Ecosystem Lead, P4 (Contractor)

Position Overview

• Location Type: Remote
• Job Type: Contract
• Salary: $100,000 - $250,000 USD

The Linux Foundation is seeking an individual to promote, nurture, and grow the P4 ecosystem. This role involves advancing underlying technologies, driving adoption through education and community engagement, and is ideal for someone with a hands-on software engineering background in networking transitioning into a community-facing role.

Company Description

The Linux Foundation is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization that provides a neutral, trusted hub for developers and organizations to code, manage, and scale open technology projects and ecosystems. The P4 language is transforming network infrastructure, allowing network owners to specify and implement network functionality, enabling end-to-end customization. P4 is driving the next major inflection point for Software-Defined Networking (SDN).

Responsibilities

• Identify strategies to drive adoption of P4 in the industry, collaborating with P4 members and stakeholders.
• Drive the evolution of P4 specifications and software in conjunction with the P4 TST and Working Groups.
• Grow the P4 community by organizing events, including workshops and developer training.
• Recruit new project members and align their goals with P4's work.
• Encourage community members to assume leadership roles within the P4 project.
• Write and publish content to explain and promote the P4 language.
• Manage the project budget in coordination with the P4 Governing Board.
• Coordinate with Linux Foundation staff on project management.
• Travel: up to 10%

Requirements

Prerequisites:

• Strong technical understanding of foundational networking technologies (L2/L3, BGP, IPv6, etc.).
• Passion and ability to learn, position, write about, and present programmable networking and P4.
• 5+ years in the networking industry in a software development or research role.
• Desire and ability to write about and promote technology products.
• Enthusiasm for SDN and P4 technologies.
• Strong teaching and explanatory skills; enjoys teaching.
• Extrovert with a preference for communication, presentation, writing, posting, and engagement.
• Entrepreneurial spirit, with a willingness to be hands-on and take charge.

Desirable Skills and Background:

• Existing involvement in the networking and/or P4 ecosystems.
• Community engagement experience (e.g., user groups, developer groups, conference presentations).
• Understanding of the networking market and ecosystem (silicon to system, cloud to telco operators).
• Work experience with smart NIC vendors, virtual switching solutions, or overlay networking.
• Research background in novel uses for P4.
• Experience contributing to open-source projects.
• Passport and/or Visa enabling unencumbered international travel.

Suitable Backgrounds:

• Software programmers building datacenter or cloud-facing networking solutions.
• Researchers working on programmable networking (recent graduates with advanced degrees and significant hands-on programming experience will be considered).
• Individuals desiring to enter community and developer relations.
• Professionals with tenure at companies leveraging P4, programmable networking silicon, Smart NICs, or DPUs.

Additional Information

• Department: Projects
• Industry: Information Technology And Services
• Function: Other
• Experience Level: Not Applicable
• Language: English
• Posted by: [Information not provided]
• Remote: Yes

All information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.