Staff Software Engineer, Cloud Interconnect

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward. With your technical expertise you will manage project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables. You will design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance software solutions. Google Cloud accelerates every organization’s ability to digitally transform its business and industry. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google’s technology, and tools that help developers build more sustainably. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems. Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. US: $207000 - $300000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits Learn more about benefits at Google . Lead architectural evolution of GCI’s distributed control and data planes, translating complex product and scale requirements into technical specifications aligned with Google Cloud networking strategy. Serve as technical lead for software engineers, owning multi-quarter initiatives for Google Cloud Interconnect (GCI), defining team roadmaps, and driving execution of reliable production systems. Diagnose and resolve complex architectural issues across GCI's distributed control planes, virtualized core, and physical edge, driving improvements in data security, sub-second route convergence, hitless migrations, and 99.99% availability. Deliver robust code in C++, Go, or Python while advocating an AI-first engineering culture integrating agentic workflows and automation to accelerate velocity, leading design reviews, and mentoring engineers. Partner with Product, SRE, Security, and Partner Engineering teams to align multi-quarter roadmaps, manage cross-organization dependencies, and drive consensus to deliver complex hybrid and AI-scale cloud offerings. Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience. 8 years of experience in software development. 5 years of experience building and developing large-scale infrastructure, distributed systems or networks, or experience with compute technologies, storage, or hardware architecture. Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems, with a focus on scalability, fault tolerance, and reliability. Experience working with algorithms, data structures, analysis, and software design. Experience with network routing protocols (e.g., BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS) and troubleshooting in a production environment. Preferred qualifications: Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field. Experience in software-defined networking, virtualized data planes, network security, or network control planes and protocols. Experience leading AI-first engineering practices, leveraging LLMs, agentic workflows, and system automation to accelerate development velocity. Experience diagnosing and resolving systemic troubleshooting, performance, and reliability issues in distributed control and data plane systems. Experience in engineering people management, including coaching, performance management, and team growth, or interest in becoming a tech lead manager.