Staff Engineer, Network Infrastructure

DigitalOcean

. Design and build network automation and orchestration systems for reliable deployment and operation of DigitalOcean's global network infrastructure .

Posted 9/21/2026full-timeSeattle • Washington • United StatesLead💰 $191,200 - $239,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in designing and building scalable network automation and orchestration systems, with a strong foundation in software engineering principles and networking technologies. Capable of leading technical projects, mentoring engineers, and establishing engineering standards for infrastructure software development.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Network Automation DevelopmentSoftware Engineering FundamentalsProgramming in Go, Python, or C++Networking Protocols (TCP/IP, BGP, EVPN/VXLAN)Technical Leadership and Mentorship

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Network ProvisioningConfiguration ManagementDevice Lifecycle ManagementAutomated RemediationDistributed SystemsAPI DesignObservabilitySystem ReliabilityAutomation FrameworksTechnical Writing

Soft Skills

Strong Communication SkillsInfluencing Technical DecisionsProblem-SolvingMentoring

Tools & Technologies

DPUsSmartNICsEBPFP4KubernetesOpenConfigGNMINETCONFYANGStreaming Telemetry

Industry Keywords

Cloud InfrastructureHyperscale NetworkingWhite-Box Networking400G+ Datacenter NetworksOpen-Source Infrastructure Projects

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudDistributed SystemsKubernetesPythonSwitchingTCP/IPC++Go

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design and build network automation and orchestration systems for reliable deployment and operation of DigitalOcean's global network infrastructure
Develop software for network provisioning, configuration management, device lifecycle management, validation, monitoring, and automated remediation
Design and build software integrating with DPUs, SmartNICs, and programmable network infrastructure
Develop automation for large-scale datacenter and Point of Presence deployments, including hardware, network fabrics, routing infrastructure, and vendor integrations
Build abstractions across network vendors and hardware implementations while maintaining operational safety and reliability
Build diagnostic tools and automate operational workflows for network and infrastructure issues
Convert manual, repetitive, or error-prone infrastructure operations into scalable software solutions
Partner with network engineers and infrastructure architects to translate networking and hardware requirements into maintainable software architectures
Establish engineering standards for infrastructure software development, testing, observability, and operational readiness
Lead projects from technical design through implementation, deployment, and long-term operation
Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership across the engineering organization
Own technical direction for significant areas of network and infrastructure software
Define architecture for integrating DPUs and programmable infrastructure into production
Lead ambiguous, high-impact initiatives and document architecture, requirements, tradeoffs, dependencies, risks, and decisions through RFCs
Use AI tooling to accelerate development, debugging, testing, documentation, and technical exploration while maintaining production-quality standards
Evaluate emerging hardware and software technologies and build cross-functional partnerships across engineering organizations

Requirements

What you’ll need

Significant experience designing and building production software systems at scale
Strong software engineering fundamentals, including distributed systems, API design, concurrency, testing, observability, and system reliability
Strong programming experience in one or more languages such as Go, Python, or C++
Experience building automation, orchestration, or infrastructure platforms
Strong understanding of networking, including TCP/IP, BGP, EVPN/VXLAN, VLANs, routing, switching, and network telemetry
Experience working with network devices, network automation frameworks, APIs, or vendor SDKs
Experience designing systems that operate safely in highly available, production environments
Ability to understand complex infrastructure problems and simplify them into scalable software architectures
Strong technical writing skills, including RFCs, architecture/design documents, technical proposals, project plans, and related documentation
Ability to turn ambiguous problems into clear technical proposals, documented requirements, architectural decisions, and actionable implementation plans
Strong communication skills and ability to influence technical decisions across engineering teams
Demonstrated ability to operate as a technical leader without relying on organizational authority
Experience with DPUs, SmartNICs, programmable data planes, eBPF, P4, or related infrastructure technologies is particularly valuable
Nice-to-have experience with hyperscale or cloud infrastructure, SONiC, white-box networking, 400G+ datacenter networks, OpenConfig, gNMI, NETCONF, YANG, streaming telemetry, Kubernetes, hardware-accelerated networking, or open-source infrastructure projects

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 compensation, including equity grants upon hire
Option to participate in the Employee Stock Purchase Program