Senior Staff Software Engineer, SDN Architecture

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 extreme throughput and low latency.

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.

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.
• Architecture & Design: Participate in and lead architecture reviews, author design documents for major SDN components, and provide 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.
• Technology Evaluation: Evaluate emerging SDN and NFV technologies, and contribute to strategically relevant open-source projects.
• Mentorship: Mentor engineers across the stack, review designs and code, and foster engineering excellence.
• Cross Functional: Partner with software and operations teams to implement, execute, deploy, and manage architecture designs.

What You'll Bring to the Team

• 8+ years of experience building and operating large-scale networking systems in production, ideally within cloud or hyperscale data center environments.
• Strong SDN and NFV experience coupled with solid systems programming skills in C, C++, Go, or Rust.
• Strong working knowledge of Linux kernel architecture, memory management, the network stack, and device driver development.
• Hands-on experience with kernel bypass and high-speed packet processing (XDP, eBPF, AF_XDP, or DPDK).
• Familiarity with SmartNICs and accelerators (e.g., NVIDIA ConnectX-6/7, BlueField-3, or Intel IPUs).
• Experience with network virtualization and data center fabrics (e.g., Spine-Leaf, BGP, EVPN, VXLAN) and tools like OVS or OVN.
• Solid knowledge of SR-IOV and vDPA, with the ability to debug issues across both control and data planes.
• A track record of influencing technical decisions through strong written communication and a collaborative, mentoring mindset.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related analytical field (or equivalent professional experience).

Bonus Points

• Contributions to open-source projects like OVS, OVN, Cilium, or Multus.
• Hands-on experience deploying and operating physical network devices.
• Experience with network automation or complex orchestration tooling.
• Experience building networking stacks for multi-node GPU training at scale.