At a Glance
- Tasks: Join our Core Platform team to optimise and scale our backend infrastructure for millions of users.
- Company: Resident Advisor, a leading music media brand in the electronic scene since 2001.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, generous leave, wellness initiatives, and a vibrant company culture.
- Why this job: Tackle exciting challenges while shaping the tech that powers a global music community.
- Qualifications: Experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and SQL databases; coding skills are a must!
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team committed to innovation and community engagement.
The predicted salary is between 62000 - 72000 £ per year.
Founded in 2001, Resident Advisor (RA) is one of the world’s longest-running music media brands and a cornerstone of the dance, electronic and DJ ecosystem. The site’s audience of over 7 million monthly users is drawn in by a combination of news, editorial, club listings and ticketing, RA-branded events at venues and festivals worldwide, original films and a weekly mix series that has run for 20 years.
Purpose Of The Role
Our Core Platform team is seeking a Senior Site Reliability Engineer to help scale and optimise our high-traffic backend infrastructure, which faces unique technical challenges due to massive traffic spikes during peak on-sale events. You’ll work with a modern tech stack featuring microservices built in Node.js and .NET, supported by MSSQL and PostgreSQL databases, alongside technologies like ElasticSearch and Redis. Our infrastructure primarily runs on Kubernetes clusters hosted in AWS EKS, managed through Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, with CI/CD pipelines enabling rapid deployments. We embrace event-driven architecture patterns using Kafka and maintain a strong focus on site reliability, leveraging DataDog for comprehensive monitoring to ensure optimal performance.
In this role, you’ll be responsible for maintaining and improving the performance, availability, and reliability of our backend infrastructure. You’ll drive infrastructure modernisation initiatives while optimising for cost efficiency, and develop critical shared infrastructure components such as authentication/authorisation systems and GraphQL gateways. A key part of your impact will be enhancing the developer experience across our engineering teams, maintaining systems that enable comprehensive E2E testing, and creating internal tooling that streamlines business processes company-wide. This is an opportunity to work on challenging scale problems while shaping the technical foundation that powers our platform.
Key Responsibilities
- Managing and improving AWS infrastructure using infrastructure-as-code practices
- Database maintenance and query optimisation
- Cloud cost optimisation and resource efficiency
- Researching, planning, and leading improvements to our backend infrastructure
- Providing functional and technical training and support to developers
- Writing application code to support infrastructure tooling and shared platform services
Required Skills
- Experience working with AWS
- Experience with Kubernetes and containerised application deployment
- Experience with infrastructure-as-code technologies (Terraform preferred)
- Experience deploying and maintaining SQL-based databases (PostgreSQL or MS SQL Server)
- Experience writing production-level application code
- Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines
- Experience with git and version control workflows
- Strong documentation writing skills and commitment to knowledge sharing
- Strong interpersonal skills with openness to giving and receiving feedback
- Fluent English communication skills (written and verbal)
Desired Skills
- Experience with both PostgreSQL and MS SQL Server
- Advanced SQL query optimisation skills
- Experience deploying and maintaining Kafka for event-driven architectures
- Experience deploying and maintaining ETL pipelines
- Experience with DataDog for monitoring and alerting
- Deep understanding of Site Reliability Engineering principles and best practices
- Experience with backend languages such as C# and Node.js
- Experience with scripting languages (e.g. Bash, Python, PowerShell)
- Experience managing high-traffic systems with significant load variations
What We Offer You
- Generous annual leave policies aimed at promoting work-life balance.
- Flexibility in working arrangements, offering hybrid or remote work options based on role requirements and location.
- Matching pension schemes and/or 401k.
- Comprehensive staff wellbeing initiatives, featuring regular activities and workplace programmes to support mental and physical health.
- Company-led social events, team lunches, and discounts on RA merch.
- Paid annual volunteering allowance, encouraging contributions to community projects and charities you care about.
- Regular company-wide Q&A’s with senior leadership, along with ongoing virtual educational training sessions for all staff.
- A transparent internal company culture committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Active involvement in community projects within the electronic music community.
More About RA
As an independent company run by devoted dance music enthusiasts, our mission is to bring together the world’s electronic music communities. Our Global Content Network (GCN) and international teams help us establish connections with hyper-niche local scenes. We became B-Corp certified in 2024, which counts us among businesses leading a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy and part of a community that meets high social and environmental impact standards. We especially welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds, abilities, ethnicities, experiences, gender identities, and sexual orientations. We aim for our team to reflect the communities we engage with. We ensure everyone is valued and respected by actively promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace.
Our Values
- Electronic music is art. We celebrate the progressive values that underpin electronic music.
- We advocate for a more inclusive and equitable electronic music community.
- We honour the past, present and future of electronic music.
- We use innovation to empower the community.
- We choose honesty over gain and purpose over profit.
- We’re always front left.
This role is a full-time role.
Please note
This position requires applicants to be based in London, Manchester, Madrid or Berlin, and to work from the office three days per week. The annual salary range for this role is:
- London: £62,000 – £72,000
- Manchester: £55,000 – £65,000
- Berlin: €62,000 – €72,000
- Madrid: €62,000 – €72,000
This listing will be open for a minimum of two weeks from the 23rd of January. Please be sure to add work@ra.co to your contacts and check your junk/spam folder for emails from us.
Senior Platform Engineer in Manchester employer: Resident Advisor
Contact Detail:
Resident Advisor Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Platform Engineer in Manchester
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the industry, attend meetups, and connect with people on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects, especially those related to AWS, Kubernetes, or any tech stack mentioned in the job description. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common technical questions and scenarios relevant to site reliability engineering. Mock interviews with friends or using online platforms can help you feel more confident when it’s your turn to shine.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining our team at Resident Advisor.
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Platform Engineer in Manchester
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Senior Platform Engineer role. Highlight your experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-code practices like Terraform. We want to see how your skills align with our tech stack!
Show Off Your Projects: If you've worked on any relevant projects, don’t hold back! Share examples of your work with microservices, CI/CD pipelines, or database optimisation. This gives us a glimpse into your hands-on experience and problem-solving skills.
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it straightforward. Use clear language and avoid jargon unless it's relevant. We appreciate strong documentation skills, so show us you can communicate effectively right from the start!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to us without any hiccups. Plus, it shows you're keen on joining our team at Resident Advisor!
How to prepare for a job interview at Resident Advisor
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Familiarise yourself with the technologies mentioned in the job description, like Node.js, .NET, PostgreSQL, and AWS. Be ready to discuss your experience with these tools and how you've used them in past projects.
✨Showcase Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare examples of how you've tackled challenges related to high-traffic systems or infrastructure optimisation. Highlight your experience with Kubernetes and Terraform, and be ready to explain your thought process during these situations.
✨Emphasise Collaboration
Since this role involves enhancing the developer experience, be prepared to discuss how you've worked with cross-functional teams. Share specific instances where you provided training or support to developers, showcasing your interpersonal skills.
✨Ask Insightful Questions
Prepare thoughtful questions about the company's approach to site reliability and infrastructure modernisation. This shows your genuine interest in the role and helps you understand how you can contribute to their goals.