ years with network attached storage management (via NFS, ceph, or other protocols). Extra points for experience with VAST storage systems.
• Experience with monitoring systems (Prometheus, ELK stack).
• Familiarity with the gitops workflow.
• Software development experience using Python, Go, bash, or other languages for the purposes of automation & connecting systems & APIs together.
• Deep networking fundamentals, extra points for experience with datacenter level networks, 400Gb ethernet, and Infiniband.
• Experience building and delivering complex systems.
• Effective at navigating tradeoffs between design, risk, cost, and outcomes.
• Comfortable with navigating ambiguity.
• Strong written and oral communication.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Experience with bare metal hardware troubleshooting and provisioning, extra points for working with Dell hardware.
• Experience with GPU servers, both in bare metal form or under virtualization.
• Deep experience with network switches, routers, and firewalls, particularly SONiC switches, Palo Alto firewalls and Juniper Networks as vendors.
• Experience with VAST storage systems.

Compensation: We are committed to offering competitive compensation that reflects the value each team member brings to our mission. Final offers are based on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, and role expectations. In addition to base salary, our total rewards package for eligible roles includes a discretionary bonus, a meaningful equity component, and comprehensive benefits. The anticipated annual base salary range for this role is: $160,000 — $200,000 USD.

Benefits and Perks: We offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package designed to support our employees’ health, well-being, and long-term success:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and eligible dependents.
• Meaningful Equity: RSUs that give employees a stake in the company's long-term success.
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) matching (U.S.) and pension contributions (U.K.).
• Flexible Time Off: Unlimited PTO, company holidays, and floating holidays to support work-life balance.
• Company-Wide Winter Break: Two weeks of company closure each winter to disconnect and recharge.
• Paid Parental & Family Leave: Paid leave to support you and your family through life's important moments.
• Professional Development: Annual learning and development allowance to support your professional growth.
• Wellness Benefits: Wellness and work-from-home stipends to support your physical and mental well-being.
• Sabbatical Program: Four weeks of paid sabbatical leave after four years of service.
• Flexible Work: Flexible schedules and a hybrid work model for our office-based teams.
• In-Office Meals: Complimentary meals at our office hubs.

Benefits may vary by location, team, and role. At Lightning AI, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We believe that diverse teams drive innovation and create better products. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We are dedicated to building a culture where everyone can thrive and contribute to their fullest potential.