About the Role
Natera is seeking a visionary and highly technical Manager of Platform Engineering to lead the backbone of our global infrastructure and drive the evolution of our cloud ecosystem. In this pivotal leadership role, you are not simply managing a team; you are the Product Manager of our Cloud Ecosystem, overseeing three high-performing and critical workstreams: Cloud Engineering, Orchestration, and Kafka. Our team consists of elite engineers, including Staff-level experts, who are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in cloud-native environments. At Natera, we don't just provide infrastructure; we build an AI-native Internal Developer Platform (IDP) designed to empower every engineering team in the company. Your mission is to ensure that our cloud environment doesn't just support workloads, but makes deploying, managing, and scaling them effortless, secure, and reliable.We operate with a firm Platform as a Product philosophy. This means you will treat our internal developers as your primary customers, proactively seeking to understand their friction points and delivering a seamless, self-service experience that balances rapid speed with enterprise-grade guardrails. Reporting directly to the Director of Platform Engineering, you will have the autonomy to define the strategic roadmap, align diverse stakeholders across the organization, and lead your team to execute on a vision that directly impacts Natera’s ability to innovate at scale in the healthcare and biotechnology space. You will be responsible for setting the North Star for the department, ensuring that our technical architecture remains ahead of the curve as we continue to scale our operations globally.
Key ResponsibilitiesAs the Manager of Platform Engineering, you will take full ownership of the infrastructure product lifecycle, ensuring technical excellence and high developer satisfaction across the organization.
- Strategic Vision and Roadmap: Own and refine the multi-year roadmap for Natera’s Cloud, Orchestration, and Kafka ecosystems, ensuring they align with broader business goals and handle technical debt effectively.
- Platform as a Product: Act as the primary advocate for the developer experience, conducting internal research to identify bottlenecks and building self-service tools that enhance engineering velocity.
- Team Leadership and Mentorship: Manage and grow three critical workstreams, providing technical guidance and career development for elite engineers and Staff-level contributors.
- AI-Native IDP Development: Oversee the construction and maintenance of an AI-native Internal Developer Platform that automates routine tasks and provides robust guardrails for deployment.
- Operational Stability: Ensure the reliability, security, and performance of production environments, closing out high-impact projects while maintaining 24/7 stability for Natera’s life-saving services.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Partner with engineering leads and product owners across the company to ensure the platform meets the evolving needs of various business units.
The successful candidate will bring a blend of deep technical infrastructure knowledge and sophisticated product management skills, specifically within a remote-first, high-growth engineering environment.
- Professional Experience: Minimum of 8+ years in Cloud, Platform, or Infrastructure Engineering, with at least 2-3 years in a leadership or management capacity.
- Technical Proficiency: Deep expertise in cloud ecosystems (AWS preferred), container orchestration (Kubernetes), and event-streaming technologies like Kafka.
- Product Mindset: Proven ability to treat internal infrastructure as a product, utilizing metrics and user feedback to drive roadmap prioritization.
- Leadership Ability: Experience managing high-performing, senior-level individual contributors and a track record of fostering a culture of accountability and innovation.
- Problem Solving: A data-driven approach to solving complex architectural challenges while balancing short-term delivery with long-term technical health.
- Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
Natera provides a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, wealth, and professional growth of our employees in a remote-first environment.
- Flexible Work: 100% remote opportunity with the ability to work from anywhere in the United States.
- Health Coverage: Premium medical, dental, and vision insurance plans for you and your dependents.
- Retirement: 401(k) plan with competitive company matching to help you secure your future.
- Equity: Generous stock options or RSU grants, allowing you to share in the long-term success of the company.
- Time Off: Generous paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and paid company holidays.
- Growth: Access to professional development budgets and opportunities to work on cutting-edge AI and cloud technologies.