Staff Software Engineer - Network Functions and Architecture

Posting Open Date: Reposted Jan 9, 2026

Anticipated Posting Close Date*: Jan 30, 2026

*Job posting may close early due to the volume of applicants.

Staff Software Engineer - Network Functions and Architecture

We are looking for a talented Staff level Engineer to help design and build the next generation of Fastly’s network telemetry and traffic engineering systems. You will be responsible for designing and building distributed systems to collect network data at large scale via passive and active measurements, process data efficiently and cost-effectively, and use the results to make real-time network configuration decisions for load balancing, traffic engineering and failover purposes.

What You'll Do:

• Lead full lifecycle projects from design and development through roll out and maintenance to build systems that make automated network configuration decisions for load balancing, traffic engineering and failover purposes,
• Design and build systems to collect, normalize, enrich, transport, and process data from heterogeneous sources across a rapidly scaling network
• Study and apply concepts from control theory, optimization and statistics to tackle traffic engineering problems
• Design and build pipelines for generating, testing and deploying changes to distributed systems that control Fastly's edge network
• Design and build software systems to run on network equipment for controlling their dataplane configuration
• Technical leadership of full lifecycle projects, driving project progress and collaborating with project stakeholders - Coordinate and communicate with the team members and across other technical and cross functional teams
• Write code that is performant, maintainable, clear, and concise and contribute to code reviews, improving the codebase and other team processes
• Mentor and support other engineers, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing, innovation, and collaboration within the team
• Participate in on-call rotation as needed

What We're Looking For:

• Significant professional experience building high-reliability distributed systems. Most Staff Engineers at Fastly have more than 7 years of related experience.
• Solid understanding of the Go programming language
• Strong network engineering experience including load balancing, traffic engineering, etc.
• Consistent track record of designing and implementing large-scale and mission-critical distributed software systems
• Understanding of the challenges involved in building, operating, and maintaining scalable and reliable data processing systems
• Experience mentoring, guiding, and coaching team members
• Ability to learn new skills and share what you’ve learned with the broader team

We’ll be super impressed if you have experience in any of these:

• Real-world experience in the protocols and practices that make up the fabric of the global internet, including IP, BGP, Anycast, and DNS
• Understanding of control theory, optimization, probability or statistics as well as experience applying them to novel problems
• Experience working with geographically dispersed teams: previous remote work preferred
• Experience in network telemetry including instrumenting infrastructure and collecting, processing, storing and analyzing data
• Experience writing production-level code using the Rust programming language

Work Hours:

This position will require you to be available during core business hours and occasional nights and weekends as necessary to support the on-call rotation.

Work Location(s) & Travel Requirements:

This position is open to the following office locations:

• San Francisco, CA
• New York, NY
• Denver, CO

Fastly currently embraces a largely hybrid model for most roles which allows employees flexibility to split their time between the office and home. We may consider exceptionally qualified candidates who are remote in the US. This position may require travel as required by your role or requested by your manager.

SF / LA Fair Chance Ordinance Statement

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Salary:

The estimated salary range for this position is $211,370 to $253,644.

Starting salary may vary based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as experience, skills, qualifications, and location.

This role may be eligible to participate in Fastly’s equity and discretionary bonus programs.

Benefits:

We care about you. Fastly works hard to create a positive environment for our employees, and we think your life outside of work is important too. We support our teams with great benefits that start on the first day of your employment with Fastly. Curious about our offerings?

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance. Family planning, mental health support along with Employee Assistance Program, Insurance (Life, Disability, and Accident), a Flexible Vacation policy and up to 18 days of accrued paid sick leave are there to help support our employees. We also offer 401(k) (including company match) and an Employee Stock Purchase Program. For 2026, we offer 12 paid local holidays, 12 paid company wellness days.