Senior Associate - Infrastructure Patching SRE

Location Designation: Hybrid - 3 days per quarter 

Role Summary

Own the reliability, execution, validation, and issue handling of server, operating system, middleware, database, and cloud infrastructure patching.

This role ensures infrastructure patches are deployed safely through lower environments, canary groups, production waves, and validated closure while supporting accelerated remediation for zero-day, Critical VIT, High, and priority patch cycles.

What You'll Do:

Infrastructure Patch Execution

· Execute patching across servers, operating systems, middleware, databases, virtualization, and cloud-hosted infrastructure.

· Manage lower-environment, canary, and production patch waves, including change coordination and maintenance-window readiness.

· Maintain patch baselines, reboot strategy, deployment readiness, rollback playbooks, and operational runbooks.

· Support AWS/cloud patching using approved tooling such as Qualys Patch Management, AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager, Tanium, or other platform tools.

Validation, Rollback & Issue Handling

· Validate reboot success, service startup, monitoring agent health, platform stability, scan remediation, and infrastructure performance after patching.

· Coordinate patch failures, retry logic, rollback decisions, compensating controls, and escalation to engineering or vendors.

· Partner with Cloud, Database, Middleware, Network, Security, Change, and CIO application teams to resolve blockers.

· Ensure vulnerabilities remain open until remediation is scan-confirmed, fixed through a workaround, rolled back with compensating controls, or formally exceptioned.

Automation & Evidence Capture

· Integrate patch execution with automation, health checks, scan validation, evidence capture, and executive reporting.

· Improve repeatability for 24-hour Critical VIT, 3-day High, and 6-day priority patching cycles.

· Capture patch execution logs, health-check outputs, scan evidence, change notes, and residual risk disposition.

Authority and Scope

· Recommend production go/no-go, rollback, isolation, compensating control, or escalation decisions for infrastructure patch issues.

· Pause or sequence deployment waves when platform stability or application dependency risk exceeds tolerance.

· Require validation evidence before infrastructure remediation records are closed.

Success Measures & Key Outcomes (First 6-12 Months)

· Infrastructure patch success rate improves across server, cloud, OS, middleware, and database platforms.

· Rollback and failed patch events are reduced through canary testing and standardized issue handling.

· Critical and High vulnerabilities are remediated within target windows.

· AWS/cloud and server patch compliance improve with scan-confirmed closure.

· Evidence capture and operational handoffs meet audit and governance expectations.

What You'll Bring:

· 5+ years in infrastructure operations, platform engineering, cloud operations, SRE, or enterprise patching.

· Experience with Windows, Linux, middleware, database, virtualization, cloud infrastructure, or AWS EC2 patching.

· Familiarity with Qualys, Tanium, AWS Systems Manager, Ansible, Puppet, Satellite, SCCM/MECM, or related patching tools.

· Strong understanding of change windows, reboot coordination, service validation, rollback, incident response, and operational runbooks.

Nice to Have

· Experience with AWS, Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, hardened AMIs, EKS, or infrastructure automation.

· Experience in financial services or other highly regulated environments.

· Cloud, Linux, Windows, ITIL, or SRE certifications.

Working Model

Hybrid operations role with occasional off-hours support during production patching, zero-day response, Critical VIT response, major cloud remediation, or high-risk infrastructure maintenance events.

Pay Transparency

Salary Range: $111,500-$159,000 

Overtime eligible: Exempt 

Discretionary bonus eligible: Yes 

Sales bonus eligible: No 

Actual base salary will be determined based on several factors but not limited to individual’s experience, skills, qualifications, and job location. Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. In addition to base salary, employees may also be eligible to participate in an incentive program.

Our Benefits

We provide a full package of benefits for employees – and have unique offerings for a modern workforce, including leave programs, adoption assistance, and student loan repayment programs. Based on feedback from our employees, we continue to refine and add benefits to our offering, so that you can flourish both inside and outside of work. Click here to discover more about our comprehensive benefit options or visit our NYL Benefits Site.

Our Commitment to Inclusion
At New York Life, fostering an inclusive workplace is fundamental to who we are and how we serve our communities. We have a longstanding commitment to creating an environment where individuals can contribute their best and succeed together. This foundation is rooted in our core values of humanity and integrity, ensuring that every employee feels valued and supported. By embracing a broad range of perspectives and experiences, we achieve greater success and fulfill our promise of providing financial security and peace of mind to families across all communities. Click here to learn more about New York Life’s leadership in this space.​

Recognized as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, New York Life is committed to improving local communities through a culture of employee giving and volunteerism, supported by the Foundation. We're proud that due to our mutuality, we operate in the best interests of our policy owners. To learn more about career opportunities at New York Life, please visit the Careers page of www.NewYorkLife.com.

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Job Requisition ID: 94271