Systems Engineer, Network Protocols & Distributed Systems

About Us

At Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.

At Cloudflare, we’re not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we’re looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a "normalized" problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you’re the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you’ll fit right in.

Location: London, Lisbon, or Austin - (Hybrid)

Join the team helping shape the future of the Internet. We’re building high-performance systems that handle a quarter of the Internet’s traffic. Our work influences open standards (like QUIC, MASQUE, and ECH), involves close collaboration with the IETF, and pushes the boundaries of what's possible in networking and security.

You don’t need to be an HTTP or cryptography expert to join — we’re looking for excellent engineers who love tough problems, want to learn deeply, and are excited to contribute to one of the most technically demanding areas of infrastructure.

What you’ll do

Build and operate systems that terminate HTTP and TLS at Internet scale

Migrate core infrastructure from NGINX to a next-gen Rust-based proxy

Measure and improve protocol performance across real-world traffic

Contribute to open source and industry standards

Learn from and work alongside some of the leading engineers in this space

You might be a good fit if you

Have solid systems programming experience (Rust, C, or similar)

Thrive in complex technical domains and enjoy learning new things

Care about building reliable, secure, and performant software

Are motivated by impact — technical, operational, and on the Internet itself

Come from a background that’s underrepresented in tech — we value diverse perspectives

Perks include: Flexible work hours • Take-what-you-need vacation • RSUs • ESPP • Meaningful technical challenges every day

Compensation

Compensation may be adjusted depending on work location.

For Portugal based hires: Estimated annual salary is between €54,000 - €75,000.

Equity

This role is eligible to participate in Cloudflare’s equity plan.

Benefits

Cloudflare offers a complete package of benefits and programs to support you and your family. Our benefits programs can help you pay health care expenses, support caregiving, build capital for the future and make life a little easier and fun! The below is a description of our benefits for employees in the United States, and benefits may vary for employees based outside the U.S.

Health & Welfare Benefits

Medical/Rx Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Flexible Spending Accounts

Commuter Spending Accounts

Fertility & Family Forming Benefits

On-demand mental health support and Employee Assistance Program

Global Travel Medical Insurance

Financial Benefits

Short and Long Term Disability Insurance

Life