At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a team to enhance and manage global systems and data structures.
- Company: The Trade Desk, a leading tech company in digital advertising.
- Benefits: Inclusive culture, training opportunities, and cutting-edge technology.
- Other info: Diverse team environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Shape the future of infrastructure and tackle unique technical challenges.
- Qualifications: Experience with Linux and a passion for learning and innovation.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 € per year.
The Trade Desk is a global technology company and the world’s leading independent platform for digital advertising, with nearly 4,000 employees across more than 30 offices. Our technology helps advertisers reach the right audiences across the open internet — from streaming TV and podcasts to mobile apps, news, and more. Advertising powers the content people love. By making it more transparent, effective, and responsible, we help support trusted journalism, quality entertainment, and creators worldwide. The world’s brands and agencies rely on us to reach their customers and grow their businesses responsibly. The scale of our platform brings unique technical challenges — from processing massive datasets in real time to building systems that operate reliably on a global scale. When you work here, your impact is worldwide. We welcome diverse perspectives, encourage curiosity, and build teams that learn from one another. If you’re driven to solve meaningful challenges, we’d love to meet you.
We are looking to hire a Lead Systems Reliability Engineer to join our engineering team to continue building and maintaining our data-driven platform. We leverage technologies like Aerospike, MongoDB, and Kafka to perform many real-time activities, translating to a p99 latency under 1 millisecond on the back end! Do you enjoy tuning, performance testing, troubleshooting, automation, and operating at scale? Does testing next-gen hardware, evaluating data access patterns, and designing automation around distributed systems excite you?
What makes this role different
- First in the Industry: The Trade Desk is the first company to run over 5MM QPS to NVMe in Aerospike on a single node, forcing core software redesigns to achieve this scale.
- Work on Cutting-Edge Hardware: Design clusters with nodes featuring 300TB of NVMe, 3TB RAM, and 512 cores, delivering a global 2,500GB/s throughput directly from flash.
- Shape the Future of Infrastructure: Spec your own systems and collaborate directly with AMD and NoSQL vendors to run PoCs and optimize bleeding-edge technology for internet-scale workloads.
- Deep Performance Engineering: Dive into kernel, hardware, and system interactions, leveraging tools like flamegraphs, NUMA counters, BIOS tuning, and synthetic testing to achieve world-class performance.
- Push Hardware Endurance Limits: Build clusters engineered to withstand over 1 zettabyte of endurance.
What you’ll do
- Lead a team to influence, manage, and plan work streams, systems, and data structures at scale within a global ecosystem, spanning multiple infrastructure providers (cloud and traditional datacenters).
- Encourage, improve, and build infrastructure automation in a way that works with stateful systems at scale.
- Own operations for Linux-based systems running Aerospike, Kafka, and Mongo.
- Serve as a point of contact to review new use cases, answer questions, and participate in on‑call rotation.
- Learn to be a NoSQL SME. You do not need experience to apply – we will train you.
- Benchmark and analyze next generation hardware offerings.
Who you are
Skills and Experience
- Linux operating system
- Leadership experience and ability to mentor
- Troubleshooting Techniques for isolation, scientific method
- Identify bottlenecks (Is it CPU? IO?)
Nice-To-Have experience:
- Physical hardware (on-prem) internals, management, and operation
- Performing testing and tuning
- Databases (relational or NoSQL)
- Ansible/PyInfra/Chef
- Prometheus
- Kubernetes
- Python/Ruby/Rust/Bash/Golang/C#
An Empathetic, Objective, Critical Thinker: Thinking beyond the task at hand to deeply understand the 'why' behind an objective. A welcoming of ideas, and understanding of, perspectives that are different from your own and an interest in seeking and building from a common ground. You are a creative thinker, not bound by "the way things have always been done" but are thinking of the questions nobody has thought of and are "yet to be asked". What you know is less important than how well you learn, innovate, collaborate, and adapt. As a global team from many diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, you value and seek out paths for fostering diversity.
The Trade Desk is an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, The Trade Desk is committed to creating an inclusive hiring experience where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Lead Staff Systems Reliability Engineer (Linux & Distributed Systems) in London employer: The Trade Desk, Inc.
The Trade Desk is an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration, making it an ideal place for a Lead Staff Systems Reliability Engineer. With access to cutting-edge technology and the opportunity to work on global-scale challenges, employees benefit from a supportive environment that encourages professional growth and diverse perspectives. Located in a dynamic industry, The Trade Desk offers unique advantages such as hands-on experience with next-gen hardware and the chance to shape the future of digital advertising infrastructure.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Staff Systems Reliability Engineer (Linux & Distributed Systems) in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees at The Trade Desk on LinkedIn or other platforms. Ask them about their experiences and any tips they might have for landing the Lead Systems Reliability Engineer role. Personal connections can make a huge difference!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your Linux and distributed systems knowledge. Dive into performance testing, automation, and troubleshooting techniques. The more you know, the more confident you'll feel when discussing your skills with the interviewers.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your problem-solving skills during interviews. Be ready to discuss past challenges you've faced and how you tackled them. The Trade Desk values critical thinkers who can adapt and innovate, so let your creativity shine!
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, it shows you're genuinely interested in joining The Trade Desk team. Good luck!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Staff Systems Reliability Engineer (Linux & Distributed Systems) in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Lead Systems Reliability Engineer role. Highlight your Linux expertise, troubleshooting techniques, and any experience with distributed systems to catch our eye!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Use your cover letter to tell us why you're excited about this position at The Trade Desk. Share specific examples of how you've tackled challenges in the past and how you can contribute to our innovative team.
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills:In your application, don’t just list your skills—demonstrate them! Include examples of how you've identified bottlenecks or improved system performance. We love seeing creative thinkers who can tackle complex problems.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website for the best chance of getting noticed. It’s the easiest way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it reaches the right people!
How to prepare for a job interview at The Trade Desk, Inc.
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, like Linux, Aerospike, and Kafka. Brush up on your knowledge of distributed systems and be ready to discuss how you've tackled performance tuning or troubleshooting in the past.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Lead Systems Reliability Engineer, you'll need to demonstrate your leadership experience. Prepare examples of how you've mentored others or led projects, focusing on how you encouraged collaboration and innovation within your team.
✨Prepare for Technical Challenges
Expect technical questions that test your problem-solving skills. Be ready to discuss how you identify bottlenecks in systems and your approach to isolating issues. Practise explaining your thought process clearly and concisely.
✨Emphasise Your Adaptability
The Trade Desk values creative thinkers who can adapt and innovate. Share experiences where you’ve had to learn new technologies quickly or pivot your approach based on feedback. Highlight your willingness to embrace diverse perspectives and foster an inclusive environment.