Sr Principal Software Engineer (Network Architecture & SDN)

TL;DR

Sr Principal Software Engineer (Network Architecture & SDN): Designing a dynamic, self-healing transport network for a multi-orbit satellite constellation with an accent on SDN, multi-hop routing, and topology management. Focus on orchestrating inter-satellite links at orbital speeds and defining the architectural framework for next-generation programmable transport solutions.

Location: Bay Area, CA or Greater Seattle Area. Must be a U.S. citizen, national, permanent resident, or lawfully admitted refugee/asylee.

Salary: $264,103.00 - $369,743.85

Company

hirify.global is an aerospace company developing reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles to enable millions of people to live and work in space.

What you will do

• Define the strategic vision and architectural principles for a hybrid space-ground transport network.
• Develop groundbreaking technical approaches for multi-hop routing and topology management for LEO constellations.
• Architect a next-generation SDN ecosystem managing centralized and distributed control planes.
• Create blueprints for programmable transport solutions and real-time Traffic Engineering (TE) systems.
• Establish "Self-Healing" network principles using real-time telemetry for autonomous congestion management and fault isolation.
• Serve as the chief technical authority for networking, mentoring technical leaders and defining long-term hardware and software roadmaps.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in CS, EE, or related field with 20+ years of experience in network architecture or large-scale distributed systems.
• Expertise in advanced routing protocols (BGP, IS-IS, OSPF) and Segment Routing (SRv6/SR-MPLS).
• Distinguished track record of architecting SDN controllers and programmable data planes (P4, OpenFlow).
• Authoritative knowledge of packet processing, ASIC/FPGA forwarding logic, and high-speed switching.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, national, permanent resident, or lawfully admitted refugee/asylee.
• Experience working in mission and safety-critical environments.

Nice to have

• MS/PhD in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering.
• Experience with LEO/MEO satellite constellations or hybrid terrestrial-satellite networks.
• Contributions to IETF/IEEE standards or leadership in open-source networking projects.
• Advanced expertise in graph theory or dynamic topology optimization.
• Experience defining MBSE (model-based systems engineering) methodologies.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) plan with a company match of up to 5%.
• Generous paid time off (up to 4 weeks per year) and 14 company-paid holidays.
• Paid parental leave, short-term, and long-term disability.
• Education Support Program for continuous learning.