Senior Software Engineer II, Compute

DigitalOcean; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

DigitalOcean in Seattle seeks a Senior Software Engineer II to architect scalable distributed control planes and optimize high-throughput workloads across hypervisor nodes. You will bridge API design with kernel-level performance and mentor teammates to raise engineering standards.

You’ll own Go microservices, design gRPC interfaces, improve observability, and contribute to platform resilience across global data centers.

Qualifications

• Experience with Go, high-throughput microservices architecture, gRPC, and building distributed control planes or low-latency infrastructure APIs.
• Experience with low-level systems engineering, Linux kernel concepts, containerization, or hypervisor-level virtualization (e.g., KVM, Firecracker, eBPF, cgroups).
• A deep understanding of scalable cloud infrastructure and distributed systems design.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement scalable distributed control plane microservices in Go to orchestrate compute workloads across hypervisor nodes.
• Design robust gRPC interfaces and service contracts for high-throughput communication across boundaries.
• Translate customer and system requirements into decoupled architectures to drive value delivery across teams.
• Optimize Linux kernel interactions and virtualization subsystems to maximize compute performance and uptime.
• Mentor teammates through architectural reviews and code quality standards.
• Establish observability, failover strategies, and automated recovery to minimize platform toil.
• Participate in on-call support and continuous improvement retrospectives for uptime.

Skills

Go

High-throughput microservices

gRPC

Distributed control planes

Linux kernel concepts

Containerization

KVM

Firecracker

eBPF

cgroups

Tools

Go

KVM

Firecracker

eBPF

cgroups

gRPC

Job description

Dive in and do the best work of your career at DigitalOcean. Journey alongside a strong community of top talent who are relentless in their drive to build the simplest scalable cloud. If you have a growth mindset, naturally like to think big and bold, and are energized by the fast-paced environment of a true industry disruptor, you'll find your place here. We value winning together - while learning, having fun, and making a profound difference for the dreamers and builders in the world.

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer II who is passionate about building features that you and your peers will love.

As a Senior Software Engineer II, reporting to Mavis Franco (Manager, Software Engineering) at DigitalOcean, you will join a dynamic team dedicated to revolutionizing cloud computing and AI. In this high-impact IC4 role, you will apply advanced subject-matter expertise across Go, high-throughput microservices, distributed control planes, and low-level virtualization primitives. You will bridge high-level API design with kernel-level performance, lead complex technical projects across system boundaries, and mentor engineers to elevate engineering standards across the Compute ecosystem.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and implement scalable distributed control plane microservices in Go in order to orchestrate low-latency compute workloads across hypervisor nodes.
• Design robust gRPC interfaces and service contracts in order to enable high-throughput, fault-tolerant communication across platform boundaries.
• Deconstruct complex customer and system requirements into decoupled technical architectures in order to drive predictable value delivery across cross-functional workstreams.
• Optimize Linux kernel interactions and virtualization subsystems (e.g., KVM, Firecracker, cgroups) in order to maximize compute performance and system uptime.
• Mentor multiple team members through technical guidance, architectural reviews, and code quality standards in order to accelerate team growth and execution velocity.
• Establish operational observability, failover strategies, and automated recovery frameworks in order to minimize platform toil and resolve critical production incidents.
• Participate in on-call operational support and continuous improvement retrospectives in order to maintain world-class availability across global data centers.

What You’ll Add

• Experience with Go, high-throughput microservices architecture, gRPC, and building distributed control planes or low-latency infrastructure APIs.
• Experience with low-level systems engineering, Linux kernel concepts, containerization, or hypervisor-level virtualization (e.g., KVM, Firecracker, eBPF, cgroups).
• A deep understanding