Principal Core Infrastructure Engineer (Cloud Engineering, Data Plane)

Description

OCI is experiencing rapid growth driven by AI/ML adoption and increasing demand from traditional enterprise workloads. This growth is accelerating innovation across cloud infrastructure, from silicon and programmable hardware to the system software that enables it. The Virtual Networking Data Plane organization builds highly customizable VCN data plane services using industry-leading programmable SmartNICs and DPUs, delivering predictable performance, secure isolation, and high availability for OCI customers.
 

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is seeking a hands-on Senior Principal Systems Engineer to provide technical leadership for Card Management, a critical platform supporting SmartNIC/DPU provisioning, lifecycle management, security, observability, and operational readiness. This role will drive the architecture, reliability, and scalability of the platform capabilities that underpin OCI’s Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) data plane services.
 

This is an opportunity for a hands-on systems engineer who thrives at the intersection of hardware and software. The ideal candidate has deep systems engineering expertise and experience spanning cloud infrastructure, networking, hardware/software integration, programmable NICs or DPUs, and large-scale distributed systems.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture and technical strategy for Card Management, including provisioning, lifecycle management, platform software, security, observability, and operational readiness.
• Design and deliver reliable, scalable services for SmartNIC/DPU fleet management in OCI.
• Lead complex technical and architectural decisions for card provisioning, lifecycle management, platform security, and reliability.
• Establish technical direction, resolve ambiguous system-level problems, and make decisions with broad platform and customer impact.
• Improve automation, telemetry, diagnosability, availability, performance, and operational processes.
• Identify and mitigate platform reliability, security, and operational risks.
• Partner with hardware and software teams to define requirements, validate designs, and support new platform introductions.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and provide technical mentorship across the organization.
• Participate in operational readiness reviews and incident analysis; drive durable corrective actions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of systems, platform, cloud infrastructure, networking, or distributed-systems engineering experience.
• Strong experience with Linux, systems software, networking, automation, and large-scale service operations.
• Experience designing and operating highly available, secure, and scalable infrastructure platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to lead architecture and delivery across multiple engineering organizations.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills for complex hardware/software and distributed-system issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
   

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with SmartNICs, DPUs, programmable networking hardware, or NIC firmware/platform software.
• Experience with virtual networking, data plane systems, VCN/VPC technologies, or cloud network virtualization.
• Experience with hardware lifecycle management, provisioning systems, fleet management, or platform security.
• Familiarity with observability platforms, incident management, and operational excellence practices.
• Experience working in a large-scale cloud provider or hyperscale infrastructure environment.

Qualifications

Minimum Job Qualifications
Education and/or Experience:
11 years of experience in software development
OR
Bachelor's of Technology (B.Tech) Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in software development
OR
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in software development
OR
Master's of Technology (M.Tech) Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 years of experience in software development
OR
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 years of experience in software development
OR
Doctorate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 3 year of experience in software development.

Job Skills:
Same skills as prior level plus;
Data Analysis: Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret data to produce actionable business insights.
Agile Methodologies: Demonstrated ability to use agile methodologies to drive continuous improvement and product delivery.
Automation: Demonstrated ability in or knowledge of automation, including designing, implementing, and managing automated tools, processes, or systems to streamline operations.
Compliance: Demonstrated knowledge of and adherence to regulatory, legal, and organizational compliance requirements.
Quality Assurance: Demonstrated ability in or knowledge of quality assurance, including ensuring adherence to standards and implementing quality control measures.
Scripting Languages: Demonstrated ability in or knowledge of scripting languages, including writing and maintaining scripts to improve system efficiency.
Software Test Plans: Demonstrated ability to develop and execute effective software test plans to validate product quality.
User Experience Development: Demonstrated ability in or knowledge of user experience development, including designing intuitive and effective user interfaces and content.
Code Review: Demonstrated ability to conduct in-depth code reviews for software quality assurance.
Embedded Systems: Demonstrated ability to develop embedded systems, balancing hardware and software for optimal performance.
Software Estimation: Demonstrated ability to provide accurate software effort and complexity estimates for project planning and scheduling.

Cloud - Cloud Platforms Experience:
3 year of academic or professional experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google, Oracle Cloud).
Testing and Automation Experience:
5 years of experience working in testing and automation at the system level.
Distributed Systems Experience:
4 year of experience working with delivering and operating large-scale distributed systems.

Preferred Job Qualifications
Education and/or Experience:
11 years of experience in software development
OR
Bachelor's of Technology (B.Tech) Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in software development
OR
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 7 years of experience in software development
OR
Master's of Technology (M.Tech) Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 years of experience in software development
OR
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5 years of experience in software development
OR
Doctorate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 3 years of experience in software development.
People Leadership / Management Experience:
1 year of experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google, Oracle Cloud).