Principal Data Center Backbone Network Architect

Salesforce, Inc.; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 197,000 - 314,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time off programs

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision benefits

Mental health support

Paid parental leave

Life and disability insurance

401(k)

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

Salesforce, Inc. in the United States (Herndon, VA) is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to lead the architecture and security of Salesforce's data center networks, spanning routers, switches, firewalls, and load balancers across multiple business units.

You will own backbone connectivity to the internet and public clouds (AWS, GCP), drive edge security, mentor engineers, and guide multi-team architecture initiatives with a strong focus on automation using Ansible and Python.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in network engineering or architecture at data center or service-provider scale.
• Software-driven engineering skills: Ansible, Python, and Git-based workflows.
• Vendor familiarity with Cisco, F5, Juniper, and Ciena.
• Familiarity with high-density facility considerations and cooling impacts on hardware.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve reference architectures for first-party data center networks (routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers).
• Design network and application delivery architectures for large-scale sites across Salesforce.
• Own backbone and internet connectivity, plus interconnect between data centers and public clouds (AWS and GCP).
• Own infrastructure lifecycle for hardware and designs; lead hardware refreshes and transitions.
• Build and maintain network automation and tooling in Ansible and Python, with Git-based workflows.
• Act as technical authority for complex design questions; mentor engineers and influence cross-org strategy.
• Lead network security architecture, including edge hardening, security feature design, and collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Drive deployment and tuning of edge protocols and policy (mTLS, HTTP/2, cipher suites).
• Run software certification, vulnerability, and bug management for network platforms with vendors.

Skills

Network engineering

Ansible

Python

Git

Cisco

F5

Juniper

Ciena

BGP EVPN/VXLAN

Security architecture

Tools

Ansible

Python

Git

Cisco

F5

Juniper

Ciena

Job description

Salesforce, Inc. in the United States (Herndon, VA) is seeking a Principal Network Engineer to lead the architecture and security of Salesforce's data center networks, spanning routers, switches, firewalls, and load balancers across multiple business units.

You will own backbone connectivity to the internet and public clouds (AWS, GCP), drive edge security, mentor engineers, and guide multi-team architecture initiatives with a strong focus on automation using Ansible and Python.