Software Engineer (Observability)
Twilio is hiring a Software Engineer (Observability) for a remote role open to applicants in Ireland. Level rates it ; you can apply on Twilio.
Level's read on this job
- Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this software engineer role: aI is not part of the work.
- The posting lists this role as remote.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include Opentelemetry, software engineering and observability.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 133 other open roles at Twilio.
AI in this role
Drives the architecture and delivery of a large-scale observability platform transformation focusing on unified telemetry and metrics.
Who we are
At Twilio, we’re shaping the future of communications, all from the comfort of our homes. We deliver innovative solutions to hundreds of thousands of businesses and empower millions of developers worldwide to craft personalized customer experiences.
Our dedication to remote-first work, and strong culture of connection and global inclusion means that no matter your location, you’re part of a vibrant team with diverse experiences making a global impact each day. As we continue to revolutionize how the world interacts, we’re acquiring new skills and experiences that make work feel truly rewarding. Your career at Twilio is in your hands.
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Hiring and how we work
We use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help make our hiring process efficient. That said, every hiring decision is made by real Twilions!
Also, while we are a remote-first company, you may be asked to report in person on an ad-hoc basis for team gatherings, functional off-sites or customer meetings.
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See yourself at Twilio
Join the team as our next Software Engineer on Twilio’s platform engineering observability team.
About the job
This position is needed to help our platform engineering observability team. Twilio is undergoing a large-scale observability transformation—and you can help shape the foundation. Observability is a strategic pillar and a key enabler for faster incident response, deeper customer-centric insights, and more cost-effective platform operations.
As a Software Engineer on the Platform Observability team, you’ll play a critical role in re-architecting how telemetry flows and is utilized through Twilio—making it structured, accessible, affordable, and actionable. Over the next 3 years, Twilio is rebuilding nearly every component of our observability platform, from data collection to real-time analytics. You will drive core initiatives that shift Twilio from fragmented tooling and wasteful data sprawl to a unified, OpenTelemetry-first observability stack built for scale.
You’ll lead technically and strategically—designing platform components, influencing org-wide architectural decisions, mentoring engineers, and engaging directly with teams across Platform Engineering and R&D
Responsibilities
In this role, you’ll:
- Lead the end-to-end architecture and delivery of key observability platform components, with a focus on reliability, scalability, and usability.
- Drive consistency and quality across all observability signals—logs, metrics, traces, and continuous profiling—building intuitive workflows for engineers.
- Serve as a technical advisor and mentor across the platform org, guiding design decisions and aligning cross-team efforts with long-term architectural goals.
- Go deep in one or more problem areas (e.g., high-cardinality telemetry, distributed tracing correlation, compute cost insights), while ensuring the platform scales horizontally.
- Collaborate with product teams, SREs, and developer experience groups to deeply understand telemetry needs and integrate observability into core engineering workflows.
- Design and build developer-friendly tooling and APIs to support incident response, performance analysis, and platform debugging at scale.
- Leverage (and optionally contribute to) open-source standards like OpenTelemetry to ensure interoperability and extensibility.
- Champion a pragmatic approach to observability—balancing performance, cost, and user value across diverse engineering teams.
Qualifications
Twilio values diverse experiences from all kinds of industries, and we encourage everyone who meets the required qualifications to apply. If your career is just starting or hasn't followed a traditional path, don't let that stop you from considering Twilio. We are always looking for people who will bring something new to the table!
*Required:
- Proven expertise in building and scaling observability systems (e.g., logging platforms, metrics pipelines, tracing infrastructure, or profiling tools).
- Lead technical execution for major components of Twilio’s observability overhaul, including our shift to centralized S3-based data lakes, OpenTelemetry instrumentation, and ClickHouse-backed query engines.
- Proficiency in at least one modern programming language (e.g., Go, Python, Java).
- Familiarity with high-cardinality data challenges and telemetry correlation techniques.
- Experience designing high-scale telemetry systems (e.g., Prometheus, ClickHouse, OpenTelemetry, Kafka, or equivalent).
- Solid understanding of distributed systems and the challenges of observability in complex, microservice-based environments.
- Experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-code tools.
- Provide architectural guidance and thought leadership across teams, helping to establish clear telemetry standards, efficient usage patterns, and scalable platform abstractions.
- Ability to make forward-looking technical decisions and lead others through ambiguity and chan
Desired:
- Familiarity with ClickHouse, Grafana Mimir, Athena, or equivalent systems for log and metrics querying.
- Contributions to open-source observability tools or communities.
- Experience building cost visibility or FinOps tooling for cloud compute and telemetry pipelines.
Location
This role will be remote from Ireland.
Travel
We prioritize connection and opportunities to build relationships with our customers and each other. For this role, you may be required to travel occasionally to participate in project or team in-person meetings.
What We Offer
Working at Twilio offers many benefits, including competitive pay, generous time off, ample parental and wellness leave, healthcare, a retirement savings program, and much more. Offerings vary by location.
Twilio thinks big. Do you?
We like to solve problems, take initiative, pitch in when needed, and are always up for trying new things. That's why we seek out colleagues who embody our values — something we call Twilio Magic. Additionally, we empower employees to build positive change in their communities by supporting their volunteering and donation efforts.
So, if you're ready to unleash your full potential, do your best work, and be the best version of yourself, apply now! If this role isn't what you're looking for, please consider other open positions.
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Stay alert to recruitment fraud
We care about your safety. Scammers sometimes impersonate Twilio recruiters through fake job postings, emails, websites, or messages. Please ensure you are engaging with an official @twilio.com email address. We will never ask for payment, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or banking information during the recruiting process. We do not make job offers without a formal interview process or conduct interviews exclusively through text-based messaging apps.
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Twilio is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Additionally, Twilio participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.
How we rate this
Software Engineer (Observability) at Twilio rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Also common in software engineer jobs at this level
Pay
- Typical software engineer job
- $168k
This posting doesn't list pay. Use the typical software engineer figure when pay comes up. See software engineer jobs
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where software engineering was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where observability was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where telemetry was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where architecture was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Software Engineering, Observability, Distributed Systems, Telemetry, and Architecture. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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