Senior Harness Engineer with Google Cloud Platform Experience 80-100%

Are you ready to make your mark in fintech? 

At YAPEAL, we haven’t just entered the market; we’ve redefined Embedded Finance. Recently recognized by BILANZ as the country's most innovative SME in finance, we were the first company to secure a FINMA fintech license. The foundation is built. Our proprietary platform is ready to scale through two distinct business lines: YAPEAL Direct, our digital-first B2C & B2B offering, and YAPEAL Embedded, our high-growth B2B2X model.

We are on the lookout for a Senior Harness Engineer to help us drive innovation and sustainable growth in an AI-centric environment. Every process you automate, every insight you bring, and every AI-driven idea you share will directly shape our journey.

Curious to learn more? Explore the role and join us in redefining the future of finance!

At YAPEAL, Harness delivers intelligent AI automation, so our teams ship code faster, safer, and smarter - and we operate our platform with maximum efficiency. 

Are you a highly skilled Senior Harness Engineer ready to drive next-level IT operations by taking full advantage of AI ? We’re looking for an expert who is passionate about leveraging AI and modern automation to ensure our software, applications, and cloud infrastructure run at optimal performance.This is a pivotal role where you will oversee the seamless operation of both internal and external services, ensuring our systems run reliably, securely, and at peak performance. 

You'll manage end-to-end IT operations with a focus on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and modern CI/CD orchestration via Harness, collaborating closely with our development teams. By combining smart automation, intelligent monitoring, and AI-assisted cloud engineering, you will optimize our release pipelines and capacity management - ensuring our software ecosystem runs flawlessly at scale.  

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Management & Monitoring

• Architecture & Performance: Lead the design and optimization of automated monitoring for GCP servers and networks to proactively catch performance bottlenecks.

• High Availability & Scaling: Ensure high availability of production environments through proactive maintenance and develop capacity strategies as client demand grows.

• SLA & Operations: Monitor SLA compliance, managing timely client communication for operational updates or API changes.

• Deployment Ownership: Take full ownership of release pipelines from DEV to PROD by leveraging Harness for seamless, automated GitOps/CD deployments, zero-downtime rollouts, and strict data security. 

Incident Management & Support

• Escalation Point: Swiftly triage and resolve escalated help desk issues for internal and external stakeholders.

• Incident Response: Lead incident handling, perform root cause analyses, and implement preventive measures to avoid recurrence.

• IT Infrastructure: Support and manage both internal physical and cloud-based IT setups.

Operations & Documentation

• Governance & Process: Develop, document, and refine operational IT policies to drive efficiency, reliability, and compliance.

• Vendor Management: Oversee third-party contracts to ensure service alignment with our operational standards.

• Tooling: Maintain clear, structured documentation of processes and incident reports in Jira and Confluence, while continuously building automated workflows using Harness to minimize manual IT Ops overhead.

Below you'll see our skill wish list. Don't worry if you don't check every box. We’re not about perfectionism from the get-go, but rather willingness to grow. As a start-up we are growing and learning ourselves, so let's grow together.

Education & Languages

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.

• Certifications: Google Cloud Certification (e.g., Google Cloud Certified – Professional Cloud Architect) is required.

• Languages: Proficiency in English is essential; (Swiss-)German is a plus.

Experience

• GCP Operations: 5+ years of experience in IT operations with significant expertise in managing GCP environments.

• Autonomy & Scale: Proven ability to independently manage, deploy, and scale cloud-based production infrastructures.

• Industry Focus: Experience in financial services or other highly regulated industries is a plus.

Technical Skills

• GCP & Workspace: Deep expertise in Google Cloud Platform services, architecture, and Google Workspace Administration.

• AI Cloud Integration: Familiarity with implementing or managing AI/ML workloads, Vertex AI, or AI-powered operations (AIOps) tools. Containerization & CI/CD: Proficient in managing Kubernetes deployments, manifest files, and utilizing Harness (GitOps/CD) alongside Jenkins. 

• Security & IaC: Skilled in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform or Pulumi) and secure communications (TLS, mTLS, X.509 certificates).

• Scripting & Automation: Solid in Python, Bash, or TypeScript (Go is a bonus), alongside hands-on experience with Jenkins and a strong focus on leveraging smart tooling and AI-driven automation to streamline deployment and operational tasks.

• Monitoring & Data: Practical experience with Prometheus/Grafana for monitoring, SQL databases (especially PostgreSQL), and log analysis.

Mindset & Soft Skills

• Problem-Solving: Excellent analytical abilities with a strong capacity to think critically under pressure.

• Communication: Ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

• Startup Drive: Proactive, self-motivated, and comfortable working independently in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

• Quality & Efficiency Focus: Dedicated to continuous improvement, reducing manual operations through smart tooling, and keeping systems running at peak performance.

At YAPEAL, we’re on a mission to transform the future of finance, and we’re looking for visionaries like you to join our journey. Here’s why YAPEAL is maybe your place to be:

A Culture of Innovation and Flexibility
Be part of a collaborative, forward-thinking team that values creativity, flexibility, and customer success. At YAPEAL, every idea matters, and every voice counts. We give our people all the flexibility they need to thrive and succeed.

Unmatched Growth Opportunities
As an expanding company, your contribution will directly shape our success and market presence. This is your chance to grow with us and make a tangible impact on the future of finance.

If this sounds like the challenge you’ve been waiting for, we’d love to hear from you.