Principal Software Engineer

Oracle•Seattle, WA

About The Position

At Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), we give engineers the opportunity to build and operate massive-scale cloud services in a deeply distributed, multi-tenant environment. Our teams value innovation, ownership, pragmatic problem solving, and continuous learning. The Containers, Kubernetes & Serverless (CKS) organization provides the foundational platform for running containerized workloads across OCI. Core offerings include Oracle Container Engine for Kubernetes (OKE), Oracle Serverless, and Container Instances—the serverless compute platform optimized for running containers without managing servers. As part of the Container Instances Data Plane team, you will design and operate the systems responsible for securely running containers on OCI’s fleet of virtualized and bare-metal hardware. This includes working across Linux internals, container runtime isolation, networking, security boundaries, image lifecycle, performance tuning, and the orchestration systems that manage thousands of containers across OCI regions. You will help build new data-plane capabilities from the ground up, evolve the virtualization layer that powers secure container execution, and improve the reliability, scalability, and performance of the platform. This is a hands-on systems role that spans deep Linux work, containerization technologies, and distributed service design. We are looking for hands-on engineers with a strong systems background and a passion for solving complex problems in Linux-based infrastructure, virtualization, and containerized platforms . As a Principal Member of Technical Staff, you will design, build, and operate key data plane components that power OCI Container Instances. This role requires a practical, detail-oriented engineer who is comfortable working deep in the stack—from Linux internals and system configuration to distributed service interactions. You should value operational correctness, performance, and simplicity, work effectively in a collaborative environment, and be motivated by ownership of production systems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
6+years of experience designing, building, and operating large-scale, highly available infrastructure or distributed systems.
Strong experience working with Linux systems, including process isolation, resource management, networking, and storage.
Hands-on experience with virtualization and/or container technologies in production environments.
Proficiency in at least one systems programming language such as Go or Java, along with strong scripting skills (e.g., Bash).
Proven ability to debug and troubleshoot complex issues across multi-component systems.
Strong problem-solving skills, clear communication, and a strong sense of ownership for production services.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with Linux-based virtualization technologies (e.g., KVM/QEMU) or container runtimes.
Experience building or operating containerized workloads and infrastructure in a cloud environment.
Familiarity with Linux networking concepts, including namespaces, virtual networking, and routing.
Experience with infrastructure automation and Infrastructure as Code tools (e.g., Terraform).
Experience building or customizing OS images and managing system-level configuration.
Background in operating multi-tenant, security-sensitive infrastructure.
Experience working with CI/CD systems and production deployment pipelines.

Responsibilities

As a Principal Member of Technical Staff, you will design, build, and operate key data plane components that power OCI Container Instances.
This role requires a practical, detail-oriented engineer who is comfortable working deep in the stack—from Linux internals and system configuration to distributed service interactions.
You should value operational correctness, performance, and simplicity, work effectively in a collaborative environment, and be motivated by ownership of production systems.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion
Short term disability and long term disability
Life insurance and AD&D
Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits
401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
11 paid holidays
Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
Paid parental leave
Adoption assistance
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Financial planning and group legal
Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance