Software Engineer, Networking

About the role

Tailscale is seeking a dedicated Software Engineer to contribute to its core networking infrastructure. You will focus on building and maintaining the systems that power secure device connections globally. This role involves deep technical work on distributed systems and operational reliability.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Develop, deploy, and manage Tailscale's global Funnel and DERP relay infrastructure.
• Implement software solutions to ensure high availability, scalability, and performance of hosted services.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex network connectivity issues for customers.
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams to enhance hosted services and client features.
• Contribute to the open-source client codebase and the product's data plane.

Requirements

• Proven experience in software development with a focus on networking.
• Strong understanding of core networking concepts including VPNs, NAT traversal, routing, and IP addressing.
• Experience with distributed systems, operating large-scale services, and SRE/DevOps practices.
• Proficiency in Go is highly preferred.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively with technical teams.
• Adaptability to a fast-paced startup environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with network feature design, documentation, and implementation.
• Familiarity with iterating on product capabilities and network protocols.
• Experience in incident management and live service accountability.
• A security-first approach to development.

Skills & tools

• Go
• VPNs
• NAT traversal
• Routing
• IP addressing
• Distributed systems
• SRE/DevOps methodologies
• Funnel
• DERP

Practical notes

• Salary range: $163,000 - $204,000 USD
• Comprehensive benefits package including health, vision, and dental with no waiting period.
• Employer-funded retirement contributions (0.75% match).
• Professional development budget of $1500 USD annually.
• Home office setup allowance of $500 USD.
• Monthly home internet reimbursement.
• Paid parental leave (20 weeks for birthing parents, 16 weeks for non-birthing parents).
• Company-provided laptop (Mac or PC).
• Opportunities for virtual and in-person social events, including an annual company retreat and team off-sites.
• AI-assisted tools are used in the hiring process, but all hiring decisions are made by people.
• Legitimate emails from Tailscale will originate from @tailscale.com, @greenhouse.io, and @interviews.modernloop.io addresses.