Hardware Systems Engineer, Hardware Tools / Firmware

Cloudflare•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

Cloudflare is hiring a Systems Engineer with a firmware focus for its Hardware Team, based in the U.S., to help deliver the team’s hardware security goals and projects in 2027 and beyond. The role supports Cloudflare’s global network infrastructure by maintaining and improving OpenBMC firmware, developing standards-based features, and designing observability and configuration solutions for server subsystems. The engineer will partner with internal teams to understand hardware security requirements and develop a roadmap of features, contribute to hardware provisioning in the lab, and own future firmware or hardware security goals through timely, high-quality delivery. The role also serves as a server-hardware domain expert, working with vendors and internal customers, collaborating on server requirements, and explaining technologies through wikis and specification sheets. The position is available in Austin, Texas, or Lisbon, Portugal. The Lisbon annual salary estimate is €54,000–€68,000, and the role is eligible for Cloudflare’s equity plan. Candidates progressing to the offer stage may be asked to attend an in-person interview at a Cloudflare office or hub. The position may require access to information protected by U.S. export control laws; an offer may be conditioned on authorization to receive controlled software or technology without export-license sponsorship.

Requirements

Experience developing firmware and/or embedded software.
Knowledge of servers, enterprise systems, and hardware interfaces.
A good understanding of hardware security for servers.
Familiarity with Redfish standards.
Ability to build firmware from open-source code, create demos and proofs of concept, set up systems, run synthetic tests, and debug complex firmware problems as needed.
Ability to create Python and Bash scripts and edit firmware or driver source code.
Curiosity and eagerness to learn.
Strong communication and collaboration skills, with attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Yocto or Buildroot.
Experience with UEFI development.

Responsibilities

Maintain and improve OpenBMC firmware.
Design and develop features based on industry standards, including OCP and DMTF standards.
Engage with vendors and guide them through Cloudflare’s requirements.
Design observability and configuration solutions for server subsystems such as DIMMs and NICs.
Partner with internal teams to understand hardware security requirements and develop a feature roadmap.
Contribute to hardware provisioning improvements in the hardware lab, particularly steps involving BIOS, firmware, settings, and hardware tools.
Develop and review requirements, code, tests, and design documents.
Own future firmware or hardware security tasks and goals and deliver them on time with a high standard of quality.
Build simple, well-defined plans that can be adapted without adding unnecessary complexity.
Serve as a server-hardware domain expert, collaborate on new server requirements, explain technologies through wikis and specification sheets, and liaise between vendors and internal customers.
Build firmware from open-source code, create demos and proofs of concept, set up systems, run synthetic tests, and debug complex firmware problems as needed.
Create Python and Bash scripts and edit firmware or driver source code.

Benefits

Equity plan participation
Medical/Rx insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Flexible spending accounts
Commuter spending accounts
Fertility and family-forming benefits
On-demand mental health support and Employee Assistance Program
Global travel medical insurance
Short- and long-term disability insurance
Life and accident insurance
401(k) retirement savings plan
Employee stock participation plan
Flexible paid time off covering vacation and sick leave
Leave programs, including parental, pregnancy health, medical, and bereavement leave