Staff Software Engineer, Linux Networking

Socket.dev; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 207,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

20% bonus target

Job summary

Google is seeking a software engineer to work on the Linux Kernel Networking team, designing and maintaining high-throughput, latency-sensitive networking solutions. You will influence architecture across multiple projects and mentor engineers while contributing to upstream kernels and managing delivery across a distributed team.

The role sits at the core of Google’s global infrastructure, delivering planet-scale performance and reliability with opportunities to influence AI-assisted tooling and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience programming in C++.
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products.
• 5 years of experience building and developing large-scale infrastructure, distributed systems or networks, or compute technologies, storage, or hardware architecture.
• 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
• Experience in systems programming using C or C++, with experience in Linux kernel internals and large-scale system architecture design.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead for the Linux Kernel Networking team, defining strategy and priorities.
• Design, develop, test, and enhance large-scale Linux kernel networking solutions and PCIe device drivers.
• Coach and mentor a distributed team, supporting career development and engineering standards.
• Drive cross-organizational alignment on goals, roadmaps, and dependencies for planet-scale infra projects.
• Leverage AI-assisted tools to accelerate development, testing, and deployment cycles.

Skills

C++ programming

Systems programming

Linux kernel internals

Large-scale infra

Distributed systems

Software design & architecture

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience

Master's degree or PhD in Engineering/CS

Job description

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
  
• 8 years of experience programming in C++.
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products.
  
• 5 years of experience building and developing large-scale infrastructure, distributed systems or networks, or experience with compute technologies, storage, or hardware architecture.
  
• 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
• Experience in systems programming using C or C++, with experience in Linux kernel internals and large-scale system architecture design.
  

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
  
• 8 years of experience with data structures/algorithms.
3 years of experience in a technical leadership role leading project teams and setting technical direction.

• 3 years of experience working in a complex, matrixed organization involving cross-functional, or cross-business projects.
• Experience with PCI Express (PCIe) interfaces, related device driver development, and advanced network protocols or kernel-level networking performance optimization.

About the job:

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

The Linux Kernel Networking team within CoreOS builds and maintains the secure, high-performance stack powering Google's global infrastructure and Google Cloud. Managing all internet-facing traffic, production traffic, and massive AI/ML data pipelines, our work delivers planet-scale impact across millions of machines. We follow an "upstream first" philosophy and guide the community as a major contributor to Linux TCP/IP.

In this role, you will design, optimize, and maintain core kernel networking protocols for latency-sensitive and high-throughput workloads. In addition to technical execution, you will direct cross-organizational initiatives, mentor engineers across career stages, contribute directly to the upstream kernel, and have the opportunity to manage a small team.

The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what’s possible. We empower Google customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users worldwide.

We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering the development of our cutting-edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping the future of world-leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking, Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $207000 - $300000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as a technical lead for the Linux Kernel Networking team, collaborating with leadership to define long-term architectural strategy, establish team vision, and manage project priorities, deliverables, and production support.
• Design, develop, test, and enhance large-scale Linux kernel networking solutions and PCIe-related device drivers tailored for high-throughput, low-latency performance.
• Coach, mentor, and guide a distributed team of engineers, supporting their career development and fostering high engineering standards.
• Drive alignment across cross-organizational teams on goals, roadmaps, and dependencies to execute planet-scale infrastructure projects.
• Leverage emerging AI-assisted tools and best practices to accelerate software development workflows, testing, and deployment cycles.