Lead Application Support Engineer (SRE)

Global Technology Context  

The Global Technology (GT) team at Marriott Vacations Worldwide (MVW) is on a multi-year journey to modernize technical and digital products and platforms across all business lines. This role demands a visionary leader with a technical understanding of the range of resort operations technical products in solving complex business challenges. Proven success as a leader in recruiting, developing, and retaining technical talent on high performing teams is required. The incumbent is a proven thought leader, a consensus builder, and an integrator of people, processes, and technology.   

Specific Job Summary 

The Lead Application Support Engineer (SRE) is responsible for reliability, performance, and availability of applications and enhancements that support Marriott Vacations Worldwide (MVW).  Collaborates with MVW’s Global Technology (GT) functional teams to design, deliver and support innovative solutions using various technologies. Collaborates with vendors and managed service provider (MSP) partners for projects and processes. Provides level 3 incident and service request support. Guides level 1 and level 2 associates and MSP representatives. 

Expected Contributions 

• Provides day-to-day Operational Application support for the suite of MVW applications, with focus on health, uptime, monitoring, and reliability of services. 

• Leads and manages incident triage in collaboration with other team members and cross-functional teams, in analyzing and identifying problems, conducting post-mortems, develop permanent remediation plans, implement monitoring & automation to prevent re-occurrence of incidents. 

• Continually improves and matures telemetry framework and monitoring capabilities to accomplish end-to-end flow monitoring and implement proactive & actionable alerting. 

• Responsible for operating, maintaining, and enhancing critical services in accordance with established Service Level Objectives (SLOs) by applying software engineering principles, including capacity management and continuous performance improvements.  

• Minimizes manual involvement for the team by driving solutions in automation and implementing continuous improvements that create a more stable operating environment, including development and configuration for dynamic monitoring, alerting and recovery.  

• Leads and contributes to migration of applications from On-Prem to Cloud solutions, with best practices and in collaboration with Application Development teams.  

• Builds strong and productive relationships with the development teams, product teams, infrastructure teams, and engages with other stakeholders, with the purpose of continued platform improvements and in delivery of initiatives. 

• Performs other duties as appropriate. 

Specific Expected Contributions 

• Troubleshoots and resolves issues related to MuleSoft applications to ensure optimal performance and availability. 

• Implements and manages incident management processes to minimize downtime and impact on users. 

• Proactively identifies and resolves potential problems to prevent recurring issues. 

• Develops and maintains monitoring and alerting systems using APM tools such as AppDynamics, Dynatrace, or New Relic. 

• Utilizes scripting languages such as Python or Bash to automate routine tasks and enhance efficiency. 

• Analyzes performance data using Splunk or similar log analysis tools to gain insights into application performance and troubleshoot issues. 

• Collaborates with cross-functional teams to drive continuous improvement in application reliability and performance. 

• Conducts root cause analysis for complex production issues. 

• Monitors changes to applications and their operating environment, create and maintain support documentation and procedures 

• Prioritizes and handles service requests, incidents, change management and problem tickets 

Candidate Profile 

Successful candidates should possess knowledge, experience and demonstrate leadership skills as follows: 

Generally, a professional position with specific knowledge in a discipline (e.g., Accounting, Human Resources, Information Resources). College degree and/or relevant experience typically required. 

Specific Candidate Profile 

Education 

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology or related discipline or equivalent work experience. 

Certifications Preferred 

• ITIL v3 or v4 Foundation Certification 

• MuleSoft related certifications 

• APM Tools certifications  

Experience 

• 5-8 years of experience in software development 

• 3+ experience in supporting applications built on modern application architecture and cloud infrastructure 

Skills/Attributes 

• Analytical and Logical Thinking 

• Analytical Skills: Proactively identify and address potential risks or issues related to MVW applications and propose appropriate solutions. 

• Logical Reasoning: Ability to think critically and logically to evaluate situations, identify problems, and develop effective solutions. 
   

• Technical 

• Familiar with the full software development lifecycle. 

• Proficiency in MuleSoft AnyPoint Platform including configuring and managing APIs, integrations, and connectors.  

• Experience in designing and building integrations using MuleSoft, Java, Springboot and Kafka 

• Strong understanding of HTTP, RESTful API design, and web services. 

• Strong knowledge of APM tools such as AppDynamics, Dynatrace, or New Relic. 

• Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, Bash, or Perl. 

• Experience with log analysis tools such as Splunk. 

• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and experience using tools like Jenkins or Tekton for automating deployments. 

• Ability to work with containers and orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes.  

• Understanding of networking concepts including DNS, TCP/IP, load balancing, and firewalls.  

• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS/Azure and hybrid cloud application platform like Red Hat OpenShift 

• Knowledge of databases and SQL queries for troubleshooting data-related issues.  

• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment 

• Understanding of security protocols and compliance requirements related to applications and integrations. 

• Project Management Skills 

• Requirement Analysis: Skills in gathering and analyzing business requirements to tailor MuleSoft solutions to meet organizational needs. 

• Planning and Execution: Ability to plan, execute, and deliver MuleSoft solutions, ensuring they are completed on time, within budget while meeting technical and quality requirements. 

• Interpersonal Skills 

• Communication: Proven verbal and written communication skills to convey technical concepts etc non-technical stakeholders in easy-to-understand ways. 

• Customer Focus: Commitment to a strong customer service orientation to understand and address client needs effectively. 

• Collaboration: Proven ability to collaborate within the Global Technology organization at all levels, vendors, and Managed Service providers to architect solutions and oversee successful project implementations.  

• Leadership Courage: Ability to lead and motivate teams, driving successful implementation and adoption of MuleSoft solutions. 

• Additional Attributes 

• Adaptability: Flexibility to adapt to changing project requirements and organizational dynamics within a matrixed organizational structure. 

• Curiosity and Continuous Learning: Commitment to staying updated with the latest MuleSoft features, updates, and best practices. 

• Problem-Solving: Proactive approach to identifying and addressing potential issues before they escalate. 

• Attention to Detail: Ensuring accuracy and thoroughness in all aspects of implementation. 

• A passion for learning and inventing novel approaches to hard problems.