Principal Software Engineer

Kubernetes Principal Engineer

Join the NetApp Trident team and help define the Kubernetes story for one of the industry's most established storage platforms. You will be part of the Trident program—the team behind the first open-source, out-of-tree dynamic storage provisioner for Kubernetes—and will shape the roadmap for persistent storage on Kubernetes. In this role, you will own key architectural decisions, drive adoption of NetApp's cloud-native storage solutions, and represent the team in open-source and customer-facing forums. You will work closely with upstream communities, product management, and customers to deliver practical, scalable solutions for persistent storage in containerized environments.

Our team builds innovative solutions that help customers manage persistent storage for Kubernetes and other container platforms. We contribute code and technical leadership upstream, and we work across storage, distributed systems, and cloud-native ecosystems to solve real customer problems. We are looking for someone who is results-driven, collaborative, curious, and creative—someone who takes ownership, delivers high-quality work independently, and brings broad experience across embedded systems, operating systems, storage, and distributed systems.

Responsibilities

As a Principal Engineer, you will:

• Lead architectural design and guide the team through critical technical decisions
• Provide technical leadership across associated teams and programs
• Partner with product management on roadmap planning and prioritization
• Engage directly with customers on escalations, requirements, and solution validation
• Drive continuous improvement across development, quality, and delivery
• Evangelize NetApp's Kubernetes solution in open-source and industry settings
• Support adoption of proposed solutions through technical influence, documentation, and customer engagement

Essential Functions

Participate in technical discussions within the team and across business units on assigned projects. Provide guidance on development and testing activities involving complex interdependencies. Contribute to team, program, and company goals through hands-on engineering and technical leadership. Design, implement, and deliver production-quality code. Build and improve test automation. Perform debugging, troubleshooting, and performance analysis. Lead proof-of-concept work and R&D initiatives. Enforce software design and development best practices through design and code reviews. Learn and apply new technologies quickly. Apply creative, practical approaches to solve complex technical problems.

Qualifications Required

12+ years of relevant software engineering experience. Bachelor of Science in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience. Strong coding skills in Go and Python. Deep understanding of Kubernetes architecture, APIs, and ecosystem. Solid foundation in computer architecture, data structures, algorithms, and software engineering practices. Experience with hyperscaler platforms: AWS, GCP, and/or Azure. Experience with NetApp storage platforms and/or cloud-native storage solutions. Strong written and verbal communication skills. Working knowledge of Agile/Scrum practices.

Preferred

Experience contributing to open-source projects. Background in object-oriented design and distributed systems. Experience with CSI (Container Storage Interface) and Kubernetes storage workflows. Track record of technical leadership in cross-functional engineering teams.

Education

Bachelor's degree in technical area of study: engineering disciplines. Master's degree in technical field such as engineering, software development, preferred with less additional experience stated above.

The target salary range for this position is $227,800-338,000. The salary offered will be determined by the candidate's location, qualifications, experience, and education and may be outside of this range. Final compensation packages are competitive and in line with industry standards, reflecting a variety of factors, and include a comprehensive benefits package.