Senior Software Engineer II, Network Datapath

Digital Ocean
Denver
Workplace: RemoteFull timeUSD 167,200 - 209,000 annuallyFunction: Software EngineeringSkills: ["Communication","Technical writing","Mentorship","Cross-team collaboration","Performance troubleshooting"]

Design and optimize high-performance network datapath software that powers DigitalOcean’s cloud infrastructure. You’ll build packet-processing, forwarding, routing, and traffic-steering functionality across host, kernel, user space, and hardware-accelerated paths, using Linux networking plus technologies like eBPF/XDP and DPDK. Partner with network, compute, and hardware teams to analyze performance, improve observability, develop tests/benchmarks, and deliver production reliability at low latency and high throughput.

Loading

Loading job details...

Preparing the role view and application actions.

FursaFursa
Digital Ocean
Digital Ocean
1 day ago

Senior Software Engineer II, Network Datapath

✓ Verified Job

Canonical indexed version, validated from employer's careers page.

Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 13 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Design and optimize high-performance network datapath software that powers DigitalOcean’s cloud infrastructure. You’ll build packet-processing, forwarding, routing, and traffic-steering functionality across host, kernel, user space, and hardware-accelerated paths, using Linux networking plus technologies like eBPF/XDP and DPDK. Partner with network, compute, and hardware teams to analyze performance, improve observability, develop tests/benchmarks, and deliver production reliability at low latency and high throughput.
Location: Denver
Workplace: Remote
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Software Engineering
Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Design, develop, and optimize high-performance network datapath software for DigitalOcean’s cloud infrastructure.
  • •Build and improve packet-processing and forwarding systems, focusing on throughput, latency, CPU efficiency, scalability, and reliability.
  • •Develop networking functionality across host, kernel, user space, and hardware-accelerated datapaths, including Linux networking and programmable datapath technologies.
  • •Analyze packet-processing paths, eliminate bottlenecks, and improve performance using observability/telemetry, debugging, and performance monitoring.
  • •Author RFCs and technical documentation, lead design reviews, mentor engineers, and help integrate datapath functionality into DigitalOcean’s broader infrastructure architecture.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 167,200 - 209,000 annually
Equity and Bonus:Equity
Perks:Learning BudgetEquity

Key Requirements

  • •Strong production software design and development experience in C, C++, or Go.
  • •Deep understanding of networking and packet processing, including TCP/IP, routing, switching, VLANs, VXLAN, BGP, ECMP, NAT, load balancing, and network virtualization.
  • •Experience developing and debugging Linux-based networking systems, including Linux kernel networking concepts (namespaces, sockets, queues, interrupts) and NIC drivers.
  • •Hands-on experience with high-performance networking technologies such as DPDK, XDP, eBPF, AF_XDP, or SR-IOV.
  • •Ability to reason across hardware, operating systems, networking, and applications, and drive work from technical design through production deployment (with strong RFC and documentation skills).
Experience:Cloud networkingHigh-performance networkingLinux networkingHardware-accelerated networking
Skills:CommunicationTechnical writingMentorshipCross-team collaborationPerformance troubleshooting
Languages:English
Tech Stack:CC++GoLinuxLinux kernel networking stackNetwork namespacesSocketsQueuesInterruptsNIC driversLinux networkingEBPFXDPDPDKAF_XDPSR-IOVDPUsSmartNICsProgrammable NICsProgrammable datapaths

Company Brief

Digital Ocean
Provides cloud infrastructure and developer-focused cloud services including scalable droplets, managed databases, Kubernetes, object storage, and networking to simplify deploying and managing applications for developers and small-to-medium businesses.
Industry: Cloud Computing
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Revenue: USD 250M to 500M
Growth: Public Company
Valuation: Public Company (Market Cap in USD)
Funding: IPO / Publicly Listed
Headquarters: New York, United States
Founded: 2011
Glassdoor
Glassdoor: 3.8
WebsiteLinkedIn