The Red Hat Engineering team is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join the OpenShift Network Ingress and DNS group. You will design, implement, and maintain next-generation networking solutions for Red Hat OpenShift, with a specific focus on ingress traffic management and DNS. As a key member of our North America East Coast-based team, you will contribute to upstream open-source projects and downstream product integration.
We are looking for a collaborative, self-driven engineer passionate about cloud-native networking and open-source development. Success in this role requires exceptional technical problem-solving skills, strong communication, and deep expertise in network ingress and DNS protocols.
What You Will Do
- Lead the definition of requirements, design, implementation, and testing, serving as a technical mentor for the team
- Architect and develop OpenShift networking solutions focused on cluster ingress and DNS
- Drive contributions to upstream open-source projects including Gateway API, CoreDNS, ExternalDNS, HAProxy, and Istio
- Develop high-performance features in Go, leveraging Kubernetes controllers and APIs
- Own the full software development lifecycle, from requirement gathering to release and maintenance
- Troubleshoot and resolve complex networking issues using Linux-based diagnostics and methodologies
- Partner with cross-functional engineering teams, product management, and community contributors
- Provide technical guidance for internal and external consumers of OpenShift networking capabilities
- Manage incident responses and customer escalations for ingress and DNS domains
What You Will Bring
- 10+ years of software engineering experience in systems, networking, or platform domains
- Expertise in Go is mandatory, or proficiency in systems languages like C/C++ or Python is a plus
- Deep understanding of Kubernetes networking, controllers, and APIs; OpenShift experience is highly valued
- Familiarity with HAProxy, Envoy Proxy, CoreDNS, ExternalDNS, Istio, and DNS protocols
- Hands-on experience with Linux (RHEL/Fedora) and low-level networking (IP routing, TLS, etc.)
- Proven track record of contributing to or leading open-source projects
- Excellent collaboration skills across distributed teams with professional fluency in English
- Exposure to AI-assisted development tools and concepts (e.g., Claude, Gemini, LLMs)
The Following Are Considered a Plus
- Experience with the Gateway API specification or service mesh technologies like Istio
- Experience with debugging complex network issues in containerized environments
About Red Hat
Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Spread across 40+ countries, our associates work flexibly across work environments, from in-office, to office-flex, to fully remote, depending on the requirements of their role. Red Hatters are encouraged to bring their best ideas, no matter their title or tenure. We're a leader in open source because of our open and inclusive environment. We hire creative, passionate people ready to contribute their ideas, help solve complex problems, and make an impact.
Inclusion at Red Hat
Red Hat’s culture is built on the open source principles of transparency, collaboration, and inclusion, where the best ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. When this is realized, it empowers people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to come together to share ideas, challenge the status quo, and drive innovation. Our aspiration is that everyone experiences this culture with equal opportunity and access, and that all voices are not only heard but also celebrated. We hope you will join our celebration, and we welcome and encourage applicants from all the beautiful dimensions that compose our global village.
Equal Opportunity Policy (EEO)
Red Hat is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We review applications for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, or any other basis prohibited by law.
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Skills Required
- 10+ years of software engineering experience in systems, networking, or platform domains
- Expertise in Go
- Deep understanding of Kubernetes networking, controllers, and APIs
- Hands-on experience with Linux (RHEL/Fedora) and low-level networking
- Proven track record of contributing to or leading open-source projects
Red Hat Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Red Hat and has not been reviewed or approved by Red Hat.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is presented as comprehensive, spanning medical, dental, and vision along with life and disability coverage. Access to HSA/FSA options and broadly positive reception of health benefits support the view that healthcare is a core strength.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off offerings are described as generous, with substantial PTO for new hires plus additional recharge days and an end-of-year shutdown for many non-critical roles. Paid volunteer time, holidays, sick days, and supportive expectations around taking time off reinforce the breadth of leave benefits.
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Strong & Reliable Incentives — The rewards package includes performance bonuses and a recurring quarterly bonus program tied to company and individual performance. Availability of ESPP participation further adds to incentive pathways beyond base pay.
Red Hat Insights
What We Do
At Red Hat, we connect an innovative community of customers, partners, and contributors to deliver an open source stack of trusted, high-performing solutions. We offer cloud, Linux, middleware, storage, and virtualization technologies, together with award-winning global customer support, consulting, and implementation services. Red Hat is a rapidly growing company supporting more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies.
Why Work With Us
Red Hatters freely exchange different viewpoints, contribute ideas, and solve problems together. Our love of collaboration, accountability, a sense of community, and a measure of autonomy combine to create a powerful force that fosters innovation and makes Red Hat a great place to work.
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