Senior Staff Software Engineer, SDN Architecture

Crusoe; Bellevue (WA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity packages

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Health, dental & vision insurance

Parental leave

Job summary

Crusoe is seeking a Senior Staff Software Engineer for SDN Architecture to drive the software-defined networking stack for our AI-first cloud. You will design and build high-performance networking solutions across the Linux kernel, packet processing pipelines, and network virtualization to enable extreme throughput for large GPU clusters.

You will collaborate with Principal Engineers and engineering leadership, shaping direction and owning significant roadmap portions while mentoring teams

Qualifications

• 8+ years building large-scale networking systems in production.
• Strong SDN and NFV experience with C, C++, Go or Rust.
• Linux kernel, memory management, network stack knowledge.
• Experience with kernel bypass and high-speed packet processing (XDP/eBPF/AF_XDP/DPDK).
• Familiar with SmartNICs and accelerators.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to SDN roadmap and translate strategy into concrete plans and milestones.
• Lead architecture reviews and design documents for major SDN components.
• Build and optimize Linux kernel modules and high-performance drivers.
• Mentor engineers and collaborate with Product, Hardware, and Infrastructure teams to deliver a reliable, scalable networking fabric.

Skills

High-Performance Networking

Systems Programming

Linux Kernel Knowledge

Packet Processing

Accelerator Familiarity

Fabric & Virtualization

Data Plane Debugging

Collaborative Influence

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering

Tools

Linux kernel modules

XDP/eBPF/AF_XDP/DPDK

OVS/OVN

SmartNICs/DPUs

Job description

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack — from electrons to tokens — to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.

We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that — with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.

We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved — people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.

If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.

About This Role

As a Senior Staff Software Engineer for SDN Architecture, you will be a driving technical force behind the software-defined networking stack that powers Crusoe's AI-first cloud. You will design and build high-performance networking solutions optimized for AI and HPC workloads, working deeply across the Linux kernel, packet processing pipelines, and network virtualization to help deliver the extreme throughput and low latency that massive GPU clusters demand.

You will act as a senior technical contributor and a trusted voice in architecture decisions, partnering closely with Principal Engineers and engineering leadership to shape direction while owning significant portions of the roadmap yourself. This role suits a deep-systems engineer who thrives at the intersection of hardware accelerators and software control planes, and who enjoys raising the technical bar of the teams around them. You will collaborate closely with Product, Hardware, and Infrastructure teams to deliver a reliable, scalable networking fabric that aligns with Crusoe's mission to innovate sustainably.

What You'll Be Working On

• 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: Partnering with software and operation teams to implement, execute, deploy and manage your architecture designs while incorporating feedback along the way.

What You'll Bring To The Team

• 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).

Bonus Points

• Open-Source Contributions: Contributions to projects like OVS, OVN, Cilium, or Multus.
• Physical Networking: Hands on experience deploying and operating physical network devices.
• Orchestration Expertise: Experience with network automation or complex orchestration tooling.
• Advanced Systems Experience: Experience building networking stacks for multi-node GPU training at scale.

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

Compensation Range

Compensation will be paid in the range of up to $250,000 to $300,000 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant's knowledge, education, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.