Principal Verification Engineer Jobs in California

We are looking for a highly motivated, experienced, and versatile Principal Verification Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will own the end-to-end verification platform and program for ASIC (Applied Specific Integrated Circuit) drivers and networking software, with full accountability for its overall quality, reliability, and success. You will design, develop, and own the verification frameworks, test environments, and automation infrastructure across our current and next-generation products, lead verification strategy and standards across multiple teams, serve as the go-to technical authority for the most complex verification challenges, and mentor and grow engineers across the organization. You will be working alongside a closely-knit cross-functional team of experienced software, hardware, and ASIC engineers.

Job Responsibilities

      Own the end-to-end verification platform and program for ASIC drivers and networking software, taking full accountability for its overall success, quality, and reliability.
      Design, develop, and own robust, scalable verification frameworks and automation tools in Ruby and Python for ASIC drivers.
      Build and maintain comprehensive test environments, test suites, and verification infrastructure to validate ASIC driver and networking software functionality, performance, and reliability.
      Drive verification strategy, planning, and standards across multiple teams, including test plan development, coverage analysis, coverage closure, and the best practices and methodologies adopted across the product area.
      Replicate and drive the most complex customer-reported and internally-discovered issues to resolution, performing deep root cause analysis across the software, driver, and hardware layers.
      Conduct thorough code reviews of verification code, provide constructive feedback, and champion engineering best practices across multiple teams.
      Mentor and grow engineers across teams through pair programming and design reviews, fostering their development into senior and staff-level technical contributors.
      Collaborate closely with software, hardware, and ASIC engineers to ensure verification gaps are identified, defects are properly reproduced, and fixes are validated.
      Build and maintain tools to generate network traffic, simulate test scenarios, and measure performance and reliability.
      Serve as the go-to technical authority for ASIC driver verification, resolving the most complex and ambiguous issues that cross software, driver, and hardware boundaries.
      Influence hardware and software teams on verification sign-off criteria, testability improvements, and debug capabilities.
      Lead cross-team technical initiatives and align stakeholders across engineering functions on verification strategy, priorities, and roadmap.
      Lead hiring and growth of the verification organization across the program, raising the technical bar through mentorship and code reviews.
      Champion innovation in verification methodology, tooling, and process improvements across the teams you lead.
      Contribute to the overall technical direction of the verification platform, including tooling strategy, technology selection, and long-term roadmap for the product area.

Basic qualifications:

      Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
      12 to 15 years of professional software development or verification engineering experience.
      Strong proficiency in Ruby and Python, with a proven track record of building and maintaining automation frameworks and tooling.
      Solid understanding of TCP/IP, routing, switching, and firewalls.
      Deep Linux command line expertise, with experience building test environments, developing on Linux, and troubleshooting complex system-level issues.
      Strong programming fundamentals and software engineering discipline, including data structures, algorithms, design patterns, and clean code practices.
      Demonstrated experience troubleshooting software, drivers, and networks logically and analytically.
      Fundamental knowledge of Linux operating system internals, kernel, and device drivers.
      Familiarity with advanced networking protocols, security concepts, and DevOps/tooling practices.
      Proven ability to design and implement scalable verification architectures and make sound technology trade-offs in ambiguous, high-stakes situations.
      Demonstrated experience owning and delivering a major verification platform or program end-to-end, with accountability for its success.
      Demonstrated experience leading technical initiatives across multiple teams and aligning stakeholders on strategy and direction.
      Demonstrated experience mentoring engineers, conducting effective code reviews, and growing engineers into senior and staff-level contributors.
      Strong communications skills, and ability to work in a collaborative cross-functional environment.
      Ability to take ownership of complex projects, work with minimal supervision, and research and master new technologies quickly.

Preferred qualifications:

      Experience developing and owning verification frameworks and test automation platforms at scale.
      Experience building and maintaining ASIC driver software or kernel-space code in C.
      Experience in using Viavi (Spirent TestCenter, Avalanche) or Keysight (Ixia, Breaking Point) traffic generators.
      Experience contributing to open-source networking or Linux kernel projects.
      Track record of driving technical decisions, setting verification standards, and influencing the direction of multiple teams.
      In-depth knowledge of at least 2 of the following areas, with strong proficiency in each:
         - Protocols & Networking: BGP, OSPF, LACP, STP/RSTP/MSTP, ARP, DNS, IPsec, IPv6, TLS, multicast, VXLAN, GRE, SD-WAN, QoS (Quality of Service)
         - Security: Cryptography fundamentals, mTLS, PKI/certificate management, network security protocols
         - DevOps: Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), CI/CD pipeline design, infrastructure as code, test automation at scale
         - Performance & Tools: network packet analyzers (e.g., Wireshark), benchmark testing, building tools to generate traffic

Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $212,000-$259,000. Fortinet offers employees a variety of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, 401(k), 11 paid holidays, vacation time, and sick time, as well as a comprehensive leave program.

Wage ranges are based on various factors, including the labour market, job type, and job level. Exact salary offers will be determined by factors such as the candidate's subject knowledge, skill level, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.

All roles are eligible to participate in the Fortinet equity program. Bonus eligibility is reviewed at the time of hire and annually at the Company's discretion.

Why Join Us:

We encourage candidates from all backgrounds and identities to apply. We offer a supportive work environment and a competitive Total Rewards package to support you with your overall health and financial well-being.

Embark on a challenging, enjoyable, and rewarding career journey with Fortinet. Join us in bringing solutions that make a meaningful and lasting impact to our 890,000+ customers around the globe.