Network Deployment Engineer

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 have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request, resulting in significant performance improvements and decreased 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. We value candidates who spot "normalized" problems and use AI-native curiosity to create solutions with the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster and improve continuously, ensuring every enhancement is shared across the team. If you thrive in a culture that values curiosity over bureaucracy and sees AI as a partner in solving tough problems, you’ll fit right in.

About The Department

In this role, you will focus on the build-out and expansion of our global network. You'll collaborate with Cloudflare’s SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) team, Network Engineering team, and various vendors and partners—including hardware vendors, datacenter and network providers, and ISPs—to maintain, improve, and expand our global infrastructure. You will also develop and implement consistent processes and visibility measurements for effective infrastructure management.

This is a highly visible position requiring deep technical understanding of datacenter infrastructure, physical networking, and basic data analysis and project management experience. Success in this role demands excellent technical and communication skills, along with the ability to navigate challenges such as schedule adherence, time zones, and cultural differences. You will have the opportunity to build a faster, safer Internet for millions of users and billions of web surfers.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with internal teams (infrastructure, network engineering, and SRE).
• Create documentation and manage remote contractors for datacenter installations and upgrades, working with hardware manufacturers, datacenter and network providers, logistics partners, and other service providers across 120+ datacenter locations.
• Build rack elevations and coordinate global racking and cabling of infrastructure with remote contractors.
• Coordinate installation of global cross-connects to support physical network expansion.
• Assist in defining, documenting, and implementing consistent processes across all regions.
• Seek opportunities to introduce cutting-edge technology and automation solutions to improve deployment and maintenance of global infrastructure.

Requirements

• Minimum of 2 years of related data center or Linux systems administration experience.
• Linux/Unix systems administration experience.
• Basic configuration management tool experience (e.g., Saltstack, Chef, Puppet, or Ansible).
• Network hardware administration experience.
• Familiarity with day-to-day tasks and projects common in Data Center Operations.
• Ability to write scripts for internal tools.
• Experience running and improving operational processes in a rapidly changing environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree; technical background in engineering, computer science, or MIS is a plus.
• Direct experience executing datacenter/infrastructure projects with many moving parts.
• Experience installing/maintaining datacenter infrastructure and DCIM tools.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills.
• Proactive with a proven ability to learn fast and execute on multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to manage MS Excel and Google spreadsheets.
• Comfortable handling basic program management responsibilities (prioritization, planning, scheduling, status reporting) such as JIRA.
• Experience managing remote contractors.
• Must be a team player.

Skills

• Multi-lingual; experience working with infrastructure in multiple countries.
• Comfortable with remote “lights-out” and out-of-band access to datacenter resources.
• Linux certifications.
• Knowledge of the OSI model and experience isolating network, hardware, and software issues.
• Configuration management systems (e.g., Saltstack, Chef, Puppet, or Ansible).
• Scripting or software development experience in Bash, Python, or Go.
• Familiarity with load balancing and reverse proxies (e.g., Nginx, Varnish, HAProxy, Apache).

Pay

Compensation may be adjusted depending on work location.

• For Colorado, Illinois-based hires: Estimated annual salary of $114,000 - $157,000.
• For New York City, Washington, Washington D.C.-based hires: Estimated annual salary of $126,000 - $173,000.

Benefits

Cloudflare offers a complete package of benefits and programs to support you and your family. 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?

• Project Galileo: Since 2014, we’ve equipped over 2,400 journalism and civil society organizations in 111 countries with tools to defend against attacks that could censor their work—at no cost.
• Athenian Project: Created in 2017 to protect state and local governments with free, high-level protection and reliability for election information and voter registration. Services have been provided to over 425 local government election websites in 33 states.
• 1.1.1.1: A faster, more secure, and privacy-centric public DNS resolver available to everyone. Cloudflare does not store client IP addresses and ensures no user data is sold to advertisers or used to target consumers.

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Offers may be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these laws without sponsorship for an export license.