Lead Network Engineer - Backbone Engineering

Salesforce; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 172,500 - 260,100; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Competitive salary range

Equity opportunities

Job summary

Salesforce seeks a Lead Network Engineer to deliver technology infrastructure and support the Salesforce Global Network in San Francisco. This role involves collaboration across teams to build innovative solutions, requiring deep knowledge of IT, network management, and automation.

Candidates should have a minimum of 7 years in production network environments, strong project management skills, and experience with Cisco and Juniper routers. The salary range is $172,500 - $260,100 annually, plus benefits.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years in production network environments, or comparable experience.
• Proven project management skills.
• Experience working with telecommunications vendors.
• Experience with Cisco and Juniper carrier-class routers.
• Strong Python coding skills.

Responsibilities

• Act as a liaison with the vendor sourcing team.
• Project manage new capacity installs with sourcing and field engineering teams.
• Develop network configuration automation in Python and Ansible.
• Coordinate with connectivity partners for troubleshooting.
• Maintain Network Data SoTs.

Skills

Production network environments

Project management skills

Telecommunications vendors experience

Cisco and Juniper routers

Cisco Nexus-based switches

Routing protocols (BGP, IS-IS)

Python coding

Unix/Linux operating systems

Network automation tools (Ansible)

Git or version control systems

AI and machine learning

Education

Technical degree

Tools

Ansible

Cisco routers

Juniper routers

Terraform

Kubernetes

Job description

Job Category

Enterprise Technology & Infrastructure

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.

As a Lead Network Engineer, you will be part of the Infrastructure Strategy and Data Center Operations team, delivering and supporting technology infrastructure in the Salesforce Global Network. You will collaborate with field teams, vendor sourcing teams, Global Network Operations teams, and application owners to build innovative solutions in an agile environment. Your role will demonstrate deep knowledge across multiple areas of IT to support a SaaS infrastructure and contribute to standards, processes, and automation for operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Act as a liaison with the vendor sourcing team
• Help develop and maintain metrics on capacity vendors
• Project manage new capacity installs with sourcing and field engineering teams
• Update network and associated datastores for capacity additions and decommissions
• Work with various teams to provide feedback, document, and implement new network designs
• Develop network configuration automation in Python and Ansible
• Coordinate with connectivity partners and customer engagement teams for troubleshooting
• Help with BGP peering relationship management and peering network design
• Handle backbone router migrations, grooming, and decommissions
• Oversee network design life cycles, documentation, and approvals
• Maintain Network Data SoTs

Required Experience and Competencies

• Minimum 7 years in production network environments, or comparable experience
• Proven project management skills
• Experience working with telecommunications vendors
• Experience with Cisco and Juniper carrier‑class routers (e.g., ASR9K, CRS, MX960, PTX, MX2K)
• Experience with Cisco Nexus‑based switches
• Knowledge of routing protocols such as BGP and IS‑IS
• Fundamental understanding of WDM technologies
• Strong Python coding skills
• Good understanding of Unix/Linux‑based operating systems
• Experience developing and maintaining network automation tools (e.g., Ansible)
• Experience with Git or other version control systems
• Ability to self‑manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Understanding of AI, machine learning, LLMs, MCP, etc.
• Related technical degree required

Preferred Experience

• Experience managing co‑located infrastructure
• Experience with DWDM platforms, preferably Ciena and Cisco DCI
• Experience with MACSec encryption
• Extensive network troubleshooting and monitoring skills
• Hands‑on experience with production hardware life‑cycle management
• Experience with Puppet, Terraform, Containers, or K8S
• Familiarity with CI/CD principles
• Previous experience with lift and shift backbone router migrations
• Experience administering global, web‑scale IP address allocations
• Understanding of transit, public peering, and SFI spaces
• Experience writing prompts against public AI chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini)
• Experience with AI‑assisted coding tools (e.g., Cursor, VSCode with AI plugins)
• Prior experience with the Salesforce core application, either in a developer or support role

Compensation and Benefits

The base salary range for this position is $172,500 - $260,100 annually. In select cities within the San Francisco and New York City metropolitan area, the range is $207,800 - $285,800 annually. The range represents base salary only and does not include company bonus, equity, or benefits. For more information about benefits, see https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.

EEO Statement

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non‑discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. No hiring decision is made on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, disability, veteran, or marital status, among other protected categories. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruiting, hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, and other decisions.