Principal Systems Design Engineer

ServiceNow · San Francisco

Mechanical & AerospaceDigital TechnologyFull-timeposted 2w ago

Company Description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

Job Description

The role

We are seeking a hands-on Principal Infrastructure Architect & Engineer to lead the technical integrations in the core infrastructure space.

Our infrastructure environment spans networking, cloud, identity, and collaboration - and we're in the middle of integrating it all. We need someone who has done this before, knows where the landmines are, and can lead a program that involves a lot of teams who don't always agree.

Day to day, that means owning the integration roadmap, running down dependencies, and doing real technical work in your strongest domains. You won't be the only engineer on any of this but you'll be the person everyone looks to when things get complicated.

What you'll actually do

Own the integration roadmap

Not just write it - own it. That means knowing the dependencies, knowing which teams are behind, and being the person who drives things across the finish line. You'll work across networking, cloud, IAM, and collaboration simultaneously, so comfort with ambiguity and competing priorities is a given.

Technical leadership across four domains

We're not looking for someone who's equally deep in all four. We are looking for someone who is genuinely expert in two or three, and credible enough in the others to know when something's wrong and who to engage.

Domain: The actual scope

Networking

Physical, wireless, SD-WAN, VPN, cloud networking. Consistent routing and segmentation across environments. You've done this at scale.

Cloud & SRE

Multi-cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP). IaC, CI/CD, observability, SLO/SLA design. You think in automation, not tickets.

Identity & Access

Okta, Entra ID, SSO, MFA, directory sync, RBAC, PAM. You understand why identity is where integrations break.

Collaboration & Messaging

O365, Gsuite, Slack, platform migrations. The technical side is straightforward - the hard part is the change management, and you know that.

Security and compliance

SOX, GDPR, NIST, HIPAA, FedRAMP, CMMC. You won't be running the compliance program, but you need to design for it and know when you're drifting out of bounds. That pattern recognition matters more than certification depth.

Operational resilience

HA and DR need to be in the design from day one, not retrofitted. You'll own the validation framework and run the DR testing program - not as a quarterly checkbox, but as a meaningful signal that the integration actually holds.

Qualifications

To be successful in this role, you will have:

12+ years in infrastructure architecture. You've worked through at least one complex integration or M&A - the kind where the org charts don't match, the documentation is wrong, and you had to figure it out anyway.

Beyond that, a few things that predict success in this role:

You've led cross-functional technical programs where you had influence but not direct authority over most of the people doing the work.
You can hold a detailed technical conversation with an engineer and a strategic conversation with an executive - without switching personas.
You know the difference between a roadmap that's politically correct and one that's actually executable. You push for the latter.
You've made calls under incomplete information and owned the outcome either way.

Useful but not required

TOGAF, cloud, or ITIL certifications. Experience in regulated environments (FedRAMP, CMMC, HIPAA). Familiarity with ServiceNow. These add context — they're not filters.

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $192,600 - $337,100, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Additional Information

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact globaltalentss@servicenow.com for assistance.

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.