Systems Engineer

Systems Engineer, Network Protocols & Distributed SystemsHybridAbout UsAt Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world's largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine's Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.At Cloudflare, we're not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we're looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a "normalized" problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you're the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you'll fit right in.Location: London, Lisbon, or Austin - (Hybrid)Join the team helping shape the future of the Internet. We're building high-performance systems that handle a quarter of the Internet's traffic. Our work influences open standards (like QUIC, MASQUE, and ECH), involves close collaboration with the IETF, and pushes the boundaries of what's possible in networking and security.You don't need to be an or cryptography expert to join — we're looking for excellent engineers who love tough problems, want to learn deeply, and are excited to contribute to one of the most technically demanding areas of infrastructure.What you'll doBuild and operate systems that terminate and TLS at Internet scaleMigrate core infrastructure from NGINX to a next-gen Rust-based proxyMeasure and improve protocol performance across real-world trafficContribute to open source and industry standardsLearn from and work alongside some of the leading engineers in this spaceYou might be a good fit if you:Have solid systems programming experience (Rust, C, or similar)Thrive in complex technical domains and enjoy learning new thingsCare about building reliable, secure, and performant softwareAre motivated by impact — technical, operational, and on the Internet itselfCome from a background that's underrepresented in tech — we value diverse perspectivesPerks include: Flexible work hours • Take-what-you-need vacation • RSUs • ESPP • Meaningful technical challenges every dayCompensation may be adjusted depending on work location.For Portugal based hires: Estimated annual salary is between €54,000 - €75,000.Equity This role is eligible to participate in Cloudflare's equity plan.Benefits Cloudflare offers a complete package of benefits and programs to support you and your family. Our benefits programs can help you pay health care expenses, support caregiving, build capital for the future and make life a little easier and fun! The below is a description of our benefits for employees in the United States, and benefits may vary for employees based outside the U.S.Health & Welfare BenefitsMedical/Rx InsuranceDental InsuranceVision InsuranceFlexible Spending AccountsCommuter Spending AccountsFertility & Family Forming BenefitsOn-demand mental health support and Employee Assistance ProgramGlobal Travel Medical InsuranceFinancial BenefitsShort and Long Term Disability InsuranceLife & Accident Insurance401(k) Retirement Savings PlanEmployee Stock Participation PlanTime OffFlexible paid time off covering vacation and sick leaveLeave programs, including parental, pregnancy health, medical, and bereavement leaveWhat Makes Cloudflare Special?We're not just a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company. We're a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company with a soul. Fundamental to our mission to help build a better Internet is protecting the free and open Internet.Project Galileo : Since 2014, we've equipped more than 2,400 journalism and civil society organizations in 111 countries with powerful tools to defend themselves against attacks that would otherwise censor their work, technology already used by Cloudflare's enterprise customers--at no cost.Athenian Project : In 2017, we created the Athenian Project to ensure that state and local governments have the highest level of protection and reliability for free, so that their constituents have access to election information and voter registration. Since the project, we've provided services to more than 425 local government election websites in 33 states.1.1.1.1 : We released 1.1.1.1 to help fix the foundation of the Internet by building a faster, more secure and privacy-centric public DNS resolver. This is available publicly for everyone to use - it is the first consumer-focused service Cloudflare has ever released. Here's the deal - we don't store client IP addresses never, ever. We will continue to abide by our privacy commitment and ensure that no user data is sold to advertisers or used to target consumers.Sound like something you'd like to be a part of? We'd love to hear from you!