Senior Systems Engineer

Cloudflare; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Cloudflare in Denver is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to hands-on build the Linux-based edge runtime and the distributed control plane that connect customer sites to Cloudflare.

You will work across low-level systems, distributed services, and API design while providing technical leadership for major initiatives. Our light-branch, heavy-cloud philosophy guides you to determine what belongs to the appliance versus the network, ensuring secure, observable operations.

Qualifications

• Hands-on software engineering role on the Cloudflare One Appliance team.
• You will shape and build the Linux-based edge runtime and distributed control plane.
• Senior Systems Engineer with experience across low-level systems, distributed services, and API design.

Responsibilities

• Build systems end to end: Design and implement capabilities spanning the cloud control plane, Linux appliance runtime, telemetry pipeline, and physical, virtual, and cloud deployment environments.
• Build a Linux-based networking platform: Develop and harden the appliance dataplane. Build secure, reliable networking capabilities using IPsec, MASQUE, eBPF, and Linux kernel networking primitives while keeping the system small, predictable, and secure.
• Engineer reliable fleet control: Build distributed control-plane and state-management systems that safely deliver configuration and commands, tolerate intermittent connectivity and partial failures, converge to known-good state, and support zero-touch operation across large device fleets.

Job description

About Us

At Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.

At Cloudflare, we’re not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we’re looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a “normalized” problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you’re the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you’ll fit right in.

Available Locations

• Atlanta, US
• Austin, US
• Denver, US
• Seattle, US
• Washington DC, US

Applications will be accepted until October 28, 2026.

About the Role

This is a hands-on software engineering role on the Cloudflare One Appliance team. You will shape and build the Linux-based edge runtime and distributed control plane that connect customer sites to Cloudflare.

As a Senior Systems Engineer, you will work across low-level systems, distributed services, and API design while providing technical leadership for major initiatives.

Our architecture follows a “light branch, heavy cloud” philosophy: policy and intelligence belong in Cloudflare’s network unless locality is required for correctness, survivability, performance, or user experience. You will use strong technical judgment to decide what belongs to the appliance and what belongs in the Cloudflare’s network, building systems that are secure, observable, resilient to partial failures, and safe to operate across a large fleet carrying customer-critical traffic.

Responsibilities

• Build systems end to end: Design and implement capabilities spanning the cloud control plane, Linux appliance runtime, telemetry pipeline, and physical, virtual, and cloud deployment environments.
• Build a Linux-based networking platform: Develop and harden the appliance dataplane. Build secure, reliable networking capabilities using technologies such as IPsec, MASQUE, eBPF, and Linux kernel networking primitives while keeping the system small, predictable, and secure.
• Engineer reliable fleet control: Build distributed control-plane and state-management systems that safely deliver configuration and commands, tolerate intermittent connectivity and partial failures, converge to known-good state, and support zero-touch operation across large device fleets.
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