Lead Software Engineer - Cloud & Software Defined Storage Solutions (C++) (SAN JOSE)

Own Every Moment at NetApp

At NetApp, your ideas power innovation. We lead in intelligent data infrastructure—delivering unified storage, integrated data services, and solutions that help organizations unlock the full potential of their data, from AI to multicloud.

Ready to innovate and contribute to our path to $10B? Here, you'll collaborate with passionate teams, tackle real-world challenges, and see your impact in how customers transform and grow. If you're ready to bring curiosity, creativity, and drive to every moment, NetApp is where your journey begins. Join teams that innovate to elevate, drive results, and excel together across every function.

Job Summary

Join NetApp’s Cloud Platforms organization and help build the next generation of cloud-native infrastructure, software-defined storage, and virtualization platforms powering enterprise-scale data management solutions across AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI. We are looking for a highly skilled Senior Software Development Engineer with deep expertise in Linux systems, distributed storage, virtualization technologies, and cloud infrastructure platforms.

In this role, you will contribute to sizable portions of the product across multiple technical areas including software-defined storage, virtualization infrastructure, Linux systems software, and cloud-native distributed services. You will work on complex engineering problems requiring advanced technical judgment, systems thinking, and cross-functional collaboration. This role requires the ability to independently drive technical execution, proactively resolve blockers, and influence engineering outcomes across teams.

As part of NetApp’s Research and Development organization, you will collaborate with cloud providers and engineering teams to design scalable, secure, and highly performant infrastructure capabilities that support NetApp’s cloud storage and data management offerings.

Job Requirements

• Design, develop, and optimize components across the software-defined storage and virtualization stack, including storage services, virtual networking, Linux system services, and distributed infrastructure components.
• Contribute to sizable portions of the product across multiple technical areas and projects involving storage, networking, virtualization, and cloud infrastructure.
• Develop and maintain Linux user-space and kernel-space software related to storage subsystems, networking stacks, virtualization, and infrastructure services.
• Work with virtualization technologies including KVM/QEMU, libvirt, virtio, virtual networking, and storage virtualization frameworks.
• Debug and resolve complex system-level issues involving compute, storage, networking, virtualization, and distributed systems interactions.
• Apply advanced technical knowledge and judgment to evaluate architectural tradeoffs, scalability considerations, and operational reliability.
• Drive technical solutions independently while proactively identifying risks, dependencies, and escalation points.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, product, support, and cloud partner teams to deliver robust infrastructure capabilities.
• Mentor junior engineers, participate in code and design reviews, and contribute to engineering best practices.
• Participate in all phases of the product lifecycle including architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, operational support, and customer issue resolution.

Education

• 8+ years of experience in systems software engineering, cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, or storage platform development.
• Strong programming expertise in C/C++ and Python.
• Deep understanding of operating systems internals, concurrency, memory management, performance optimization, and systems-level debugging.
• Hands-on experience with software-defined storage systems, distributed storage platforms, or enterprise infrastructure software.
• Strong experience with virtualization technologies including KVM/QEMU, libvirt, virtio, and virtualized networking/storage infrastructure.
• Experience developing or troubleshooting storage and networking subsystems, kernel modules, or device drivers.
• Strong knowledge of storage technologies and protocols such as NVMe, iSCSI, NFS, SMB/CIFS, S3, or distributed block/object/file storage systems.
• Hands-on operational experience with AWS, Azure, GCP, or OCI infrastructure environments.
• Experience with CI/CD systems, automation frameworks, observability, and infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Strong analytical, debugging, and performance tuning skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with the ability to influence technical discussions across teams.
• Ability to independently resolve most technical blockers while escalating major risks proactively.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with enterprise-scale storage operating systems such as ONTAP or similar platforms
• Experience leading subsystem development or technically complex cross-functional projects.
• Familiarity with cloud-native virtualization and infrastructure orchestration platforms.
• Experience with scalability engineering, reliability engineering, and operational excellence initiatives.
• Advanced cloud certifications or equivalent industry experience.

Compensation:
The target salary range for this position is 170,000 - 253,000 USD. The salary offered will be determined by the candidate's location, qualifications, experience, and education and may be outside of this range. The range is based on 'On Target Earnings’ (OTE) representing the total potential earnings, which is the sum of the base salary and potential commission earned when performance targets are achieved. Final compensation packages are competitive and in line with industry standards, reflecting a variety of factors, and include a comprehensive benefits package. This may cover Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Retirement or Pension Plans, Paid Time Off, various Leave options, employee stock purchase plan, and/or restricted stocks (RSU’s). These offerings are subject to regional variations and governed by local laws, regulations, and company policies. We will provide detailed information about the specific benefits for your region during the recruitment process.

At NetApp, we embrace a hybrid working environment designed to strengthen connection, collaboration, and culture for all employees. This means that most roles will have some level of in-office and/or in-person expectations, which will be shared during the recruitment process.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

NetApp is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information, pregnancy, protected veteran status, and any other protected classification.

Why You'll Thrive at NetApp

At NetApp, you won't wait for the perfect moment—you'll make it. The early planning, the extra thought, the bold idea that turns good into great: That's how our people operate and how we continue to push the boundaries of data infrastructure.

NetApp is the trusted partner for organizations transforming data into opportunity. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft Azure, we empower customers to run everything from traditional workloads to enterprise AI with unmatched performance, resilience, and security.

Our culture

We celebrate mold breakers, bold thinkers, and problem solvers. We reward initiative, impact, and ownership. We provide flexibility so you can balance professional ambition with your personal life. Here, differences are not just welcomed—they drive everything we do.

If you're ready to innovate, rise to the challenge, and own every moment - make your next move your best one. Apply now.

Submitting an Application

To ensure a streamlined and fair hiring process for all candidates, our team only reviews applications submitted through our company website. This practice allows us to track, assess, and respond to applicants efficiently. Emailing our employees, recruiters, or Human Resources personnel directly will not influence your application.

AI Disclosure

For select roles, some stages of our hiring process may use artificial intelligence tools to help evaluate applications and candidate selection. These tools support—rather than replace—human decision-making.