Staff Software Engineer - Confluent Cloud Traffic Engineering

Staff Software Engineer role focused on building and operating the Confluent Cloud network data plane for Kafka cluster traffic at IBM.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain software that powers the mission-critical Confluent Cloud network data plane platform
• Architect, design, build, and operationalize systems that are high performance, scalable, reliable, and resilient
• Drive technical initiatives that create measurable business impact across networking, cloud infrastructure, and multi-tenancy
• Lead execution of software projects independently and provide technical direction to a team delivering production impact with an emphasis on quality
• Build on open source software and work with upstream communities to deliver business outcomes
• Troubleshoot complex issues and improve operations for a technical stack spanning all three clouds, including microservices, containers, and virtualization

Requirements

• 8+ years of relevant cloud infrastructure or cloud networking experience
• Strong foundations in distributed systems design and development
• Experience building and operating large-scale systems
• Solid understanding of core systems operations such as storage, network, and operating systems
• Proficiency in C++, Go, Python, or other statically typed languages
• Experience or knowledge with public clouds including AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Experience and/or knowledge building and managing Layer 7 proxies, especially cloud-native proxies such as Envoy

Technologies

• C++, Go, Python
• AWS, Azure, GCP
• Envoy
• Kubernetes

Preferred Skills

• Open source contributions to CNCF projects
• Experience with Kubernetes Networking
• Strong networking background paired with software engineering experience
• Education in computer science or a related field, or equivalent work experience

Benefits

• Healthcare benefits: medical and prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health and well-being
• Financial programs including 401(k), cash balance pension plan, IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, and short- and long-term disability coverage
• Opportunities for performance-based salary incentive programs
• Generous paid time off: 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation
• 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy and other Paid Care Leave programs
• Training and educational resources on IBM’s personalized, AI-driven learning platform, including access to industry-recognized certifications
• Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving and volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services, and experiences

Additional Details

• Location: Tucson, AZ (remote)
• US remote availability: this job can be performed from anywhere in the US
• Visa sponsorship: IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future
• Work authorization: applicants must be able to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship

Salary range: USD 161,000 - 299,000 per year (varies by job-related skills, experience, and location). Full-time compensation and benefits are based on a full calendar year; pay increment and frequency follow employment classification and applicable laws. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start during the calendar year.