Kakao Infrastructure Roles Overview: Infra Development, System Engineering, and Network Engineering Responsibilities and Tech Stacks

The Kakao Infrastructure team consists of Network, Data Center, and System Engineering parts, operating over 70 major services and tens of thousands of servers. Kakao handles its own internet traffic, utilizing more than four domestic IDCs and four global POPs, and plans to establish its own Ansan Data Center in 2023.

The Infrastructure Development role focuses on reducing costs and errors by automating and serviceizing complex infrastructure tasks. It involves developing and operating systems such as IMS (acting as a CMDB), Woodpecker (idle equipment management system), and Ark Olive (equipment deployment/return automation system). The tech stack includes TypeScript for Frontend, Spring Boot for Backend, and PostgreSQL for DB.

The System Engineering role performs Linux OS installation and tuning, server sizing, and hardware benchmarking. Beyond simple infrastructure provision, it identifies open-source tools like Elasticsearch and Kafka to offer Managed Infra services, and also handles automation tasks such as developing CLI tools for server operations.

The Network Engineering role supports data center and office networks, operating large-scale traffic handling equipment such as GSLB, DNS, and CDN. It is responsible for office network automation, including internal wireless infrastructure, VPN, and remote work support, automating operations and building monitoring systems through self-developed APIs and GUIs.