Software Engineer, Cloudflare Network Interconnect

About Us At 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. Available Locations: Austin, TX | London, UK | Lisbon, Portugal About the Role The CNI team builds and operates the systems that let Cloudflare's enterprise customers connect their networks directly to Cloudflare through private, dedicated interconnects — rather than traversing the public Internet. The product, Cloudflare Network Interconnect (CNI), supports various interconnect types across hundreds of locations worldwide. These systems underpin Magic Transit, Cloudflare WAN, Zero Trust, and application security for some of Cloudflare's largest customers. What You'll Do As a member of the team you will build and extend the systems that provision, monitor, and orchestrate private network interconnects at scale. You will collaborate with Product Management, Network Engineering, and Infrastructure teams on ambitious initiatives to connect enterprise customers directly to Cloudflare's global network. Responsibilities You will participate in all stages of the software development lifecycle: from designing and documenting systems, to writing code and automated tests, to planning, managing, and monitoring production software deployments. You will work with a wide range of technologies and programming languages, including Rust, Go, PostgreSQL, Prometheus, Kubernetes, Linux networking, network operating systems, and BGP routing, among others. Our team at Cloudflare operates under a "Run What You Build" model. This means we are responsible for the health of our systems and actively participate in our team's on-call rotation as part of our operational duties. Because you'll be solving problems of massive scale and significance, you are a growth-oriented individual who enjoys being outside of your comfort zone. You are comfortable in a fast-paced but sensible work environment. You value curiosity and empathy and lead with these values. Desirable Skills, Knowledge, and Experience: • Systems-level programming experience in Rust, Go, C, or C++. • Understanding of IP networking fundamentals: BGP, Layer 3 routing, and how physical and virtual interconnect technologies work (cross-connects, VLANs, overlay tunnels). • Experience building, deploying, and debugging distributed systems. • Experience participating in an on-call rotation for services with direct customer impact. • Willingness to adopt and integrate AI tools and systems into your workflow. • Strong collaboration and communication skills. Bonus Points • Hands-on experience with BGP configuration, route policy, or peering operations. • Experience building provisioning or automation systems for network infrastructure. • Familiarity with network inventory and IPAM systems (e.g., NetBox). • Experience with cloud provider networking (AWS Direct Connect, GCP Partner Interconnect, Azure ExpressRoute). • Knowledge of GRE, VXLAN, or other overlay/tunnel technologies. • Experience with Kubernetes-based service deployments and CI/CD pipelines. • Experience with telemetry/observability platforms (Prometheus, Grafana, ClickHouse, Elasticsearch). • Experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., code completion, codebase analysis, log/data exploration) in a professional setting. Compensation Compensation 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 Benefits • Medical/Rx Insurance • Dental Insurance • Vision Insurance • Flexible Spending Accounts • Commuter Spending Accounts • Fertility & Family Forming Benefits • On-demand mental health support and Employee Assistance Program • Global Travel Medical Insurance Financial Benefits • Short and Long Term Disability Insurance • Life & Accident Insurance • 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan • Employee Stock Participation Plan Time Off • Flexible paid time off covering vacation and sick leave • Leave programs, including parental, pregnancy health, medical, and bereavement leave What Makes Cloudflare Sp