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Sdn Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Sonsoft Inc

SDN & Networking

Sunnyvale, CA

Company Description Sonsoft , Inc. is a USA based corporation duly organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Georgia. Sonsoft Inc. is growing at a steady pace specializing in the fields of ...

Jobsbridge

Network Software Developer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

As part of the SDN/NFV team, the Network Software Developer will be responsible for the development and maintenance of SDN subsystem of network software platform. Design, develop, test and maintain ...

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How much do sdn jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 22, 2026, the average hourly pay for sdn in California is $15.13, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $14.23 and $15.67 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is an SDN (Software-Defined Networking) professional?

SDN (Software-Defined Networking) professionals are experts who design, implement, and manage networks using software-based approaches rather than traditional hardware-centric methods. They work with SDN controllers, protocols, and network virtualization technologies to increase network flexibility, automation, and centralization. SDN professionals play a crucial role in optimizing network performance, security, and scalability for organizations adopting modern IT infrastructure. Their responsibilities may include configuring SDN controllers, troubleshooting network issues, and integrating SDN solutions with existing systems.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Software-Defined Networking (SDN) engineer?

To thrive as a Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Engineer, you need expertise in networking protocols, programming skills (such as Python or Java), and a solid understanding of SDN architecture, typically supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with SDN controllers (like OpenDaylight or ONOS), network virtualizations tools, and relevant certifications such as Cisco CCNP or VMware NSX is often required. Strong problem-solving skills, adaptability, and effective communication set top performers apart in this role. These competencies are crucial for designing, implementing, and maintaining dynamic, scalable networks that meet organizational needs.

What are some common challenges faced by SDN (Software-Defined Networking) engineers when implementing new network solutions?

SDN engineers often encounter challenges such as integrating SDN solutions with existing legacy infrastructure, ensuring network security in programmable environments, and managing the complexity of large-scale deployments. Troubleshooting issues can be more complex due to the abstraction layers between hardware and software. Collaboration with network operations and security teams is also crucial, as SDN projects often require cross-functional knowledge and alignment of goals.

What is the difference between Sdn vs Network Administrator?

AspectSdnNetwork Administrator
Required CertificationsCCNA, CompTIA Network+CCNA, CompTIA Network+
Work EnvironmentData centers, cloud environments, software-defined networksOffice settings, on-site network infrastructure
Industry UsageIT, cloud services, data managementCorporate, educational, healthcare institutions
Job FocusManaging virtualized, software-defined networksMaintaining physical and traditional network hardware

While both Sdn and Network Administrator roles involve network management, Sdn focuses on software-defined, virtualized networks often in cloud environments, requiring specific certifications and skills. Network Administrators typically handle physical network hardware and traditional infrastructure. Understanding these differences helps in choosing the right career path or job search focus.

What are popular job titles related to Sdn jobs in California?

For Sdn jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Sdn jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Sdn jobs in California are:

Sdn jobs near you
Infographic showing various Sdn job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 93% Full Time, 1% Part Time, and 6% Contract. Highlights an 77% Physical, 13% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $31,476 per year, or $15.1 per hour.

Engineering Manager, SDN Control Plane

Crusoe

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 15 days ago

Job description

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack - from electrons to tokens - to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.
We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that - with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.
We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved - people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.
If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.
About the Role:
Crusoe is seeking an Engineering Manager, SDN Control Plane to lead the team building the scalable control plane for VPC networking, the Crusoe Cloud frontend network. In this hands-on leadership role, you will own the services on the network control plane that program multi-tenant virtual networks across large-scale GPU fleets. Unlike generic networking manager roles, this position focuses on delivering control-plane scale and reliability on aggressive timelines, often moving features from commit to production within days.
What You'll Be Working On:
  • Technical Ownership: You will help define the roadmap for the VPC control plane and drive the evolution of network virtualization systems (such as OVN/OVS) that deliver VPCs, subnets, security groups, load balancing, NAT, and internet/hybrid connectivity.
  • Architecture & Scale: You will contribute to the design of distributed control-plane services: intent APIs, state reconciliation, network policy compilation, and southbound programming of hosts and DPUs, while driving scalability well beyond current fleet size.
  • Production Execution: You will support reliability engineering, convergence and API-latency benchmarking, regression prevention, and incident response, ensuring operational excellence within 3-6 month execution cycles.
  • People Leadership: You will mentor and grow a team of mid-level to senior distributed systems engineers, setting technical standards and fostering a high-performance culture of accountability.
  • Collaboration: You will partner closely with data-plane teams (XDP/eBPF, DPDK, DPU offload) and cloud product teams to deliver low-latency, highly available networking for multi-tenant GPU clusters.

What You'll Bring to the Team:
  • Solid Experience: At least 6-8+ years in distributed systems or cloud networking engineering, with 2-4+ years specifically managing engineering talent.
  • Technical Depth: Strong knowledge of SDN and network virtualization: overlay networking (VXLAN/Geneve), VPC constructs, routing (BGP/EVPN), and control-plane architectures such as OVN/OVS or equivalent.
  • Distributed Systems Expertise: Hands-on experience building large-scale control planes: state reconciliation, consensus and consistency trade-offs, API design, and fleet-wide configuration propagation (Go, Kubernetes-style controllers, or similar).
  • Reliability Focus: A strong understanding of operating multi-tenant cloud services: SLOs, convergence-time and scale benchmarking, graceful degradation, and blast-radius containment.
  • Execution Mindset: The ability to resolve complex technical challenges in a fast-moving, execution-heavy environment.

Bonus Points:
  • Experience with DPU/SmartNIC-programmed dataplanes, cloud load balancing or NAT at scale, network security policy engines, or open-source contributions to OVN/OVS or SDN projects.

Benefits:
  • Competitive compensation and equity packages
  • Restricted Stock Units
  • Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs
  • Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
  • Employer contributions to HSA account
  • Paid parental leave
  • Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
  • Professional development & tuition reimbursement
  • Mental health & wellness support
  • Commuter benefits (parking & transit)
  • Cell phone stipend
  • 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
  • Volunteer time off
  • Global travel insurance & emergency assistance
  • Daily meals allowance
  • Additional perks & programs specific to location

Compensation Range
Compensation will be paid in the range of up to $215,000 - $260,000 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant's knowledge, education, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.
Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.

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