Team Enablement & Developer Advocacy

Blackhawk Network is seeking an exceptional Staff Platform Engineer specializing in Observability to join our platform engineering team. This role combines deep technical expertise in modern observability tools and practices with strong enablement and advocacy skills. You will be the cornerstone of our observability platform, building world-class monitoring and observability solutions while serving as a trusted advisor and mentor to engineering teams across the organization.

As a Staff Platform Engineer focused on Observability, you will architect, configure, and maintain our enterprise observability stack while empowering teams to leverage these tools effectively. You will act as a developer advocate for the o11y domain, bridging the gap between complex observability technologies and engineering teams through hands-on enablement, training, and collaboration. Your work will be essential in ensuring our payment systems maintain the highest standards of reliability, performance, and operational excellence.

Team Enablement & Developer Advocacy

• Serve as the primary observability advocate, educating and enabling engineering teams on best practices for instrumentation, monitoring, and troubleshooting
• Design and deliver training programs, workshops, and hands-on sessions to upskill teams on modern observability practices
• Partner with development teams to implement effective instrumentation strategies and improve system observability
• Create comprehensive documentation, runbooks, and self-service guides that empower teams to leverage the observability platform independently
• Act as a trusted technical advisor, working closely with teams to diagnose complex production issues and optimize application performance
• Build and nurture a community of practice around observability, fostering knowledge sharing and continuous improvement

Technical Leadership & Innovation

• Define and evolve observability standards, patterns, and best practices across the organization
• Evaluate and integrate emerging observability tools and technologies to continuously improve our monitoring capabilities
• Collaborate with SRE, DevOps, and development teams to ensure observability is embedded into the software development lifecycle
• Drive initiatives to improve mean time to detection (MTTD) and mean time to resolution (MTTR) through better observability practices
• Mentor platform engineers and contribute to the growth of observability expertise within the organization, This role uniquely combines deep technical engineering expertise with developer advocacy and enablement responsibilities. You won't just build and maintain observability infrastructure-you'll be the trusted guide who helps teams understand and leverage these powerful tools. You'll have the opportunity to shape how hundreds of engineers across Blackhawk Network approach observability, directly impacting the reliability and performance of systems that process millions of transactions daily. If you're passionate about both the technical intricacies of modern observability platforms and the human aspect of teaching and empowering others, this role offers the perfect blend of both worlds. Blackhawk Network is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives drive innovation. We believe that great observability isn't just about tools-it's about empowering people to build more reliable, performant systems. Join us in building the next generation of payment infrastructure while helping teams succeed through world-class observability practices.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or related field (or equivalent experience)

• 6+ years of hands-on experience in Platform Engineering, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering, or similar roles

• Expert-level knowledge of modern observability tools including New Relic, Splunk, Coralogix, Datadog, or similar enterprise o11y platforms

• Deep understanding of observability pipelines and data processing frameworks (e.g., OpenTelemetry, Fluentd, Vector, Logstash)

• Proven experience configuring and optimizing modern observability stacks in production environments at scale

• Strong expertise in AWS cloud platforms and services, particularly CloudWatch, X-Ray, AWS Config, and CloudTrail

• Demonstrated ability to enable and mentor teams through training, documentation, and hands-on guidance

• Experience with infrastructure as code tools (Terraform, CloudFormation) for managing observability infrastructure

• Solid understanding of distributed systems, microservices architectures, and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, Bash, or similar for automation and tooling Technical Skills

• Deep knowledge of observability pillars: metrics, logs, traces, and events

• Experience instrumenting applications using APM agents, OpenTelemetry SDKs, and custom metrics

• Understanding of query languages (PromQL, SPL, NRQL, LogQL) for data analysis and alerting

• Expertise in building effective dashboards and visualization strategies

• Knowledge of service mesh technologies (Istio, Linkerd) and their observability capabilities

• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and integrating observability into deployment processes

• Experience with Java-based applications and application frameworks (Apache, Tomcat)

• Understanding of networking fundamentals, cloud security, and compliance requirements Leadership & Soft Skills

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences

• Strong mentoring and coaching abilities, with a passion for enabling others to succeed

• Proven track record of building collaborative relationships across engineering teams

• Self-motivated with strong problem-solving skills and analytical thinking

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, agile environment with changing priorities

• Commitment to documentation, knowledge sharing, and building sustainable solutions

• Experience presenting to technical and non-technical stakeholders Preferred Skills

• AWS Certifications such as Solutions Architect (Associate/Professional), DevOps Engineer Professional, or SysOps Administrator

• Experience with chaos engineering and resilience testing practices

• Knowledge of SLI/SLO/SLA frameworks and error budget management

• Experience with FinOps practices and cost optimization for observability tools

• Contributions to open-source observability projects or active participation in o11y communities

• Experience with event-driven architectures and serverless technologies (Lambda, Step Functions, SNS/SQS)

• Background in building internal developer platforms or platform-as-a-product initiatives

• Familiarity with GitOps practices and tools (ArgoCD, Flux)

• Experience with synthetic monitoring and user experience monitoring (RUM)

• Knowledge of machine learning applications in observability (AIOps, anomaly detection)

Salary Range for California Residents Only: $138,140.00 to $186,500.00

Salary Range for Illinois Residents Only: $113,300.00 to $152,971.00

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, Blackhawk Network offers benefits including 401k with employer match, medical, dental, vision, 12 paid holidays in the year 2026, 1 hour of sick pay accrual for every 30 hours worked, parental leave, life insurance, disability insurance, accident and illness insurance, health and dependent care flexible spending accounts, wellness benefits, and flexible time off for all full-time employees.

Today, through BHN's single global platform, businesses of all kinds can tap into the world's largest network of branded payment solutions. BHN helps businesses grow revenue, increase loyalty, motivate and reward their teams, disburse funds and engage consumers. Branded payment solutions include the issuance and distribution of gift cards, egifts, corporate payouts and rewards, along with the technology to deliver these products in seamless, integrated ways. BHN's network spans the globe with more than 400,000 consumer touchpoints. Learn more at BHN.com. Hybrid flexibility: At Blackhawk Network, you'll enjoy the best of both worlds-focused remote work plus in-person collaboration on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, our regular in-office days at our Pleasanton headquarters. This rhythm gives you the tools, connection, and autonomy you need to make a real impact. Overview: Today, through BHN's single global platform, businesses of all kinds can tap into the world's largest network of branded payment solutions. BHN helps businesses grow revenue, increase loyalty, motivate and reward their teams, disburse funds and engage consumers. Branded payment solutions include the issuance and distribution of gift cards, egifts, corporate payouts and rewards, along with the technology to deliver these products in seamless, integrated ways. BHN's network spans the globe with more than 400,000 consumer touchpoints.