Senior Software Engineer II, Network Datapath

DigitalOcean

. Design, develop, and optimize high-performance network datapath software for DigitalOcean's cloud infrastructure .

Posted 9/22/2026full-timeRemote • Colorado • United StatesSenior💰 $167,200 - $209,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in designing and developing high-performance network datapath software, with a strong focus on packet processing, performance optimization, and integration with advanced networking hardware. Proficient in technical documentation and mentoring, ensuring effective collaboration across engineering teams.

Highest-signal resume keywords

C/C++/Go Software DevelopmentNetworking and Packet ProcessingLinux-Based Networking SystemsDPDK/XDP/eBPF/AF_XDP/SR-IOV ExperiencePerformance Analysis and Optimization

ATS Keywords

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Hard Skills

C ProgrammingC++ ProgrammingGo ProgrammingPacket ProcessingRoutingLoad BalancingNetwork VirtualizationPerformance BenchmarkingMultithreadingDebugging

Soft Skills

Technical WritingCommunicationMentoringCollaborationProblem Solving

Tools & Technologies

Linux KernelSmartNICsDPUsProgrammable NICsTCP/IPVLANsVXLANBGPECMPNAT

Industry Keywords

Network InfrastructureCloud InfrastructurePerformance MonitoringDatapath SoftwareTechnical Documentation

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudLinuxSwitchingTCP/IPC++Go

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design, develop, and optimize high-performance network datapath software for DigitalOcean's cloud infrastructure
Build and improve packet-processing and forwarding systems focused on throughput, latency, CPU efficiency, scalability, and reliability
Develop networking functionality across the host, kernel, user space, and hardware-accelerated datapath
Analyze packet-processing paths and eliminate bottlenecks
Develop routing, packet filtering, encapsulation, tunneling, load balancing, traffic steering, and network virtualization software
Build datapath observability, telemetry, debugging, and performance monitoring
Integrate software with DPUs, SmartNICs, programmable NICs, and hardware acceleration technologies
Develop automated testing and benchmarking frameworks
Investigate production networking issues including packet drops, latency, throughput degradation, CPU utilization, and unexpected traffic behavior
Collaborate with Network Infrastructure, Compute, Availability, and hardware teams
Contribute to next-generation network architectures
Author RFCs, architecture documents, technical proposals, design documents, and implementation plans
Document technical decisions, tradeoffs, performance characteristics, dependencies, and operational considerations
Participate in design reviews and provide technical guidance
Mentor engineers and improve software engineering and networking practices

Requirements

What you’ll need

Strong experience designing and developing production software in C, C++, or Go
Strong understanding of networking and packet processing
Experience developing software for Linux-based networking systems
Understanding of TCP/IP, routing, switching, VLANs, VXLAN, BGP, ECMP, NAT, load balancing, and network virtualization
Experience debugging and optimizing performance-sensitive systems
Understanding of Linux networking internals, including the Linux kernel networking stack, network namespaces, sockets, queues, interrupts, and NIC drivers
Experience with DPDK, XDP, eBPF, AF_XDP, or SR-IOV
Experience with multithreaded and concurrent software
Strong understanding of performance analysis, profiling, benchmarking, and troubleshooting
Ability to reason about complex systems across hardware, operating systems, networking, and applications
Ability to independently drive projects from technical design through implementation and production deployment
Strong technical writing skills for RFCs, architecture/design documents, technical proposals, and other engineering documentation
Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively across engineering teams
Experience developing software for DPUs, SmartNICs, IPUs, or programmable NICs is highly valuable
Understanding of functionality distribution between host CPUs, NICs, DPUs, and switches is highly valuable
Experience with DPU-based networking, security, storage, virtualization, or packet processing is highly valuable
Experience with programmable datapaths such as P4, eBPF, or other programmable data-plane technologies is highly valuable
Understanding of PCIe, DMA, queues, interrupts, RSS, offloads, and NIC hardware architecture is highly valuable
Own significant technical components from design through production
Solve complex performance and reliability problems
Make technical decisions based on measurable performance and operational requirements
Develop scalable solutions
Proactively identify architectural and performance bottlenecks
Work across Network Infrastructure, Compute, Security, and other engineering organizations
Produce clear RFCs and technical documentation
Mentor other engineers
Use AI and modern engineering tools to increase team leverage

Benefits

Comp & perks

Reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education
Access to LinkedIn Learning's 10,000+ courses
Employee Assistance Program
Local Employee Meetups
Flexible time off policy
Bonus eligibility based on company and individual performance
Equity grants upon hire for eligible employees
Employee Stock Purchase Program for eligible employees
Remote work