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Senior Staff Software Engineer, SDN Architecture

Crusoe· Cloud Engineering
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San Francisco, CA - US, Sunnyvale, CA - US, Bellevue, WA - US$250k - $300k + equity + bonusFull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Senior Staff Software Engineer for SDN Architecture responsible for driving the software-defined networking stack for Crusoe's AI-first cloud, designing high-performance networking solutions, and collaborating across Product, Hardware, and Infrastructure teams.

Responsibilities

  • SDN Execution & Roadmap Contribution: Contribute to and help refine the technical direction for Software-Defined Networking, translating strategy into concrete plans, milestones, and measurable outcomes for your area of ownership.
  • Architecture & Design: Participate in and help lead architecture reviews, author design documents for major SDN components, and provide thorough code reviews for critical services.
  • Kernel & Driver Optimization: Build and optimize Linux kernel modules and high-performance drivers using technologies such as XDP, eBPF, AF_XDP, and DPDK.
  • Fabric Design: Help design and implement network architectures for GPU-to-GPU fabrics, high-speed Ethernet, and specialized AI clusters.
  • Hardware Integration: Implement and tune virtualization features such as SR-IOV, vDPA, and virtio, and help integrate advanced SmartNICs, DPUs, or IPUs into the stack.
  • Performance Engineering: Troubleshoot complex production issues and perform deep performance tuning to maximize throughput and minimize latency and improve future designs based on learnings.
  • Technology Evaluation: Evaluate emerging SDN and NFV technologies, and contribute to open-source projects where strategically relevant, sharing findings with the broader engineering org.
  • Mentorship: Mentor engineers across the stack, review their designs and code, and help build a culture of engineering excellence.
  • Cross Functional: Partner with software and operation teams to implement, execute, deploy and manage your architecture designs while incorporating feedback along the way.

Qualifications

  • High-Performance Networking Experience: 8+ years of experience building and operating large-scale networking systems in production, ideally within cloud or hyperscale data center environments.
  • Systems Programming Skills: Strong SDN and NFV experience coupled with solid systems programming skills in C, C++, Go or Rust.
  • Linux Internals Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of Linux kernel architecture, memory management, the network stack, and device driver development.
  • Packet Processing Expertise: Hands-on experience with kernel bypass and high-speed packet processing, including XDP, eBPF, AF_XDP, or DPDK.
  • Accelerator Familiarity: Familiarity with SmartNICs and accelerators, such as NVIDIA ConnectX-6/7, BlueField-3, or Intel IPUs.
  • Fabric & Virtualization Literacy: Experience with network virtualization and data center fabrics (e.g., Spine-Leaf, BGP, EVPN, VXLAN) and tools like OVS or OVN.
  • Data Plane Debugging: Solid knowledge of SR-IOV and vDPA, with the ability to debug issues across both control and data planes.
  • Collaborative Influence: A track record of influencing technical decisions through strong written communication and a collaborative, mentoring mindset.
  • Mandatory Education: A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related analytical field (or equivalent professional experience).

Skills

Required:SDN/NFV design and decision makingC, C++, Go or RustLinux kernel internalsXDP / eBPF / AF_XDP / DPDKSR-IOV / vDPA / virtio

Benefits

  • Competitive compensation and equity packages
  • Restricted Stock Units
  • Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs
  • Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
  • Employer contributions to HSA account
  • Paid parental leave
  • Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
  • Professional development & tuition reimbursement
  • Mental health & wellness support
  • Commuter benefits (parking & transit)
  • Cell phone stipend
  • 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
  • Volunteer time off
  • Global travel insurance & emergency assistance
  • Daily meals allowance
  • Additional perks & programs specific to location
Last updated Aug 12, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Crusoe

The AI factory company | Renewable-powered AI infrastructure

Crusoe provides next-gen AI infrastructure and cloud compute using an energy-first approach. Deploy AI workloads at scale with reliable performance and 24/7 support.

AI infrastructureData centersEdge computingGPU computingRenewable energycloud computeenergy-first approachsetter-30
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