Principal Data Plane Engineer

About the Role

We are looking for a Principal Dataplane Engineer to join our Xsight Labs US software engineering team. In this role, you will be a technical lead for a strategic networking initiative focused on extracting maximum performance from Xsight’s next-generation silicon. You will design, implement, and optimize dataplane software that interfaces directly with custom hardware pipelines, enabling line-rate packet processing, advanced offloads, and scalable cloud networking features.

As part of this effort, you will work closely with silicon architects, firmware, and control-plane teams, and actively engage with the open-source community to help define and influence dataplane models, APIs, and performance frameworks. Location is flexible between Xsight’s East Coast offices in Billerica, Massachusetts or Durham, North Carolina.

t is used for creating requisitions 'from scratch'

Required Experience

·       Strong understanding of dataplane architectures and high-performance packet processing.

·       Experience developing Linux-based dataplane software targeting embedded or server-class CPUs (x86 and/or ARM).

·       Expertise in designing low-latency, high-throughput systems with strict performance constraints.

·       Ability to translate hardware specifications and networking requirements into efficient, testable dataplane implementations.

·       Experience profiling, debugging, and optimizing dataplane code across CPU, memory, and I/O subsystems.

·       Proven ability to collaborate closely with hardware, firmware, and control-plane teams.

Desired Experience:

·       Hands-on experience with DPDK, including PMDs, RTE Flow, and performance tuning.

·       Familiarity with NIC offloads, hardware accelerators, or programmable packet processing pipelines.

·       Knowledge of L2/L3 forwarding, encapsulation, and tunneling protocols (Ethernet, VLAN, VXLAN, IP, TCP/UDP).

·       Experience with highly available and scalable networking systems.

·       Exposure to hardware/software co-simulation, emulation, or FPGA-based validation environments.

·       Prior or active contributions to open source dataplane or networking projects.

Required Skills

·       Expert-level proficiency in C

·       Performance-driven, detail-oriented engineering mindset

·       Strong problem-solving and debugging skills

·      Self-learner with the ability to ramp quickly on new hardware and architectures

·       Team-player with excellent verbal and written communication skills

Required Experience

·       Strong understanding of dataplane architectures and high-performance packet processing.

·       Experience developing Linux-based dataplane software targeting embedded or server-class CPUs (x86 and/or ARM).

·       Expertise in designing low-latency, high-throughput systems with strict performance constraints.

·       Ability to translate hardware specifications and networking requirements into efficient, testable dataplane implementations.

·       Experience profiling, debugging, and optimizing dataplane code across CPU, memory, and I/O subsystems.

·       Proven ability to collaborate closely with hardware, firmware, and control-plane teams.

Desired Experience:

·       Hands-on experience with DPDK, including PMDs, RTE Flow, and performance tuning.

·       Familiarity with NIC offloads, hardware accelerators, or programmable packet processing pipelines.

·       Knowledge of L2/L3 forwarding, encapsulation, and tunneling protocols (Ethernet, VLAN, VXLAN, IP, TCP/UDP).

·       Experience with highly available and scalable networking systems.

·       Exposure to hardware/software co-simulation, emulation, or FPGA-based validation environments.

·       Prior or active contributions to open source dataplane or networking projects.

Required Skills

·       Expert-level proficiency in C

·       Performance-driven, detail-oriented engineering mindset

·       Strong problem-solving and debugging skills

·      Self-learner with the ability to ramp quickly on new hardware and architectures

·       Team-player with excellent verbal and written communication skills