Site Reliability Engineer - Observability

Join Proton and build a better internet where privacy is the default

Proton was founded in 2014 by scientists from CERN on a simple truth: privacy is a fundamental human right. Since then, we've built the world's largest encrypted email service (Proton Mail) and expanded into Proton VPN, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, and Proton Calendar — tools used by millions globally to protect their freedom, fight censorship, and keep their data safe. In some situations, Proton has literally helped save lives.

We are profitable, independent (no VC control), and selectively hire from the top ~1% of applicants. Our 700+ team members across 50+ countries come from leading organizations and elite academic backgrounds. We move fast, keep hierarchy light, and prioritize impact over optics. If you want to do meaningful work with exceptionally high-caliber people, this is it. Check our open-source projects here.

Purpose of the role:  

We're a small, tool-agnostic team that owns the observability infrastructure behind Proton's services — the logs, metrics, traces, and alerts that keep systems running smoothly for the millions of users who trust us with their privacy. We run on open-source stacks across Proton's on-premise data centers, and we dogfood heavily: we're our own first customers. We favor simple, solid solutions over large engineering efforts, and we believe good systems emerge iteratively. You'll join a group that values frank, open communication and a problem-solving mentality — if you want narrow scope and a fixed backlog, this isn't the right fit.

Tech Stack and Tools

• Languages: Python, Go
• Observability: open-source stacks for logs, metrics, traces, alerting; OpenTelemetry
• Orchestration: Kubernetes
• GitOps: ArgoCD
• Infrastructure-as-code: Terraform, Ansible, Puppet
• Storage at scale: ClickHouse
• Platform: Linux, on-premise data centers

What You'll Do

• Design, deploy, and operate observability pipelines for logs, metrics, traces, and alerts across Proton's services using open-source technologies.
• Partner with development and platform teams to ship practical alerting, dashboarding, and integration solutions that engineers actually rely on.
• Build reusable templates and tooling that streamline onboarding, incident response, and analysis.
• Champion observability best practices across teams and raise the bar for how Proton instruments its systems.
• Build AI-powered tooling that sharpens detection, analysis, and response capabilities.
• Evolve the observability platform iteratively to meet the real needs of internal stakeholders.

Who You Are

• Extensive experience in an SRE, DevOps, or Platform Engineering role.
• Comfortable writing Python and/or Go for tooling and automation.
• Hands-on experience operating open-source observability stacks (logs, metrics, traces, alerting).
• Working knowledge of Kubernetes and GitOps workflows.
• Practical experience with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Ansible, Puppet, or similar) and solid Linux system administration skills.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with OpenTelemetry.
• Experience running ClickHouse for log and metric storage at scale.
• Interest in or experience with AI/ML tooling.

What We Offer

• Work that Matters: millions of people trust Proton with their privacy. We answer only to our users — not advertisers, not investors with conflicting agendas, not governments. The work you do here is real, and the impact is measurable. (read more about our impact here)

• Salary Range  : Paris - Base Annual Gross - 50,000€ to 77,000€ - Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate's qualifications, skills, and previous experience. 

• Stock Options: at Proton, we all have the opportunity to be owners of the company. From day one, you have a real stake in what we're building. When Proton wins, you win.

• Technology: you'll get the right hardware and the right software you need to do your best work.

• Learning & Development: we invest in your growth because sharp people make us better. Proton is one of the fastest ways to accelerate your career because you'll be thrown into real challenges, with real ownership, from day one.

• Employee Benefits: your wellbeing isn't an afterthought. We offer strong health coverage, solid retirement options, generous leave, and wellness support so you can bring your best self to work every day

• Office First: Proton is an office-first company. We expect you to spend most of your time in the office, and while we do offer some flexibility to work from home, we believe in-person collaboration helps us build the best products.

• Food: Lunch and snacks are on us every day in our offices so you can focus on the work and not on what's for lunch.

• Transport: getting to the office shouldn't cost you. We cover public transport, bike allowances, or parking, whichever works for you.

• Flexible Working: you own your schedule. Set hours that work for you and your team — because outcomes matter more than when the clock says you started.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Proton, we believe diversity drives innovation and strengthens our mission to provide privacy as a default for all. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, or socio-economic background, feel valued and empowered. We strive to create equal opportunities, promote open dialogue, and support continuous learning to ensure every voice is heard and respected.

If you need any extra support or reasonable adjustments during the hiring process, please let your talent partner know.

Candidate Privacy Notice

When you apply for a position, refer a candidate, or are considered for a role at Proton Technologies AG (Proton, we, us, or our), your information is stored in Greenhouse, in accordance with their Service Privacy Policy. This information is used to evaluate your suitability for the posted position. We also retain this information for consideration for future roles that you may apply for or that we believe may align with your background and skills.

If we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your information, we will either delete or anonymize it. Should you have any inquiries about how we use or manage your information, or if you wish to access, correct, or delete your data, please contact our privacy team at careers@proton.ch.

Proton does not accept unsolicited resumes from any sources other than directly from candidates. We will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from an unsolicited offer, even if the candidate is subsequently hired by Proton.

To learn more about our privacy policy, please visit our privacy policy page.

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