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Buildkite Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Buildkite information

What is the difference between Buildkite vs Jenkins?

AspectBuildkiteJenkins
Required CredentialsCloud account, API accessServer setup, Java knowledge
Work EnvironmentCloud-based, SaaS platformSelf-hosted or cloud, open-source
Industry UsageDevOps, CI/CD pipelinesDevOps, CI/CD, automation
Common Search/ComparisonYesYes

Buildkite and Jenkins are both popular CI/CD tools used to automate software testing and deployment. Buildkite offers a cloud-based, user-friendly platform with minimal setup, ideal for teams seeking quick deployment. Jenkins, on the other hand, is an open-source, self-hosted solution with extensive plugin support, suitable for organizations needing customizable pipelines. While Buildkite emphasizes ease of use and cloud integration, Jenkins provides more control and flexibility for complex workflows.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Buildkite Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Buildkite Engineer, you need strong experience in CI/CD pipelines, scripting languages (like Bash, Python, or Ruby), and a background in software development or DevOps. Familiarity with Buildkite's platform, cloud infrastructure (such as AWS or GCP), and tools like Docker, Git, and Kubernetes is typically required. Excellent problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills help you work effectively with development and operations teams. These abilities ensure efficient automation, smooth deployments, and robust software delivery processes.

What is Buildkite and what does a Buildkite Engineer do?

Buildkite is a continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) platform that helps software teams automate the building, testing, and deployment of their code. A Buildkite Engineer is responsible for configuring and optimizing Buildkite pipelines, integrating Buildkite with source control systems, and ensuring efficient, reliable automation for software delivery. They often collaborate with developers and DevOps teams to troubleshoot build issues, improve workflow efficiency, and maintain secure, scalable CI/CD processes.

What are some typical challenges faced by engineers working with Buildkite pipelines, and how can they be addressed?

Engineers working with Buildkite pipelines often encounter challenges related to pipeline configuration complexity, managing secrets securely, and optimizing build times. To address these, it's important to modularize pipeline steps for maintainability, use environment variables or secret management plugins for sensitive data, and leverage Buildkite's parallelism and agent scalability features to speed up builds. Collaborating closely with development and DevOps teams ensures that best practices are shared and pipelines remain efficient and secure.
Infographic showing various Buildkite job openings in Chicago, IL as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 99% Full Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 57% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 42% Remote job distribution.

Senior Consulting Manager, Lead AI DevOps Engineer

Cognizant Technology Solutions

Chicago, IL • On-site

$98K - $152K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

This job post has expired today. Applications are no longer accepted.


Cognizant rating

7.4

Company rating: 7.4 out of 10

Based on 85 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

52nd of 72 rated business consultants


Job description

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About Cognizant Consulting
Cognizant Consulting is more than Cognizant's consulting practice-we're a global community of 5,000+ experts dedicated to helping clients reimagine their business. Blending our deep industry and technology advisory capability, we create innovative business solutions for Fortune 500 clients. And now, we're looking for our next colleague who'll join us in shaping the future of business. Could it be you?
About the role
As a Senior Consulting Manager, Lead Engineer - AI Delivery & Platform Engineering, you will make an impact by designing, modernizing, and operationalizing enterprise-grade CI/CD and platform engineering capabilities that accelerate software and AI solution delivery. You will be a valued member of the Cognizant Consulting team and work collaboratively with client stakeholders, software engineering teams, platform teams, and AI engineering practitioners to improve deployment maturity, reliability, and innovation.
In this role, you will:
  • Design and implement scalable CI/CD pipelines across GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, and Jenkins environments to improve deployment reliability and speed.
  • Establish modern software delivery practices including GitOps, Kubernetes-based deployment automation, Infrastructure as Code, progressive delivery, and observability frameworks.
  • Partner directly with client and internal engineering teams to assess delivery maturity, implement best practices, and provide hands-on coaching that enables long-term success.
  • Build and operationalize AI-enabled software delivery capabilities, including LLM evaluation pipelines, AI-assisted development workflows, agentic system deployment automation, and model governance controls.
  • Develop reusable accelerators, reference architectures, playbooks, and platform templates that can be adopted across multiple consulting engagements.

Work model
We believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role's business requirements, this position requires 3 days a week in a client or Cognizant office in Chicago, Illinois. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs.
The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you're engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.
What you must have to be considered
  • 8+ years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering, or related disciplines, including extensive experience designing and supporting production CI/CD environments.
  • Deep expertise with GitHub Actions and hands-on experience with at least two additional enterprise CI/CD platforms such as GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, CircleCI, Buildkite, or Jenkins.
  • Strong experience with Kubernetes, GitOps platforms (ArgoCD or Flux), Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform or Pulumi, and cloud-native deployment practices.
  • Experience implementing observability solutions, including OpenTelemetry, distributed tracing, metrics collection, and DORA-based delivery measurement.
  • Hands-on experience supporting AI/LLM-powered applications, evaluation pipelines, AI development tooling, or agent-based systems in enterprise environments.

These will help you succeed
  • Experience developing automation and tooling using Python, including API integrations and workflow automation.
  • Experience with progressive delivery technologies such as Argo Rollouts, Flagger, LaunchDarkly, or equivalent solutions.
  • Familiarity with AI evaluation and governance frameworks such as Promptfoo, DeepEval, Ragas, LangSmith, Braintrust, or comparable solutions.
  • Experience building reusable engineering accelerators, developer platforms, gold-path templates, and internal enablement programs.
  • Consulting, advisory, or client-facing experience supporting complex enterprise transformation initiatives.

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.
Compensation
$98,853 - $152,750 per year
This position is eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.
Benefits
  • Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
  • 401(k) plan and contributions
  • Employee stock purchase plan
  • Employee assistance program
  • 10 paid holidays plus PTO
  • Paid parental leave and fertility assistance
  • Learning and development certifications and programs

About Cognizant:
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, bridging the gap between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization's unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, drive tangible outcomes and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at cognizant.ai or @cognizant.
Additional employment information
Compensation information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.
Applicants may be required to attend interviews in person or by video conference. In addition, candidates may be required to present their current state or government issued ID during each interview.
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
If you have a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, please email [email protected] for roles based in the Americas or [email protected] for roles based in India.

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