Software Engineer (Python) — Programmable Networking

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Software Engineer (Python) — Programmable Networking based in Germany.

This is a senior engineering opportunity at the intersection of software development and production networking infrastructure. You will build customer-facing APIs that directly provision and manage real network resources across global Points of Presence. The role spans asynchronous Python, network orchestration, routing automation, cloud interconnects, and infrastructure control planes. You’ll work hands‑on with BGP, VRFs, WireGuard, GRE, RoCE‑adjacent infrastructure, Linux networking, and network operating systems. You’ll own systems from API design through orchestration, device configuration, observability, and production operations. The environment is fast‑paced and highly autonomous, with a small team and significant ownership over consequential infrastructure. This role is ideal for an engineer who wants software to control real networks rather than simply manage data in databases.

Accountabilities

• Build and evolve programmable networking APIs: Design and maintain customer-facing REST resources for private networks, virtual cross-connects, WireGuard interfaces, global IPs, public internet gateways, and related health, coverage, and usage endpoints, including OpenAPI specifications, API gateway routing, and backward compatibility.
• Develop the network orchestration control plane: Build asynchronous Python services that translate API requests into real network deployments, including IPAM and resource allocation, PostgreSQL-backed job queues, retries, rollback, reconciliation, health checks, and deployment/decommissioning workflows.
• Automate network infrastructure: Develop and operate Ansible- and SSH‑based automation for Linux and network operating system fleets, including WireGuard, FRR/VyOS BGP, VRFs, route reflectors, GRE tunnels, NAT, firewall policies, DNS, anycast announcements, and configuration‑drift detection.
• Manage cloud and network interconnects: Build integrations with connectivity providers and cloud platforms to provision virtual cross-connects and connect customer networks into AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud environments.
• Develop infrastructure control planes: Contribute to Go‑based Envoy xDS control‑plane services and manage configuration delivery to edge and gateway data planes.
• Own production reliability: Monitor and improve networking services using metrics, alerting, incident response, customer escalation handling, and billing synchronization. Investigate issues across application, operating system, and network layers and turn incidents into durable engineering improvements.
• Drive engineering quality and scalability: Apply clean architecture, testing, static analysis, automation, safe deployment practices, and reusable infrastructure patterns to ensure the networking platform remains maintainable as it scales across global locations.

Requirements

• Strong software engineering background: Significant professional experience building and operating production software, particularly customer-facing APIs and distributed systems where API requests trigger real infrastructure changes rather than simple database operations.
• Advanced Python expertise: Strong production experience with Python, particularly asynchronous programming using technologies such as asyncio, aiohttp, uvloop, SQLAlchemy, and related tooling. Experience with Go and the ability to write and review Go code are also expected.
• Practical networking expertise: Hands‑on knowledge of BGP, OSPF, ECMP, EVPN/VXLAN, VRFs, GRE, NAT, WireGuard, and Linux networking. You should be comfortable configuring and troubleshooting routing and reading FRR or VyOS configurations.
• Infrastructure automation experience: Experience automating network fleets using Ansible, SSH‑based tooling, idempotent configuration management, safe rollout and rollback mechanisms, and configuration‑drift detection.
• Strong PostgreSQL knowledge: Experience beyond ORM usage, including schema design, migrations on live systems, locking semantics, advisory locks, and database‑backed queue patterns.
• Cross‑layer troubleshooting ability: Comfortable diagnosing complex production incidents across hardware, networking, operating systems, applications, and distributed systems using tools such as packet captures, routing utilities, WireGuard diagnostics, and application logs.
• Systems mindset: Ability to reason about asynchronous jobs, eventual consistency, resource allocation, failure recovery, idempotency, and rollback when building infrastructure‑control systems.
• Production networking experience: Experience operating high‑performance, multi‑site, or distributed network infrastructure and working with Linux‑based networking environments and network operating systems.
• Cloud connectivity knowledge: Experience with cloud networking or interconnect technologies such as AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, Google Cloud connectivity, Equinix Fabric, or comparable services is advantageous.
• Additional technical strengths: Experience with Envoy/xDS, IPAM platforms such as NetBox, address and route‑distinguisher planning, public API design, developer documentation, or large‑scale Point‑of‑Presence deployments is a plus.
• Engineering approach: Able to take ownership across the full lifecycle of a product, from design and implementation through deployment, observability, incident response, and long‑term improvement.
• Role fit: This is not a traditional NOC or manual network‑operations position. The primary deliverable is software—APIs, control planes, automation, and systems that program and operate real infrastructure.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package aligned with your experience, skills, and market conditions.
• Flexible, international working environment with a strong emphasis on autonomy and ownership.
• Opportunity to work on global connectivity infrastructure spanning multiple regions and Points of Presence.
• Hands‑on exposure to programmable networking, cloud interconnects, routing automation, and infrastructure control planes.
• Opportunity to work across both software engineering and advanced networking domains.
• Career growth within a fast‑growing technology environment.
• Inclusive workplace committed to equal opportunity and diverse perspectives.
• Flexible and hybrid-friendly approach to working arrangements.