R&D Engineer, Software (Level 5)

Job Title

R&D Engineer, Software (Level 5)

Role Summary

Design and develop the hardware abstraction layer and related software components for Broadcom switching ASICs. The role works cross-functionally with architects, silicon development, software test, and marketing to deliver production-quality, high-performance forwarding software for a dis-aggregated solution.

Experience Level

Senior - typically 10+ years of relevant software development experience in packet forwarding, network OS, embedded software, or related fields.

Responsibilities

Accountabilities for the role include design, implementation, verification, and operational support of forwarding-plane software:

• Design and implement hardware abstraction and control software for switching silicon.
• Use ASIC SDKs to program forwarding plane data structures (hosts, prefixes, adjacency, ARP/ND6, VRF, ECMP).
• Implement and maintain forwarding features (L2, L3, ACL, QoS, tunnels, SRv6, telemetry).
• Collaborate with architects, silicon teams, software test, and product to define and deliver features.
• Create and maintain unit/integration tests and technical documentation.
• Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve software performance and reliability issues.
• Work within open-source workflows and CI systems (Git, Jenkins, Gerrit).

Requirements

Key technical must-haves and a few preferred skills.

Must-have

• 10+ years of software development experience in packet forwarding, network OS, embedded software, or similar domains.
• Proficient in C and C++; experience with Python for tooling or automation.
• Experience with industry-leading switching ASICs (Broadcom or other vendors) and using their SDKs.
• Hands-on experience programming forwarding plane data: IPv4/IPv6 hosts and prefixes, adjacency, ARP/ND6, VRF, ECMP.
• Strong forwarding-plane knowledge across L2, L3, ACL, QoS, tunnels, SRv6, and telemetry.
• Ability to design solutions and implement features independently; strong problem-solving and debugging skills.
• Familiarity with open-source development tools and CI (Git, Jenkins, Gerrit).

Nice-to-have

• In-depth understanding of Linux network drivers.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field (BS/MS in Computer Science or similar).

About the Company

Company: Broadcom

Headquarters: Irvine, California, United States

Broadcom is a global technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions. The company is known for its innovations in wireless and broadband communications, enabling a connected world.