Senior Network Software Engineer (VPP / DPDK)

Opplane Inc. is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Networking Software Engineer with a strong focus on transport connectivity and networking products. In this role, you will design, develop, and deploy enterprise-grade networking appliances, contributing to impactful, large-scale systems in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities:

• Design and develop high-performance networking features for enterprise-grade appliances
• Work on open-source data plane / fast path stacks (VPP, DPDK)
• Lead technical initiatives and mentor team members
• Own features end-to-end, delivering independently and at scale
• Collaborate cross-functionally and promote knowledge sharing
• Communicate architecture decisions and design trade-offs effectively, including at senior levels
• Manage competing priorities with urgency, accountability, and strong ownership

Requirements:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field
• 8+ years of experience building enterprise-grade appliances or similar systems
• 3+ years delivering complex features independently
• Strong embedded software development skills in C/C++ (Python is a plus)
• Expertise in VPP, DPDK or similar open-source data plane / fast path stacks
• Good understanding of DPDK-based traffic generators (e.g., TRex) — development experience is a strong plus
• Strong knowledge of L2–L4 networking and protocols (TCP/IP, UDP, ARP, DHCP, DNS, NAT, Firewall)
• Experience with security protocols (IPsec, SSL/TLS), authentication, and authorization
• Hands-on experience with Software Defined Networking (SDN) and distributed systems
• Familiarity with overlays and tunneling technologies
• Excellent software engineering fundamentals and clean coding practices
• Experience with Docker, with a strong preference for Kubernetes experience
• Proven ability to succeed in collaborative, startup-like environments
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Experience with AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI, Alibaba Cloud
• Cloud-native architectures
• DevOps practices
• Distributed computing and microservices
• Cross-domain knowledge and solutions design mindset
• Security-first approach