SRE Advisor, Consulting Principal

SRE Advisor, Consulting Principal

As a SRE Advisor, Consulting Principal, you will apply modern reliability principles to transform operational practices, build scalable and resilient infrastructures, and improve resource utilization. We are looking for an experienced SRE Lead to join our Technology Consulting team and ensure scalable and reliable operations by combining engineering rigor with strategic foresight.

In this role, you will:

Your role involves implementing industry-leading practices, fostering collaboration, integrating advanced technologies, and anticipating emerging trends. You will champion transformative solutions for clients and internal teams, shape operational excellence, and promote resilience.

Our goal is to assist enterprises in streamlining processes, reducing costs, and increasing efficiencies by promoting an SRE culture through coaching, upskilling, and pair programming. This position offers the opportunity to drive technical strategy and build lasting relationships within a leading global financial services company.

We seek a SRE Advisor, Consulting Principal for our Platforms Consulting team, supporting a premier global financial services client. You will architect scalable reliability solutions and provide strategic guidance to enhance operational resilience. The ideal candidate has a background in development, operations, and cloud computing, focusing on system reliability.

Responsibilities include:

• Design and implement comprehensive SRE strategies for mission-critical financial trading, risk management, and customer-facing systems
• Establish and maintain Service Level Indicators (SLIs), Service Level Objectives (SLOs), and error budgets across complex distributed architectures
• Lead incident response coordination and post-incident analysis to drive continuous improvement
• Architect monitoring, alerting, and observability solutions using industry-leading tools
• Drive automation initiatives to reduce toil and improve system reliability
• Oversee capacity planning and performance optimization for high-throughput financial applications
• Provide expert consultation to Hub and Spoke SRE teams on reliability best practices and emerging technologies
• Develop and deliver training programs to upskill distributed teams on SRE methodologies
• Collaborate with client stakeholders to align reliability objectives with business goals
• Conduct reliability assessments and provide recommendations for system improvements
• Mentor junior engineers and foster a culture of reliability engineering excellence
• Present technical strategies and outcomes to C-level executives and senior leadership
• Demonstrate thought leadership by guiding and upskilling other engineers and clients in SRE best practices; exhibit expertise with automation
• Possess a deep understanding of AWS, Azure, and/or GCP and how to leverage them (certifications a plus)
• Have past enterprise-level experience in DevOps, Software, Infrastructure, or Site Reliability Engineering
• Lead cross-functional initiatives spanning multiple geographic regions and time zones
• Establish governance frameworks for consistent SRE practices across the Hub and Spoke model
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and best practice adoption between distributed teams
• Drive cultural transformation towards reliability-first engineering practices
• Partner with DevOps, Platform Engineering, and Application Development teams

Work Model:

We strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role's business requirements, this is a remote position open to qualified applicants in the United States. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you're engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.

What you need to have to be considered:

• SRE Leads are expected to be technical leaders with extensive hands-on software engineering experience and proven expertise in leading teams of Site Reliability Engineers or other production engineering teams.
• SRE Leads must be proficient in SRE concepts, Developer Tools, the SDLC, DevSecOps, Observability systems, cloud technologies, and automation techniques.
• SRE Leads should have significant experience in team leadership and will advise senior leaders on enhancing the maturity level of their group and the organization as a whole.
• The candidate must possess excellent verbal communication and presentation skills.
• The SRE Lead should be well-versed and experienced in both the engineering and operations aspects of SRE.
• SRE Leads will serve in a horizontal leadership role across respective lines of business (LOBs) and work closely with the Site Reliability Center (SRC).
• They will support the LOBs in implementation and maturity initiatives, provide guidance on solving complex and broader problems, influence extreme automation and engineering best practices, and assist with grooming the SRE backlog.
• SRE Leads will conduct analysis, propose options, and contribute to the adoption of new operating models.
• Proven track record of leading distributed teams across multiple time zones
• Strong presentation and communication skills with the ability to influence at all organizational levels
• Experience in client-facing consulting or advisory roles
• Demonstrated ability to translate technical concepts for business stakeholders
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• 8+ years of experience in Site Reliability Engineering, DevOps, or Platform Engineering roles
• 3+ years in senior leadership or principal engineer positions
• Expert-level proficiency in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and container orchestration (Kubernetes)
• Advanced experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi)
• Proficiency in multiple programming languages (Python, Go, Java, or similar)
• Deep understanding of observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, Datadog, New Relic)
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and GitOps methodologies
• Previous experience in global IT services or consulting organizations

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.

Work Authorization: Cognizant will only consider applicants for this position who are legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship.

Salary and Other Compensation: The annual salary for this position is between $122,400 - $194,000 depending on experience and other qualification of the successful candidate. This position is also eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program and stock awards, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off.
• 401(k) plan and contributions.
• Long-term/Short-term Disability.
• Paid Parental Leave.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

What we offer:

• The chance to work with impact. Here, you're empowered to bring your biggest thinking to help our company and clients improve everyday life.
• Ownership over your career. Stay at the top of your game through our award-winning learning and development ecosystem. And when your ambitions change or we offer new opportunities, we help you pivot by providing reskilling, on-the-job learning and guidance to find new roles that might be a better fit.
• The opportunity to thrive on a high caliber team with heart. We celebrate each other's experiences and perspectives and promote a sense of belonging through our affinity groups and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• A comprehensive total rewards package, including a competitive salary and pension plan with matching contributions.
• Flexible health and financial benefits to support you and your eligible dependents from day one.
• True work-life balance. Be at your best through paid time off, flexible work arrangements, volunteering opportunities, social events, and so much more.

About us Cognizant is one of the world's leading professional services companies, transforming clients' business, operating, and