Principal, Automation Engineer

Kraken is a mission-focused company dedicated to accelerating the global adoption of crypto and blockchain technology. They are seeking a Principal Automation Engineer to build and scale the internal automation engine that powers Kraken’s operational backbone, focusing on architecting workflows and eliminating operational inefficiencies.

Responsibilities:

• Architect and own Kraken’s automation platform, with hands-on development in n8n and complementary no-code/low-code tooling
• Design and implement end-to-end workflow automations spanning Finance, Compliance, Product, Operations, Engineering, Support, and more
• Identify operational inefficiencies and build scalable automations that remove manual work and reduce errors
• Build both code and no-code automations, selecting the right approach based on complexity and long-term durability
• Partner closely with Business Operations to deliver quick-win automations while broader engineering teams focus on larger enterprise initiatives
• Integrate internal and external systems, stitching together APIs, data sources, and tools into unified automated workflows
• Establish workflow standards, best practices, and monitoring frameworks to ensure long-term stability and observability
• Operate with high autonomy, moving from idea → scoping → design → build → test → deploy with minimal oversight
• Partner with leaders across the company to identify and execute high-impact automation opportunities
• Contribute to Kraken’s enterprise automation roadmap, informing future tooling and architectural decisions

Requirements:

• Strong systems engineering background with experience architecting internal tooling or automation platforms
• Deep fluency with n8n (or equivalent workflow orchestration tools: Zapier, Make.com, Airflow, Prefect, Temporal)
• Experience operating in startup or 0→1 environments, comfortable building structure where none exists
• Strong understanding of business processes and the ability to translate them into scalable technical workflows
• Proven ability to own problems end-to-end: discovery, scoping, technical design, implementation, QA, rollout, and maintenance
• Ability to work across code and no-code ecosystems, selecting the right tool for speed and long-term maintainability
• Experience integrating APIs, internal tools, third-party systems, and databases into automated workflows
• High ownership mindset and bias toward action—proactively finds inefficiencies and solves them
• Strong collaboration skills across Product, Engineering, Finance, Compliance, Data, and BizOps
• Communicates clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience scaling automation platforms in high-growth or regulated environments
• Familiarity with data engineering or orchestration tooling (for cross-team workflows)
• Exposure to crypto, fintech, or other fast-paced operational domains
• Experience contributing to enterprise automation or systems transformation programs