Senior Network Hardware Engineer

• As a pivotal technical contributor within the Network Hardware Engineering (NetHW) team, you will drive the selection and qualification process for network devices used in Cloudflare’s Global Network. The NetHW team manages the New Product Introduction (NPI) process for all network devices. The team also evaluates and qualifies new production network operating system images and versions, reproduces bugs to assist Operations with TAC cases, and tests new features and major configuration updates
• You will be involved in every stage of the New Product Introduction (NPI) process, including requirements gathering, device selection, Device Validation Testing (DVT), Production Validation Testing (PVT), and Operational Acceptance. You will create and automate test plans that align with operational needs and hardware limitations, and drive efforts to improve testing efficiency
• Lead the introduction of new network hardware systems, including detailed engineering validation in lab environments
• Gather requirements, contribute to network architecture, and execute hardware design and product validation
• Partner with Network Engineering and Operations, Datacenter Engineering and Operations, and other operational teams to make network hardware decisions
• Develop tools and automation to effectively evaluate network hardware performance
• Assist operational engineers by troubleshooting, reproducing, and resolving network hardware issues
• Document and share results and updates via blog/wiki posts, ticketing systems, and internal presentations

Benefits

• Competitive pay: We offer a competitive total rewards package, where every employee is an owner of our stock.
• Take-what-you-need vacation: We encourage employees to find a comfortable work-life balance by taking as many days off as they need while still being able to perform their jobs satisfactorily. (We really mean it!)
• Paid maternity & paternity leave: Our global parental leave policy allows up to sixteen paid weeks of bonding leave time for all qualifying new parents.
• Employee benefits: We offer a comprehensive benefits package including healthcare, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, pension plans in accordance with the market practice in our locations.
• Commuter program: We are flexible about where we work and value connecting at the office. Our commuter benefits program is in place to support team members’ commute to work via public transportation without the extra cost burden.
• Wellbeing: Global offerings that provide mental health, childcare and family forming support to our employees across our offices.- In-depth hardware knowledge of platforms (ASICs, TCAMs, Packet-Pipelines, etc.)
• Track record of driving engineering projects from idea to experiment to implementation
• Extensive experience with networking hardware architecture, validation, performance benchmarking, debugging, and deployment
• Deep knowledge of network engineering and protocols used in data center switching and routing as well as Internet routing
• Hands-on experience with configuring and validating RoCEv2 (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) fabrics, specifically implementing Priority Flow Control (PFC) and Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) on network devices
• Experience with white-box network switches and open source projects
• Professional-level proficiency in Python or similar programming and/or scripting languages
• Demonstrated success in working with OEM/ODMs and technology vendors
• Experience with Optical Line Systems and troubleshooting transceiver issues
• Proficient in using observability and monitoring tools like Prometheus and Grafana, with the ability to analyze and observe trends over time
• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience
• Adept at automating traffic generation equipment (Spirent/Ixia) and test cases
• Familiarity with various coding agents and other AI tools and technologies
• Familiarity with different network operating systems such as Junos, IOS-XR, EOS, SONiC, and ArcOS
• Proven ability to conduct thorough evaluation and experimentation, including testing, measurement, and/or simulation of hardware performance- Applications will be accepted until November 01, 2026