Network Deployment Engineer

About the role

In this role, you will be focused on the build out and expansion of our global network. You'll work closely with Cloudflare’s SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) team, Network Engineering team, and with various vendors and partners (including hardware vendors, datacenter and network providers, and ISPs) to maintain and improve our global infrastructure, and to plan and aggressively execute on the expansion of our network. You will further be responsible for the development and implementation of consistent processes and visibility measurements for consistent and effective management of our infrastructure.

This is a highly visible position that requires deep technical understanding of datacenter infrastructure, networking (physical), and basic experience with data analysis and project management. To be successful in this position, you should have excellent technical skills, communication skills, and be able to navigate a range of challenges and constraints (e.g., schedule adherence, time zones, and cultures). You will have the opportunity to (literally) build a faster, safer Internet for our millions of users and the billions of web surfers that visit their sites each month.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with internal teams (infrastructure, network engineering, and SRE).
• Create documentation and manage remote contractors to complete datacenter installations and upgrades, including hardware manufacturers, datacenter and network providers, logistics partners, and other service providers in support of our 120+ growing datacenter locations.
• Build rack elevations and work with remote contractors to rack and cable infrastructure globally.
• Coordinate installation of cross-connects globally in support of physical network expansion.
• Assist with the definition, documentation, and implementation of consistent processes across all regions.
• Aggressively seek opportunities to introduce cutting-edge technology and automation solutions that are effective, efficient, and scalable to improve our ability to deploy and maintain our global infrastructure.

Requirements

• Minimum of 2 years of related data center or Linux systems administration experience.
• Linux/Unix systems administration.
• Basic configuration management tool experience like Saltstack, Chef, Puppet, or Ansible.
• Network hardware administration.
• 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.
• Must be proactive with proven ability to learn fast and execute on multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills.
• Comfortable handling basic program management responsibilities (prioritization, planning, scheduling, status reporting) such as JIRA.
• Experience managing remote contractors.
• Must be a team player.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree; technical background in engineering, computer science, or MIS a plus.
• Direct experience executing on datacenter / infrastructure projects with many moving parts.
• Previous experience installing / maintaining datacenter (and other IT) infrastructure and DCIM tools.
• Ability to manage MS Excel and Google spreadsheets.

Skills

• Multi-lingual; experience working with infrastructure in multiple countries.
• Comfortable with remote “lights-out” and out-of-band access to data center resources.
• Linux certifications.
• Knowledge of the OSI-model and experience isolating network, hardware, and software issues.
• Configuration management systems such as Saltstack, Chef, Puppet, or Ansible.
• Scripting or software development experience in Bash, Python, or Go-lang.
• Familiarity with load balancing and reverse proxies such as 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.

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!

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

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, Atlanta, Denver, New York.