Staff - Principal, Software Engineer, SONiC/SAI

Eridu Corporation; Saratoga (CA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading Silicon Valley hardware startup is seeking a highly experienced Senior Staff Engineer to lead the architecture, development, and integration of OCP SAI with SONiC. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in dataplane programming and control plane integration amid open networking ecosystems. Responsibilities include leading SDK development and collaborating across teams to ensure optimal performance. Candidates should have 10+ years of programming experience and a strong background in embedded systems and networking protocols.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience with Bachelor's or 5+ years with Master's.
• Proficiency in C, C++, and/or Python.
• Familiarity with embedded software development.

Responsibilities

• Lead SAI/SONiC SDK development.
• Collaborate with hardware and software engineers.
• Develop automated tests for control plane.

Skills

C programming

C++ programming

Python programming

Embedded systems

Networking protocols

SDK development

Problem-solving

Collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s in Computer Science/ECE

Master’s in Computer Science/ECE

Job description

About Eridu

Eridu is a Silicon Valley-based hardware startup pioneering infrastructure solutions that accelerate AI data centers to deliver Faster AI. Today’s AI performance is frequently limited by communication bottlenecks. Eridu introduces multiple industry-first innovations across silicon, packaging, software, and systems to deliver an order of magnitude improvement in performance and unlock greater GPU utilization to speed training job completion times and tokens‑per‑second for more profitable inference. We do this while simultaneously reducing capital and power costs and improving reliability.

The company’s solutions and value proposition have been widely validated by leading hyperscalers.

Eridu has raised over $200M to date including its most recent, oversubscribed Series A round. The company is led by a veteran team of Silicon Valley executives who have delivered multiple billion‑dollar product lines and led multiple companies to billion‑dollar exits, including serial entrepreneur Drew Perkins, co‑founder of Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN), Lightera (acq. by Ciena), Gainspeed (acq. by Nokia) and Mojo Vision (the world’s leading micro‑LED company). The company is in execution mode and has a world‑class engineering team with decades of experience in state‑of‑the‑art silicon, packaging, optics, software, and systems. Eridu is working with best‑in‑class supply chain partners including silicon, packaging and systems.

Visit our website eridu.ai to learn more.

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Staff Engineer to lead the architecture, development, and integration of OCP SAI (Switch Abstraction Interface) with SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud). This role requires deep understanding of dataplane programming, control plane integration, and hands‑on experience in open networking ecosystems.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead SAI/SONiC SDK development, enabling performant control plane stack by defining abstraction layers and mapping hardware capabilities to standardized SAI APIs
• Collaborate with Hardware and Software Teams: Work with hardware and software engineers to ensure seamless integration and optimal performance of SDKs.
• Contribute to Software Development Lifecycle: Participate in all stages of the software development lifecycle, from requirements gathering to deployment and maintenance.
• Develop Automated Tests: Create automated tests and tools to verify the quality and functionality of control plane including SDKs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Computer Science/ECE with 10+ years of experience or Master’s in CS/ECE with 5+ years of experience.
• Strong Programming Skills: Proficiency in C, C++, and/or Python.
• Experience with Embedded Systems: Familiarity with embedded software development and debugging.
• Knowledge of Networking Protocols: Deep understanding of networking concepts and protocols (e.g., BGP, TCP/IP, Ethernet).
• Experience with SDK Development: Hands‑on experience in developing and maintaining SDKs, preferably for hardware products.
• Strong Problem‑solving and Debugging Skills: Ability to identify, analyze, and resolve complex software issues.
• Excellent Communication and Collaboration Skills: Ability to work effectively with cross‑functional teams and communicate technical information clearly.

Why Join Us?

At Eridu, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the future of AI infrastructure, working with a world‑class team on groundbreaking technology that pushes the boundaries of AI performance. Your contributions will directly impact the next generation of AI infrastructure solutions, transforming the performance of AI data centers.

The starting base salary for the selected candidate will be established based on their relevant skills, experience, qualifications, work location, market trends, and the compensation of employees in comparable roles.

Notice to Recruiting Agencies

Eridu does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate profiles from staffing agencies or third‑party recruiters. Any candidate submitted to Eridu without prior written authorization from our recruiting team will be considered unsolicited and will become the property of Eridu. Eridu reserves the right to pursue and hire such candidates without any obligation to pay fees. Recruiting agencies are expressly instructed not to contact hiring managers, employees, or executives regarding open positions.

The pay range for this role is:

210,000 - 275,000 USD per year (San Francisco Bay Area)