Staff Software Engineer - Cloud Networking & Data Plane

IBM; Winchester; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

IBM Software in Winchester is seeking a staff-level engineering leader to build the next‑gen network data plane for Confluent Cloud. This hybrid role blends deep software development with hands‑on operational excellence, guiding cross‑team initiatives to deliver scalable networking blocks across AWS, Azure, and GCP.

You will architect, design, and lead initiatives to enable product teams to integrate networking seamlessly while ensuring reliability, observability, and cost efficiency in

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Extensive experience of the software engineering industry experience.
• Strong fundamentals in distributed systems design and development.
• Experience in building and operating large-scale systems.
• Solid understanding of networking primitives and protocols.
• Self‑starter with the ability to work effectively in teams.
• Proficiency in C++, Go, Python, or other programming languages

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and operationalize high-performance, scalable, reliable, and resilient systems for the Confluent Cloud network data plane platform.
• Independently drive the execution of ambiguously scoped cross-team software projects, ensuring the delivery of complex projects in production with a focus on quality.
• Leverage cloud providers to deliver impactful business solutions.
• Troubleshoot and improve operations for a complex technical stack that spans across AWS, Azure, and GCP, including microservices, containers, and virtualization.

Skills

Distributed systems design

Large-scale systems

Networking primitives

C++

Go

Python

Self-starter

Education

BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Network proxies/load balancers

Public clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Job description

IBM Software in Winchester is seeking a staff-level engineering leader to build the next‑gen network data plane for Confluent Cloud. This hybrid role blends deep software development with hands‑on operational excellence, guiding cross‑team initiatives to deliver scalable networking blocks across AWS, Azure, and GCP.

You will architect, design, and lead initiatives to enable product teams to integrate networking seamlessly while ensuring reliability, observability, and cost efficiency in