ServiceNow: Sr Staff Software Engineer (Distributed Systems | Data Ingestion | Storage | Analytics) - Remote — San Diego, CALIFORNIA, United States

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow develops an enterprise software platform bringing together data, workflows and AI for business operations. Its employer introduction traces the business to automating a repetitive workplace task and describes a continuing focus on freeing people from routine work. The platform is intended to connect technology with how organisations carry out their processes. This makes workflow automation and the use of information in everyday business activity central themes, rather than a product aimed at only one industry.

The position and its setting

ServiceNow lists Sr Staff Software Engineer (Distributed Systems | Data Ingestion | Storage | Analytics) - Remote in San Diego, CALIFORNIA, United States, under reference JB0076344. The details below separate the work described by the employer from essential conditions, preferred experience and practical preparation advice.

• Department: Engineering, Infrastructure and Operations
• Employment type: Full-time
• Employer listing date: 22 October 2026
• Brands: ServiceNow

Responsibilities and work described

• Health Log Analytics (HLA) ingests, stores, and analyzes the logs that power ServiceNow's AIOps suite
• We want it to be the data backbone teams trust to find problems early and fix them fast
• HLA is a data platform for operational logs at high volume, built for ServiceNow’s large enterprise customers
• The work spans the full data path: collection and ingestion, routing and enrichment, durable storage and retention, and fast, cost-aware query
• Our ingest builds on OpenTelemetry, and we have our own Rust-based log storage
• As data volume, customer needs, and AI-driven use cases grow, we need the platform to get more reliable, more efficient, and more useful
• We're looking for a senior technical leader to help set where HLA goes next
• You'll work side by side with engineering and product leadership on the roadmap
• You'll bring a clear point of view and show it with a prototype, not just a slide
• You'll set the technical bar for experienced engineers
• You'll do it by being a great teammate, not the loudest person in the room
• Help shape the HLA roadmap with engineering, product, and leadership
• Bring both vision and a reality check
• Work: directly with customers to make sure HLA keeps delivering value as their needs change
• Turn their feedback into clear, actionable input for product and the roadmap
• Set architecture direction across ingest, storage, and query, and across teams you don't own

Essential requirements and candidate background

• To be successful in this role you have
• Experience: leveraging or critical thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision making, or problem solving
• This includes using AI powered tools, automated workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or reasoning about AI’s impact on how infrastructure is built and run
• 12+ years building and operating production distributed systems, with substantial ownership of large-scale data or platform systems
• Equivalent depth shown through sustained technical leadership counts too
• Broad grounding across data ingestion, storage and query, and AI on top of data
• Deep expertise in at least one
• Experience: ingest tools like Kafka, Pulsar, or Kinesis, and with columnar stores, time-series databases, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, or object-storage designs
• A record of changing the direction of teams you didn't own, through credibility and clear thinking
• Evidence-based judgment on AI
• You know where it belongs and where it doesn’t, and you’ve built safeguards for correctness, safety, and cost
• You’ve shipped with it, or you’re a proponent with a clear point of view
• Good judgment on tradeoffs: consistency, latency, cost, and operational burden
• Comfort with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure at scale
• Fluency: at least one of Go, Java, Scala, Rust, or Python
• You prototype and review deeply, and you write code when it counts
• Clear communication
• You can explain a tricky design to a new hire or a VP and have both of them get it
• Humble, smart, and you care about people
• You have experience working remotely and leading remote teams

Preferred experience and additional strengths

• A background in observability, log analytics, OpenTelemetry or AIOps
• Experience at an AI-native company, or building agents and LLM-based features
• Experience: multitenant SaaS and per-tenant isolation

Location, schedule and contract conditions

For this overseas or regional listing, confirm work authorisation and any location restrictions with the employer. The location does not establish visa sponsorship or permission to work remotely from India.

• Work arrangement: Remote
• Advertised location: San Diego, CALIFORNIA, United States

Employer details to confirm

• The employer’s seniority category and its stated experience requirements do not agree. Follow the role-specific requirements above rather than assuming this is a fresher opening.

Pay and application dates

A verified salary figure is not established in this article. An online estimate for another Sr Staff Software Engineer (Distributed Systems | Data Ingestion | Storage | Analytics) - Remote vacancy is not an offer for reference JB0076344; use the employer’s own pay disclosure and recruitment communication.

A closing date is not confirmed in this article. Check the current employer page before submitting: an undated posting can change or be withdrawn.

How to apply to ServiceNow

Applications follow the official employer page linked below.

Open the official ServiceNow posting below and match the title and reference JB0076344.

Compare your qualifications and experience with the essential conditions for the San Diego, CALIFORNIA, United States position, then read the preferred criteria separately.

Prepare an accurate CV and the supporting items requested in that employer’s application. Provide only information and documents you are authorised to share.

Use the employer’s application option, complete the required fields and review the submission. Retain the acknowledgement when one is provided. Job Alerts World does not receive the application.

Practical preparation: Python

Python work is easier to assess through a concrete example than a list of libraries. Explain the problem, the input data, the parts you implemented and how you checked the output. Include a repository or a short technical note when you can share it.

Relevant skills

• Python
• Java
• Kafka
• Kubernetes
• AI/ML
• LLMs
• ISO
• ServiceNow
• AI
• sales
• communication