Principal Software Development Engineer

At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation. Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive. Job Description F5 is looking for a Principal Software Development Engineer to participate in the design, architect, development, testing for the BIGIP Kubernetes platform, designed for AI and cloud-native applications. This leadership role is responsible for ensuring scalability, security, performance, and agility across all technical domains of BIGIP's AI, Kubernetes, and cloud-native capabilities—including, but not limited to, traffic management, load balancing, security, orchestration, and observability. The person in this position will research and then develop software solutions that meet customer needs across multiple areas. Together with system engineers in the group, the team will deliver products to customers that will drive F5 revenue and portfolio. This position is responsible for the design, architect, development, and maintenance of key product components. Designs, codes, tests and delivers new/modified functionality. Perform as an individual contributor and collaborate with peers under the direction of technical leads on assigned project teams. Requires minimal direct management to complete most of the development tasks. Primary Responsibilities Design Architect and implement major components of products Research, investigate and define new areas of technology to enhance existing products or new product directions with innovative ideas Creative and Out of the box thinking for implementing new designs Evaluate performance of products; tune, re-evaluate the design and implementation of current source code Document software designs via functional specifications and other design documents Conduct presentations both internal and external May participate in hiring and onboarding process Collaborate with team members and technical leads Responsible for upholding F5's Business Code of Ethics and for promptly reporting violations of the Code or other company policies. Performs other related duties as assigned. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Solid knowledge and experience in Networking (TCP/IP, Load Balancing, Routing) Experience with L2–L7 network protocols (IP, TCP/UDP, TLS, DNS, HTTP, gRPC, BGP, etc.) and web technologies. Experience architecting and designing AI and cloud-native products and infrastructure. Strong expertise in distributed systems, microservices architecture, & cloud-native design Strong experience with code generation AI Tools like copilot Working Experience with Linux and Container based environments 12+ years programming experience with Go, Python, C/C++ Working knowledge with Opensource Technologies. Experience with Kubernetes , Openshift is must Experience with cloud technologies (Openstack, AWS, Azure, Google , VMware) Excellent analytic / trouble-shooting and debugging skills Successfully manage ambiguity in work. Willingness and ability to learn and adopt new programming languages Demonstrated excellence in written and verbal communications Able to collaborate and thrive in a fast-paced high-performance environment Demonstrates emerging leadership qualities. Serves as de facto lead in small group interaction. Can design and implement new functionality in multiple feature areas, while developing subject matter expertise in at least one. Duties are performed in a normal office environment while sitting at a desk or computer table. Duties require the ability to utilize a computer, communicate over the telephone, and read printed material. Qualifications Typically requires a minimum of 12+ years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 10+ years and a Master's degree; or equivalent work experience. The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change. F5 Networks, Inc. The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change. Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com). Equal Employment Opportunity It is the policy of F5 to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, discipline, and termination. F5 offers a variety of reasonable accommodations for candidates. Requesting an accommodation is completely voluntary. F5 will assess the need for accommodations in the application process separately from those that may be needed to perform the job. Request by contacting accommodations@f5.com. Hybrid: Employees within 30 commutable miles of an F5 office are required to work from the office a minimum of 30 business days per quarter. Remote: Primarily work from designated home location but can come into an F5 office to work or travel to an offsite location as needed. Together, we're building a better digital world. Founded in 1996, F5 is a global leader in application delivery and security. Our premier platform helps customers secure and deliver every app, API, and piece of infrastructure across all environments. Backed by over three decades of expertise and 553 patents, our solutions protect against threats while ensuring fast, reliable digital experiences. With over 6,400 employees, we serve more than 23,000 customers in over 170 countries. To continue this work, we need people like you—the best minds in the industry. We're committed to a unique, human-first culture that encourages authenticity, prioritizes diversity and inclusion, and fosters the growth and success of our employees.