Southwest Airlines
SoftwareEngineer–AIOps
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optimal for Mid candidates.
“Software Engineer – AI Ops at Southwest Airlines. Skills: AI Ops, AWS, Python, Java, Observability, CI/CD, IaC, SRE. operating and supporting AWS‑based AI workloads at the L1/L2 level. serving as a first responder for production issues”
Industry & Context.
Identify and resolve issues that arise during the design, testing and maintenance processes using problem-solving skills; Ability to analyze and manage large, complex, and vague Business or technical problems, articulating the problem or root cause, and translating the analysis into viable solution recommendations
Ability to work extended hours as needed
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
Intermediate-level experience, fully functioning broad knowledge in software engineering, 2-5 years of relevant work-related experience, 5+ years in production support / SRE for cloud or AI/ML applications, 4+ years in Python or Java—debugging, profiling, fixing production issues, 4+ years in Cloud-native AWS—Lambda, ECS/EKS, API Gateway, DynamoDB, S3, 3+ years in Observability—Datadog/CloudWatch/OTel, log/metric/trace analysis, 3+ years in CI/CD, IaC basics (Terraform), and SRE practices—SLOs, error budgets, Intermediate knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies, Ability to demonstrate consistent knowledge application, skills of software development, and testing to solve a range of problems, Intermediate knowledge of at least one required programming language, Ability to partner, communicate, and negotiate with various Technology or partner Teams, Ability to analyze and manage large, complex, and vague Business or technical problems, articulating the problem or root cause, and translating the analysis into viable solution recommendations, Ability to take on multiple assignments, whether administrative or project related, while maintaining a successful level of completion in all responsible work, Ability to mentor others to do the same, Ability to develop, present and effectively communicate ideas and strategies to a variety of audiences, Must meet confidentiality expectations as to confidential, proprietary and sensitive Company information
Nice to Have
Hands-on with agentic frameworks (LangChain/LangGraph/CrewAI) in support context, Eval frameworks (Ragas, DeepEval, Promptfoo) for AI features, Docker + Kubernetes for AI workloads, FinOps for AI inference (cost-per-call, token economics), Back-office workflow automation experience
What You'll Do.
operating and supporting AWS‑based AI workloads at the L1/L2 level
serving as a first responder for production issues
partnering with Sr Engineers to diagnose problems and deliver effective fixes
monitoring system health
responding to incidents
improving reliability over time
applying knowledge and skills of software development and testing effectively to solve a range of problems
documenting each aspect of a system or application
determining and assessing the needs of the user and then create software to meet the requirements
identifying and resolving issues that arise during the design
testing and maintenance processes
preparing and installing solutions by determining and designing system specifications
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Work alongside other engineers on the team to elevate technology and consistently apply best practices; Collaborate closely with customers and cross-functional departments to communicate project statuses and proposals; partner, communicate, and negotiate with various Technology or partner Teams
Communication Scope
Ability to partner, communicate, and negotiate with various Technology or partner Teams; Ability to develop, present and effectively communicate ideas and strategies to a variety of audiences
Process & Methodology
Ability to take on multiple assignments, whether administrative or project related, while maintaining a successful level of completion in all responsible work
Full Job Description
**Department:** Technology **Our Company Promise** We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer. **Job Description:** As a Software Engineer Global supporting Southwest’s AI Platform Operations Pod, you’ll help keep AI and agentic applications running reliably in real production environments. This role focuses on operating and supporting AWS‑based AI workloads at the L1/L2 level—serving as a first responder for production issues while partnering with Sr Engineers to diagnose problems and deliver effective fixes. You’ll work hands‑on with cloud‑native services, observability tools, and automation to monitor system health, respond to incidents, and improve reliability over time. Through day‑to‑day production exposure, you’ll grow your skills across AWS operations, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, and SRE fundamentals, while gaining practical experience with AI technologies such as LLMs, vector databases, and agentic frameworks. This role offers a strong foundation for engineers who want to build deep operational expertise while contributing to AI platforms that must perform consistently at scale. Responsibilities * Apply knowledge and skills of software development and testing effectively to solve a range of problems * Work alongside other engineers on the team to elevate technology and consistently apply best practices * Collaborate closely with customers and cross-functional departments to communicate project statuses and proposals * Document each aspect of a system or application as a reference for future upgrades and maintenance * Determine and assess the needs of the user and then create software to meet the requi
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