Walgreens

Director, Site Reliability Engineering

Walgreens$150K — $180K *
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
  • 10+ years of experience in software engineering, infrastructure, SRE, or operations roles.
  • 5+ years of people leadership experience, including leading managers or senior technical leaders.
  • Experience with highly available, distributed systems in cloud or hybrid environments.
  • Strong background in incident management and reliability engineering practices.
  • At least 5 years of experience contributing to financial decisions in the workplace.

Responsibilities

  • Leads and develops a team of Site Reliability Engineers, fostering a culture of accountability.
  • Defines and executes the enterprise SRE strategy, aligning it with business priorities.
  • Establishes clear ownership models and engagement patterns between teams.
  • Oversees reliability and performance of mission-critical platforms across multiple environments.
  • Drives the monitoring of service level indicators and error budgets across the organization.
  • Improves incident response and post-incident learning to reduce operational issues.
  • Champions automation to enhance recovery times and system scalability.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to influence and shape SRE practices at a high level.
  • Strong focus on continuous improvement and operational excellence.
  • Engage with cross-functional teams and senior executives.
  • Foster a culture of learning and development within the team.
  • Travel opportunities for business purposes.
Full Job Description
Job Description

Job Summary:

The Director, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) is a senior technical and people leader responsible for ensuring the reliability, availability, scalability, and performance of critical enterprise platforms and services. This role leads the SRE organization, setting the strategy and operating model for reliability engineering practices across cloud and on-premise environments.

This leader partners closely with Engineering, Infrastructure, Architecture, Security, and Product teams to reduce operational risk, improve system resilience, and enable teams to deliver high-quality services at scale. The Director drives adoption of SRE principles including service level objectives (SLOs), error budgets, observability, automation, and incident management excellence, while building a strong culture of ownership, learning, and continuous improvement.

Outcomes directed have a moderate to significant impact on the organization's short- and long-term results, customer experience, and operational stability. Decisions have moderate to significant impact across technology platforms and services.

Job Responsibilities:
  • Leads and develops a team of Site Reliability Engineers, including managers and senior technical leaders, fostering a culture of accountability, learning, and operational excellence.
  • Defines and executes the enterprise SRE strategy, aligning reliability goals with business priorities and technology roadmaps.
  • Establishes clear ownership models, engagement patterns, and operating rhythms between SRE, Engineering, and Infrastructure teams.
  • Builds organizational capability through hiring, coaching, succession planning, and skills development.
  • Oversees the reliability, availability, and performance of mission critical platforms and services across cloud and hybrid environments.
  • Drives the definition, adoption, and monitoring of service level indicators (SLIs), service level objectives (SLOs), and error budgets.
  • Leads efforts to improve incident response, root cause analysis, and post incident learning to reduce repeat issues and operational toil.
  • Ensures effective on call models, escalation paths, and operational readiness practices are in place.
  • Champions automation to reduce manual work, improve recovery times, and increase system scalability and resilience.
  • Oversees observability capabilities, including monitoring, logging, tracing, alerting, and dashboards, to proactively detect and resolve issues.
  • Partners with Engineering and Architecture to influence system design for reliability, scalability, and fault tolerance.
  • Drives continuous improvement in deployment safety, capacity planning, and change management practices.
  • Collaborates with Product, Engineering, Infrastructure, Security, and Vendor partners to balance innovation velocity with operational stability.
  • Provides executive level visibility into reliability posture, risks, trends, and improvement initiatives.
  • Influences standards, policies, and best practices related to reliability, availability, and operational excellence.

External Basic Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field OR equivalent work experience.
  • 10+ years of experience in software engineering, infrastructure, SRE, or operations roles with increasing scope and complexity.
  • 5+ years of people leadership experience, including leading managers or senior technical leaders.
  • Demonstrated experience operating and scaling highly available, distributed systems in cloud or hybrid environments.
  • Strong background in incident management, reliability engineering practices, and production operations.
  • At least 5 years of experience contributing to financial decisions in the workplace.
  • At least 5 years of direct leadership, indirect leadership and/or cross functional team leadership.
  • Willing to travel up to/at least 10% of the time for business purposes (within state and out of state).


Preferred Qualifications

  • Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
  • Experience implementing SRE practices at enterprise scale.
  • Deep knowledge of cloud platforms (e.g., Azure), containerization, CI/CD, and infrastructure automation.
  • Experience with modern observability platforms and automation frameworks.
  • Proven ability to influence senior leaders and drive cultural change toward reliability and operational ownership.

About Walgreens

Walgreens is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2010 sales of $67 billion. The company operates 7,689 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services, and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility, and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers, and the public sector. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

Walgreens Careers

Joining Walgreens means becoming part of a team dedicated to inspiring health and well-being across America. As a cornerstone of the community, Walgreens offers unparalleled job opportunities in the retail and healthcare sectors, making it an ideal place for professional growth and innovation. Work You’ll Do At Walgreens, every position contributes to our mission of delivering premier health solutions while ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace that fosters growth. Our team members are at the forefront of transforming customer experiences through dedication and expertise. Lead with Innovation and Leadership Embrace the opportunity to lead at Walgreens, where we combine industry expertise with a culture of innovation. Our leadership is committed to nurturing a professional environment where ideas thrive and leadership skills are honed through comprehensive diversity training and leadership development programs. Engage in Meaningful Work Join a team that values hard work and creativity, where your skills will be enhanced through challenging projects and collaborative team efforts. Walgreens is not just about filling prescriptions—it's about offering solutions that promote healthier communities. Explore Career Opportunities Whether you're looking for an entry-level position or a more advanced professional role, Walgreens offers a range of career paths in dynamic business areas. From in-store roles to corporate support, our job opportunities are designed to fit a variety of skills and interests. Internship and Employment Benefits Start your career with a Walgreens internship and gain hands-on experience that paves the way for future employment. Our interns work on real projects that matter, gaining skills that are crucial for future success. Full-time team members enjoy a wealth of benefits, including comprehensive health coverage, retirement plans, and exclusive employee discounts. Invest in Your Career Growth Walgreens is committed to the career development of our employees. We provide resources and training that encourage continuous learning and career advancement. With support for certifications and networking opportunities, team members can expand their professional horizons and achieve their career goals. Stay Connected Join Our Team Discover the diverse range of hiring opportunities at Walgreens by exploring open positions that match your skills and interests. We are looking for passionate, curious, and solution-driven team players ready to make a significant impact. Keep Up to Date Stay informed with career tips, insider perspectives, and industry-leading insights you can put to use today—all from the people who work at Walgreens. Job Alert Emails Customize your subscription to receive job alerts, the latest news, and insider tips tailored to your preferences. Explore the exciting and rewarding opportunities that await at Walgreens. At Walgreens, we are excited to see where your ambition takes you. Join us and be part of a team that is dedicated to shaping the future of health and wellness for everyone.
Learn more about Walgreens
Size
202,000 employees
Market Cap
$32.8 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$696 million
Founded
1901
5 Year Trend
+2.3%
Revenue
$141.5 billion
NASDAQ

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