Senior Software Engineer, Network Simulations

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of the complete architecture for the eBPF-based routing simulation layer, which includes the design of XDP and TC hook points, the BPF map structure, and synthetic ICMP TTL-exceeded generation to ensure proper functioning of traceroute and MTR against the simulated topology.

• Develop and construct the control-plane topology database along with a pipeline that transforms real-world internet topology data into a format consumable and applicable by in-range agents.

• Design the in-range proxy agent, a lightweight component that connects the persistent control plane to individual cyber ranges, managing local topology configuration and overseeing DNS delegation and traffic forwarding.

• Establish the interface contract between the control plane and in-range agents, covering topology update propagation, graceful degradation in case of control plane connectivity loss, and agent lifecycle management.

• Act as the technical lead for the team, making daily architectural decisions across the entire service scope, conducting design reviews, and ensuring engineering quality across all four engineering roles within the team.

• Collaborate with fellow engineers on innovative simulation challenges, exercise independent judgment in architectural tradeoffs, and influence the technical roadmap.

• Provide mentorship to team engineers, enhancing standards in systems design, kernel-level debugging, and engineering rigor.

• Work alongside adjacent platform teams to establish the operational model for a long-term, multi-tenant service that supports active cyber range deployments.

⛳️ Requirements

• Extensive knowledge in Linux kernel networking and eBPF program development, including XDP, TC hooks, BPF map types, and the associated tradeoffs of kernel-space packet processing.

• Proficient in systems programming — C or Rust for eBPF program development, and Go or Python for the control-plane agent and tooling layer.

• Strong understanding of real-world internet routing — including BGP, ASN topology, CIDR allocation, and inter-AS peering — sufficient to accurately model without running routing software.

• Experience in designing systems with clearly defined separation between control plane and data plane, particularly in scenarios where distributed components may intermittently connect to a central controller.

• Proven technical leadership: you have established architectural direction and enhanced engineering quality across a team, whether in a tech lead, principal, or senior-plus individual contributor role.

• Comfort working at the intersection of research and production engineering — this role entails taking a proof of concept and evolving it into a reliable, scalable solution.

• Familiarity with Kubernetes as the deployment environment for both control plane services and distributed agent components.

• Experience in network simulation, traffic shaping, or cyber range infrastructure is highly desirable.

• Previous work in cybersecurity, defense, or environments related to government is advantageous due to SimSpace’s customer base.

🏝️ Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, along with savings plans—coverage begins on day one!

• Access to company-paid counseling, coaching, and resources for you and your family through Spring Health.

• Plan for your future with a 401(k) retirement savings plan that includes a company match.

• Enjoy unlimited vacation and dedicated health & wellness days to recharge as needed.

• Paid leave plans to support you and your loved ones during significant life events.

• Equity stock options upon hire, with annual performance-based grants.

• Earn between $1,500 and $3,500 for every qualified hire through our employee referral program.

• Full- and partial-subsidized membership plans and equipment discounts to help you achieve your fitness goals.

• Access to a LinkedIn Learning membership to prioritize your personal and professional development.

• Monthly reimbursements for meaningful connections with teammates through our SocialSpace Community.

• Coverage for legal plans, pet insurance, wellness reimbursements, and additional perks to simplify life's details.