Staff/Principal Software Engineer - Security Platform

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 • Atlanta, US • Austin, US • Denver, US • New York, US • San Francisco, US • Seattle, US • Washington DC, US • Canada About the Role The Security Platform team is an infrastructure/developer tools group tasked with building and operating powerful, resilient, and secure infrastructure and systems that enable other engineering teams to deliver products to our customers efficiently and securely. We are responsible for secrets management, internal certificate authorities/PKI, machine and workload identity, and more. We are not a policy, audit, or compliance team, but rather an infrastructure engineering/software development one. Responsibilities • You’ll build and operate secure and resilient distributed systems for secrets and key management, running across our network that spans more than 310 cities in over 120 countries. Our focus is strengthening/re-architecting internal PKI and machine/workload identity. You’ll run and support the systems we build, both in an operational sense and by helping other internal developers use them. You’ll consult on the design and architecture of new systems and products to ensure they are built securely and use our services correctly. • This role may require flexibility to be on-call outside of standard working hours to address technical issues as needed. Desirable Skills, Knowledge, and Experience • 8+ years of relevant professional experience • Software development and distributed systems design expertise • Strong security background with a focus on implementation, not policy/compliance Bonus Points • Bonus / nice-to-have skills • Track record of contributing to open source security or distributed systems projects • Cryptography background and ability to work with cryptosystems at the primitives level • Experience with HSMs, TPMs, or other platform TEEs (e.g. AMD SEV, Intel SGX, Apple Secure Enclave) • Familiarity with HashiCorp Vault or OpenBao, or similar • Linux/UNIX system administration proficiency • Familiarity with Go and/or Python + Salt specifically Compensation Compensation may be adjusted depending on work location. • For California based hires: Estimated annual salary of $220,000 - $303,000 • For Colorado based hires: Estimated annual salary of $200,000 - $275,000 • For New York based hires: Estimated annual salary of $220,000 - $303,000 • For Washington based hires: Estimated annual salary of $220,000 - $303,000 • For Washington DC based hires: Estimated annual salary of $220,000 - $303,000 • For Canada based hires: Estimated annual salary of $192,000 - $264,000 Applications will be accepted until November 25, 2026. 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 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 relia