Network Hardware Engineer at Cloudflare

Network Hardware Engineer

Cloudflare, Austin, TX

Help us build a better Internet

About Us

At Cloudflare, we have our eyes set on an ambitious goal: to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers trillions of requests per month. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare have all 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 recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer and named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list.

We realize people do not fit into neat boxes. We are looking for curious and empathetic individuals who are committed to developing themselves and learning new skills, and we are ready to help you do that. We cannot complete our mission without building a diverse and inclusive team. We hire the best people based on an evaluation of their potential and support them throughout their time at Cloudflare. Come join us!

About the department

Cloudflare’s Infrastructure group is responsible for building our global network. Our Hardware Engineering team helps research, test, and deploy new equipment enabling compute, storage, and network. Deployed across 200+ cities in 100+ countries, the hardware we select helps improve the security, reliability, and performance of the Internet.

About the Role

We need to make thoughtful infrastructure choices affecting a significant portion of the Internet. Hardware we work with includes servers, routers, switches, optical equipment, power distribution units, cables, optics, and more. As a Network Hardware Engineer, you will work with colleagues on the Hardware Engineering, Network Operations, and Hardware Sourcing teams to evaluate and inform decisions around new networking equipment.

What you'll do

Develop systems for Cloudflare’s next generation of network hardware. Examples of network hardware that Cloudflare purchases are: switches, routers, line cards, metro optical/line systems, optics/transceivers.
Experiment with different designs and solutions for Cloudflare’s network hardware and work cross-functionally with Network Engineering and Hardware Sourcing to enact your suggestions globally
Work with vendors to obtain, debug, and maintain the most efficient and effective next-generation network hardware and software for Cloudflare’s workload
Develop tools and automation to evaluate network hardware performance
Partner with engineers in the Network Engineering, Network Operations, Datacenter Engineering, and Observability teams to make informed decisions about hardware strategy
Communicate your results and updates through blog posts, internal talks, and tickets

Examples of desirable skills, knowledge and experience

Extensive experience with networking hardware architecture, validation, performance benchmarking, debug, and deployment
Previous experience in testing, measuring, and/or simulating hardware performance and an understanding of no-stone-left-unturned experimentation
Deep knowledge of network engineering and protocols used in data center switching and routing, Internet routing, and optical line systems.
Track record of driving engineering projects from idea to experiment to implementation
Demonstrated success in working with ODMs and technology vendors
Professional-level proficiency in Python, Go, or similar programming and/or scripting languages

Bonus Points

Experience with white-box network switches and open source projects such as openswitch.net
Experience with Juniper equipment, especially the QFX, PTX, and/or MX series
Operational experience as a network engineer in a hyperscale cloud infrastructure
In-depth knowledge of platforms (ASICs, TCAMs, etc).

What Makes Cloudflare Special?

We’re not just a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company. We’re a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company with a soul. Fundamental to our mission to help build a better Internet is protecting the free and open Internet.

Project Galileo: We equip politically and artistically important organizations and journalists with powerful tools to defend themselves against attacks that would otherwise censor their work, technology already used by Cloudflare’s enterprise customers--at no cost.

Athenian Project: We created Athenian Project to ensure that state and local governments have the highest level of protection and reliability for free, so that their constituents have access to election information and voter registration.

Path Forward Partnership: Since 2016, we have partnered with Path Forward, a nonprofit organization, to create 16-week positions for mid-career professionals who want to get back to the workplace after taking time off to care for a child, parent, or loved one.

1.1.1.1: We released 1.1.1.1 to help fix the foundation of the Internet by building a faster, more secure and privacy-centric public DNS resolver. This is available publicly for everyone to use - it is the first consumer-focused service Cloudflare has ever released. Here’s the deal - we don’t store client IP addresses never, ever. We will continue to abide by our privacy policy and ensure that no user data is sold to advertisers or used to target consumers.

Sound like something you’d like to be a part of? We’d love to hear from you!

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Please note that any offer of employment may be conditioned on your authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export laws without sponsorship for an export license.

Cloudflare is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and place great value in both diversity and inclusiveness. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to their, or any other person's, perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law. We are an AA/Veterans/Disabled Employer.

Cloudflare provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to, changing the application process, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. If you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job, please contact us via e-mail at [email protected] or via mail at 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107.

About Cloudflare

About us

Cloudflare is the simplest way to make websites faster, safer and smarter. Millions of websites have signed up for our service, including large enterprises, major consumer destinations, and government agencies. With offices in San Francisco and London, Cloudflare operates a highly-available global network that has security measures built into every layer and regularly clocks in lightning-fast speeds.

We're on a mission to build a better web - and we need smart, talented people to join our team. Our team works on the forefront of leading technologies including nginx, Go and Lua programming languages. We're a strong supporter of the open source community and regularly share our technology learnings at https://blog.cloudflare.com.