Application Guide

How to Apply for Senior Site Reliability Engineer

at Arcadia

🏢 About Arcadia

Arcadia is uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology and climate action, using software to democratize access to clean energy and accelerate grid decarbonization. Working here means contributing directly to combating climate change through scalable infrastructure, not just building another tech product.

About This Role

This Senior SRE role is pivotal in building and maintaining the AWS/Kubernetes platform that powers Arcadia's clean energy applications, requiring deep expertise in infrastructure-as-code and GitOps to ensure reliability at scale. You'll directly impact the company's mission by creating resilient systems that enable millions of users to access renewable energy through Arcadia's platform.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day involves reviewing Kubernetes cluster metrics in CloudWatch and Prometheus, writing Terraform modules for new AWS infrastructure, collaborating with development teams on GitOps deployment pipelines using ArgoCD, and automating operational tasks through Python scripts to reduce toil. You might troubleshoot a CNI networking issue in EKS, implement security controls using GuardDuty, and design scalable solutions for Arcadia's growing clean energy platform.

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Arcadia Is Looking For

  • Has 8-10+ years of hands-on experience specifically with AWS (EKS, IAM, VPC, CloudWatch) and Kubernetes operations including cluster upgrades, CNI troubleshooting, and GitOps deployments using ArgoCD/FluxCD
  • Demonstrates mastery of Terraform/CloudFormation for infrastructure-as-code and can show examples of reducing operational toil through Python/Bash automation
  • Has led CI/CD ecosystems across multiple tools (Jenkins with Groovy, GitHub Actions, AWS CodePipeline) and understands their tradeoffs for different deployment scenarios
  • Possesses both the technical depth to troubleshoot complex Kubernetes issues and the strategic mindset to evolve platform reliability at a climate-tech company

📝 Tips for Applying to Arcadia

1

Quantify your impact on platform reliability metrics (e.g., 'reduced MTTR by 40% through automated Kubernetes troubleshooting scripts') rather than just listing technologies

2

Highlight specific experience with AWS GuardDuty and CloudTrail for security monitoring, as Arcadia handles sensitive energy data requiring robust security posture

3

Showcase projects where you've used Terraform to manage EKS clusters in production, including upgrade strategies and disaster recovery procedures

4

Demonstrate understanding of GitOps principles with ArgoCD/FluxCD by describing a production deployment workflow you've implemented

5

Tailor your resume to emphasize climate-tech or mission-driven company experience, even if indirect, to show alignment with Arcadia's decarbonization mission

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Explain how your SRE experience directly enables scalable, reliable systems that can support Arcadia's mission of democratizing clean energy access", 'Provide a specific example of reducing operational toil through automation that freed up engineering time for feature development', 'Describe your approach to Kubernetes troubleshooting in production environments, particularly around CNI issues or workload scaling challenges', 'Connect your infrastructure-as-code experience with the need for reproducible, auditable deployments in a regulated energy sector context']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Understand Arcadia's specific products like Arcadia Community Solar and how their platform connects households to renewable energy projects
  • → Research the challenges of grid decarbonization and how software platforms enable renewable energy integration at scale
  • → Explore AWS's sustainability initiatives and how cloud infrastructure supports climate-tech companies
  • → Review Arcadia's engineering blog or tech talks to understand their current tech stack and infrastructure challenges

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk through your process for upgrading a production EKS cluster with minimal downtime, including rollback strategies
2 How would you design a GitOps workflow using ArgoCD for deploying microservices to multiple Kubernetes clusters across different AWS regions?
3 Describe a time you used CloudWatch, Prometheus, and Datadog together to identify and resolve a performance bottleneck in a distributed system
4 How would you implement security hardening for an AWS environment handling sensitive customer energy data, using GuardDuty, IAM policies, and CloudTrail?
5 What metrics would you track to measure and improve platform reliability for Arcadia's clean energy applications, and how would you automate their collection?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Listing AWS services or Kubernetes concepts without demonstrating practical, production experience with them (e.g., mentioning EKS but not discussing cluster management)
  • Focusing only on deployment speed without addressing reliability, security, or cost optimization in a mission-critical climate-tech context
  • Presenting generic infrastructure experience without tailoring it to Arcadia's specific needs around clean energy data processing and platform scalability

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Arcadia !

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