Network Hardware Engineer

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 Automation & Performance Testing: Develop tools and automation to effectively evaluate network hardware performance Operational Support: Assist operational engineers by troubleshooting, reproducing, and resolving network hardware issues Communication: Document and share results and updates via blog/wiki posts, ticketing systems, and internal presentations Role Requirements (Must-Have Skills) Must-Have Skills 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 Familiarity with various coding agents and other AI tools and technologies NIce-to-Have Skills Adept at automating traffic generation equipment (Spirent/Ixia) and test cases In-depth hardware knowledge of platforms (ASICs, TCAMs, Packet-Pipelines, etc) Experience with Optical Line Systems and troubleshooting transceiver issues 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. Equity This role is eligible to participate in Cloudflare's equity plan. Benefits Cloudflare offers a complete package of benefits and programs to support you and your family. Our benefits programs can help you pay health care expenses, support caregiving, build capital for the future and make life a little easier and fun! The below is a description of our benefits for employees in the United States, and benefits may vary for employees based outside the U.S. Health & Welfare Benefits Medical/Rx Insurance Dental Insurance Vision Insurance Flexible Spending Accounts Commuter Spending Accounts Fertility & Family Forming Benefits On-demand mental health support and Employee Assistance Program Global Travel Medical Insurance Financial Benefits Short and Long Term Disability Insurance Life & Accident Insurance 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan Employee Stock Participation Plan Time Off Flexible paid time off covering vacation and sick leave Leave programs, including parental, pregnancy health, medical, and bereavement leave What Makes Cloudflare Special? We’re not just a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company. We’re a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company with a soul. Fundamental to our mission to help build a better Internet is protecting the free and open Internet. Project Galileo : Since 2014, we've equipped more than 2,400 journalism and civil society organizations in 111 countries with powerful tools to defend themselves against attacks that would otherwise censor their work, technology already used by Cloudflare’s enterprise customers--at no cost. Athenian Project : In 2017, we created the Athenian Project to ensure that state and local governments have the highest level of protection and reliability for free, so that their constituents have access to election information and voter registration. Since the project, we've provided services to more than 425 local government election websites in 33 states. 1.1.1.1 : We released 1.1.1.1 to help fix the foundation of the Internet by building a faster, more secure and privacy-centric public DNS resolver. This is available publicly for everyone to use - it is the first consumer-focused service Cloudflare has ever released. Here’s the deal - we don’t store client IP addresses never, ever. We will continue to abide by our privacy commitment and ensure that no user data is sold to advertisers or used to target consumers. Sound like something you’d like to be a part of? We’d love to hear from you! Please note that applicants who progress to the offer stage of the interview process may be asked to attend an in-person interview within one of the Cloudflare Offices or Cloudflare Hubs. More details about this will be available at that stage of the interview process. This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Please note that any offer of employment may be conditioned on your authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export laws without sponsorship for an export license. Cloudflare is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and place great value in both diversity and inclusiveness. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to their, or any other person's, perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexu