Cloud Computing

Senior Software Engineer II, Compute

Seattle, WAHybridFull TimeSenior$167,200–$209,000 /yrPosted 1 month agoVisa sponsorship available

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Required skills

Go
high-throughput microservices
gRPC
distributed control planes
low-latency infrastructure APIs
Linux kernel concepts
containerization
hypervisor-level virtualization
KVM
Firecracker

Nice to have

Growth Mindset
bias for action
system architecture
code maintainability

Role summary

DigitalOcean is seeking a Senior Software Engineer II to join their Compute team. This role focuses on building and architecting scalable distributed control plane microservices in Go, optimizing Linux kernel interactions and virtualization subsystems for high-throughput, low-latency compute workloads. The engineer will design gRPC interfaces, lead complex technical projects, mentor team members, and establish operational observability and recovery frameworks. The position requires expertise in Go, microservices, distributed systems, gRPC, Linux kernel concepts, and virtualization technologies like KVM and Firecracker. This is a hybrid, individual contributor role with a compensation range of $167,200 - $209,000 annually.

Dive in and do the best work of your career at DigitalOcean. Journey alongside a strong community of top talent who are relentless in their drive to build the simplest scalable cloud. If you have a growth mindset, naturally like to think big and bold, and are energized by the fast-paced environment of a true industry disruptor, you’ll find your place here. We value winning together—while learning, having fun, and making a profound difference for the dreamers and builders in the world.

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer II who is passionate about building features that you and your peers will love.

As a Senior Software Engineer II, reporting to Mavis Franco (Manager, Software Engineering) at DigitalOcean, you will join a dynamic team dedicated to revolutionizing cloud computing and AI. In this high-impact IC4 role, you will apply advanced subject-matter expertise across Go, high-throughput microservices, distributed control planes, and low-level virtualization primitives. You will bridge high-level API design with kernel-level performance, lead complex technical projects across system boundaries, and mentor engineers to elevate engineering standards across the Compute ecosystem.

What You’ll Do:

Architect and implement scalable distributed control plane microservices in Go in order to orchestrate low-latency compute workloads across hypervisor nodes.

Design robust gRPC interfaces and service contracts in order to enable high-throughput, fault-tolerant communication across platform boundaries.

Deconstruct complex customer and system requirements into decoupled technical architectures in order to drive predictable value delivery across cross-functional workstreams.

Optimize Linux kernel interactions and virtualization subsystems (e.g., KVM, Firecracker, cgroups) in order to maximize compute performance and system uptime.

Mentor multiple team members through technical guidance, architectural reviews, and code quality standards in order to accelerate team growth and execution velocity.

Establish operational observability, failover strategies, and automated recovery frameworks in order to minimize platform toil and resolve critical production incidents.

Participate in on-call operational support and continuous improvement retrospectives in order to maintain world-class availability across global data centers.

What You’ll Add:

Experience with Go, high-throughput microservices architecture, gRPC, and building distributed control planes or low-latency infrastructure APIs.

Experience with low-level systems engineering, Linux kernel concepts, containerization, or hypervisor-level virtualization (e.g., KVM, Firecracker, eBPF, cgroups).

A deep understanding of distributed systems principles, concurrency patterns, failure modes, and performance optimization in Linux environments.

Strong relational intelligence and communication skills, with a track record of driving complex cross-team technical projects and mentoring engineers.

Growth Mindset focused with a desire to learn, an appetite for feedback, and a "leave it better than you found it" attitude towards system architecture and code maintainability.

Compensation Range:

$167,200 - $209,000

*This is a hybrid role

JR: 2026-8132

#LI-Hybrid

Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean

We innovate with purpose. You’ll be a part of a cutting-edge technology company with a high-growth trajectory, who are proud to simplify cloud and AI so builders can spend more time creating software that changes the world. As part of our team, you’ll embody our "Shark" mindset: bold, ambitious, and scrappy. You'll lead with a bias for action and take true ownership of our products, customer success, and team culture.

We prioritize career development. At DigitalOcean, you’ll do the best work of your career. You will join a community of exceptional talent, collaborating closely with some of the brightest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance and fast-paced organization that will always challenge you to think big. Our talent development team prioritizes your professional development and provides resources to support your growth. We provide employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education, subject to company policy.

We care about your well-being. We take a comprehensive approach to our total rewards packages because we know different things drive different people. Our benefits are designed to support you and may include flexible time off, local team meetups, and mental health and well being support. Our benefits philosophy is consistent globally, but specific benefits and eligibility vary by location to reflect local needs and regulations.

We reward our employees. The salary range for this position is based on market data, relevant years of experience, and skills. Eligible employees may also receive equity compensation, which may include a new hire equity grant and, in participating countries, the opportunity to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Program. Equity awards are subject to approval and the terms of the applicable plan.

Non-sales roles: In addition to base salary, this role is eligible to participate in DigitalOcean’s annual bonus plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility. Bonus amounts depend on company and individual performance.

Sales roles (sales compensation eligible): In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible to earn incentive compensation under the applicable sales compensation plan and may be eligible for a new hire equity grant, subject to plan terms and local eligibility.

DigitalOcean is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Application Limit: You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period. This policy promotes better role-candidate matching and encourages thoughtful applications where your qualifications align most strongly.

Sample DigitalOcean interview questions

1
Design a system for managing a distributed chaos engineering platform.
system designmedium
2
Design a system for real-time monitoring of cloud infrastructure.
system designmedium
3
Architect a real-time document collaboration tool.
system designmedium
4
Build a system for recognizing faces in real-time with high accuracy.
system designmedium
5
Longest Consecutive Sequence Determine the length of the longest consecutive elements sequence. Input: nums = [0,3,7,2,5,8,4,6,0,1] Output: 9 Explanation: The longest consecutive sequence is 0 through 8 (length 9), utilizing a hash set to check connectivity in linear time.
technicalmedium

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