At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and develop cutting-edge SDN solutions for NVIDIA’s AI Clouds.
- Company: Join NVIDIA, a leader in AI technology and innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy remote work flexibility, competitive salary, and career growth opportunities.
- Other info: Collaborative environment focused on innovation and open-source contributions.
- Why this job: Make an impact in the tech world with advanced networking technologies.
- Qualifications: 15+ years in software development with expertise in SDN and cloud technologies.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
Overview
Company Name: NVIDIA
Job Role: Principal Engineer, Software Defined Networking
Qualifications: Not specified
Category: I
Job Type: Full Time
Location: Remote – UK
Requirements
- BS/MS in Computer Science or related technical field, or a comparable blend of education and relevant experience
- 15+ years of proven experience in software development for large-scale distributed environments
- Expert-level knowledge of OVN, OVS, OpenFlow, and modern network protocols
- Strong programming skills in C and Go; advanced scripting in Bash and Python
- Deep knowledge of Kubernetes, practical experience deploying and supporting CNIs (OVN-Kubernetes)
- Hands-on experience with Infrastructure-as-Code and deployment tools (Ansible, Terraform, ArgoCD, Flux)
- Experience designing and operating complex, multi-stage CI/CD pipelines
- Hands-on experience developing secure, high-performance services using gRPC and REST with TLS and strong authentication
- Strong knowledge of datacenter routing, switching, and Linux host/VM networking
Nice to have
- Contributions to open-source projects (especially OVS, OVN, OVN-Kubernetes, or other Kubernetes networking projects)
- Experience with hardware acceleration (GPU, DPU or equivalent experience) for networking
- Practical experience with major cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) and hybrid/multi-cloud deployments
- SRE/DevOps top-level expertise – on-call, incident management, operations focused on service reliability targets, production ownership
- Experience with observability platforms and tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Jaeger, OpenTelemetry, ELK)
The role
We are looking for a Principal System Software Engineer, Software Defined Networking to design, build, and operate highly performant and scalable SDN solutions for NVIDIA’s AI Clouds hosting GPU-accelerated workloads – including hyperscale multi-node training, inference, cloud gaming, and cloud functions. This role spans the full lifecycle of our SDN stack – from designing and developing new control and data plane software to ensuring operational excellence in production through reliability engineering, CI/CD, observability, and incident response.
What you’ll do
- Design and develop next-generation multi-tenant cloud SDN control and data plane software (OVS, OVN, OpenFlow)
- Build Infrastructure-as-a-Service virtual network orchestration and services using gRPC and REST to support tenant workload security and performance SLAs for BMaaS, VMaaS, and Kubernetes
- Drive upstream contributions to OVN-Kubernetes and related open-source projects
- Develop software for network observability – monitoring, telemetry, intelligent metering, and performance analysis
- Operate and support OVS-OVN based SDN solutions in large-scale NVIDIA AI Cloud environments
- Own end-to-end observability for the SDN stack – build and maintain monitoring, alerting, distributed tracing, and dashboarding to ensure real-time insight into network health, performance, and tenant SLAs
- Design, enhance, and maintain CI/CD pipelines (GitLab) across Linux host networking, OVS, OVN, and Kubernetes CNIs
- Implement GitOps approaches or related experience for secure, seamless integration with cloud infrastructure
- Collaborate with SRE, DevOps, and network engineering teams on production readiness and operational tooling
Visa sponsorship: check with employer
Principal Engineer, Software Defined Networking NVIDIA employer: Owen Thomas | B Corp™
Join an innovative early-stage legaltech startup in Central/East London, where you'll be part of a dynamic team dedicated to making legal advice accessible through cutting-edge AI technology. With a strong funding base and rapid growth, this company offers a collaborative work culture that values autonomy and creativity, providing ample opportunities for personal and professional development. As a Senior Product Engineer, you'll have the chance to make a significant impact on both the product and the company's future while working in a vibrant city known for its tech scene.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Engineer, Software Defined Networking NVIDIA
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Owen Thomas | B Corp™ or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Owen Thomas | B Corp™.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Owen Thomas | B Corp™.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Owen Thomas | B Corp™ that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Engineer, Software Defined Networking NVIDIA
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Owen Thomas | B Corp™.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Owen Thomas | B Corp™ and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Owen Thomas | B Corp™
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Owen Thomas | B Corp™ uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.