Principal Software Engineer
Saratoga, California
Job Id:
163564
Job Category:
Job Location:
Saratoga, California
Security Clearance:
No Clearance
Business Unit:
Piper Companies
Division:
Piper Enterprise Solutions
Position Owner:
Beth Roberts
Piper Companies is looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join a cutting‑edge networking hardware company located near San Jose, CA to lead the architecture and development of the software SDK that powers next‑generation switch ASICs. The ideal Principal Software Engineer will help influence the entire networking software stack.
Responsibilities for the Principal Software Engineer:
- Lead the design of the SDK that bridges advanced switch silicon with platform and NOS software
- Build high‑performance APIs and abstraction layers for L2/L3 forwarding, QoS, ACLs, telemetry, and more
- Drive silicon bring‑up efforts in simulation, emulation, and production systems
- Collaborate with silicon, firmware, and NOS teams to deliver robust, scalable switch software
Qualifications for the Principal Software Engineer:
- 10+ years of hands‑on experience developing embedded software or SDKs for networking ASICs
- Must be eligible to work in the United States and obtain and maintain an Active U.S. Government Secret Clearance
- Deep knowledge of L2/L3 switching and routing (e.g., VLANs, LAG, OSPF, BGP, IGMP, LLDP, datacenter switching)
- Strong C/C++ development experience in Linux; Python preferred
- Experience integrating silicon-level SDKs with NOS platforms (SONiC, SAI, or custom APIs)
- Solid background in performance analysis, dataplane design, or hardware abstraction
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field
Compensation/Benefits for the Principal Software Engineer:
- Salary/Rate Range: $210,000 - $265,000 base plus stock depending on experience
- Comprehensive Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, PTO, Sick Leave (where required), and Holidays
This job opens for applications on $/6/2026. Applications for this job will be accepted for at least 30 days from the posting date.
Keywords: networking, ASIC, SDK, network switch software, embedded systems, SONiC, SAI, routing protocols, L2/L3 switching, dataplane development, firmware, silicon bring‑up, C/C++ engineer, network architecture, QoS, ACL, TCAM, telemetry, hardware abstraction, network operating systems, NOS, switch silicon, packet processing, DC networking, infrastructure software, Linux, software development kit, HAL
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