Staff Engineer, Network Infrastructure

digitalocean98; United States; Hybrid; USD 191,000 - 239,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Conference reimbursement

Learning library access

Hybrid work arrangement

Flexible time off

Job summary

digitalocean98 is seeking a staff-level engineer to design and build software that automates and orchestrates a global cloud network infrastructure. This role sits at the intersection of distributed systems, networking, and hardware acceleration, leading architectural direction and driving complex projects from concept through production.

You will design and implement network automation for provisioning, validation, telemetry, and remediation, with hands-on work on DPUs, SmartNICs, and

Qualifications

• Significant experience designing and building production software systems at scale.
• Strong fundamentals in distributed systems, API design, concurrency, testing, observability, and system reliability.
• Proficient in Go, Python, or C++.
• Experience building automation, orchestration, or infrastructure platforms.
• Solid grasp of TCP/IP, BGP, EVPN/VXLAN, VLANs, routing, switching, and network telemetry.
• Experience with network devices, network automation frameworks, vendor APIs, or SDKs.
• Strong technical writing skills with RFCs, design documents, and proposals.

Responsibilities

• Design and build network automation and orchestration systems for provisioning, configuration, lifecycle management, validation, telemetry, and remediation.
• Develop software that integrates with DPUs, SmartNICs, and programmable network infrastructure.
• Build abstractions that handle differences across network vendors and hardware implementations while preserving operational safety.
• Automate large-scale data center and Point of Presence deployments spanning new hardware, network fabrics, routing infrastructure, and vendor integrations.
• Turn manual, repetitive, or error-prone infrastructure operations into scalable software solutions and diagnostic tooling.
• Establish engineering standards for testing, observability, and operational readiness, and mentor engineers across the broader organization.

Skills

Distributed systems

API design

Concurrency

Testing

Observability

Reliability

Go

Python

C++

Automation

Networking basics

Vendor SDKs

Technical writing

Tools

Networking frameworks

Vendor SDKs

Job description

Role overview

A staff-level engineering role building the software that automates and orchestrates a global cloud network infrastructure. The position sits at the intersection of distributed systems, networking, and hardware acceleration, including work with Data Processing Units, SmartNICs, and programmable network devices. It is a technical leadership role expected to set architectural direction, author proposals, and drive complex projects from concept through production.

Responsibilities

• Design and build network automation and orchestration systems for provisioning, configuration, lifecycle management, validation, telemetry, and remediation.
• Develop software that integrates with DPUs, SmartNICs, and programmable network infrastructure.
• Build abstractions that handle differences across network vendors and hardware implementations while preserving operational safety.
• Automate large-scale data center and Point of Presence deployments spanning new hardware, network fabrics, routing infrastructure, and vendor integrations.
• Turn manual, repetitive, or error-prone infrastructure operations into scalable software solutions and diagnostic tooling.
• Establish engineering standards for testing, observability, and operational readiness, and mentor engineers across the broader organization.

Requirements

• Significant experience designing and building production software systems at scale.
• Strong fundamentals in distributed systems, API design, concurrency, testing, observability, and system reliability.
• Programming proficiency in one or more of Go, Python, or C++.
• Experience building automation, orchestration, or infrastructure platforms.
• Solid grasp of networking fundamentals including TCP/IP, BGP, EVPN/VXLAN, VLANs, routing, switching, and network telemetry.
• Experience with network devices, network automation frameworks, vendor APIs, or SDKs.
• Strong technical writing skills, with a track record of producing RFCs, design documents, and proposals that drive complex initiatives forward.

Nice to have

• Experience with hardware acceleration, DPU/SmartNIC programming, or programmable data planes.

Benefits and work setup

• Compensation range of $191,200 to $239,000, with potential bonus and equity eligibility.
• Hybrid work arrangement.
• Reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, plus access to a large on-demand learning library.
• Flexible time off and region-appropriate benefits.
• Equal-opportunity employer with a structured limit allowing up to three applications within any 180-day period.