Network Hardware Engineer

Cloudflare • Austin, TX

5h

About The Position

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. Our responsibilities also include the evaluation and qualification of new production network operating system images and versions. Furthermore, we provide essential support by reproducing bugs to assist Operations with TAC cases and testing 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. Furthermore, you will be responsible for creating test plans that align with both operational needs and hardware limitations, as well as driving efforts to improve testing efficiency.
Network Hardware Systems Engineering Responsibilities:
Product Lifecycle Management: Lead the introduction of new network hardware systems, including detailed engineering validation in lab environments
Qualification & Validation: Gather requirements, contribute to network architecture, and execute hardware design and product validation
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Network Engineering & Operations, Datacenter Engineering & Operations, and other operational teams to make network hardware decisions
Operational Support: Assist operational engineers by troubleshooting, reproducing, and resolving network hardware issues
Automation & Performance Testing: Develop tools and automation to effectively evaluate network hardware performance
Communication: Document and share results and updates via blog/wiki posts, ticketing systems, and internal presentations

Requirements

• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience
• Proven ability to conduct thorough evaluation and experimentation, including testing, measurement, and/or simulation of hardware performance
• 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
• Track record of driving engineering projects from idea to experiment to implementation
• Demonstrated success in working with OEM/ODMs and technology vendors
• Professional-level proficiency in Python or similar programming and/or scripting languages

Nice To Haves

• Adept at automating traffic generation equipment (Spirent/Ixia) and test cases
• In-depth hardware knowledge of platforms (ASICs, TCAMs, Packet-Pipelines, etc)
• Familiarity with different network operating systems such as Junos, IOS-XR, EOS, SONiC, and ArcOS
• Experience with white-box network switches and open source projects
• Proficient in using observability and monitoring tools like Prometheus and Grafana, with the ability to analyze and observe trends over time.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• 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 & Operations, Datacenter Engineering & Operations, and other operational teams to make network hardware decisions
• Assist operational engineers by troubleshooting, reproducing, and resolving network hardware issues
• Develop tools and automation to effectively evaluate network hardware performance
• Document and share results and updates via blog/wiki posts, ticketing systems, and internal presentations

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level