Software Director – SONiC

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<h2>Company Overview</h2>

<p><a href="https://www.micasnetworks.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Micas Networks</a> is a leading provider of open networking solutions for hyperscalers, cloud data centers, AI infrastructure, and OEM customers. We deliver high-performance Ethernet switching platforms supporting SONiC and other open network operating systems.</p>

<h2>Position Summary</h2>

<p>Micas Networks is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Software Director – SONiC to lead our Network Operating System software organization. In this role, you will define and execute the long-term software strategy and roadmap for our SONiC-based platforms, lead a high-performing team of software engineers and managers, and collaborate closely with hardware, product management, and customer-facing teams to deliver world-class networking solutions to hyperscalers, cloud data centers, and OEM partners.</p>

<p>The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in networking and open-source network operating systems with proven leadership experience in building, mentoring, and scaling software organizations. You will play a critical role in shaping the future of open networking by translating market and customer needs into actionable software requirements, driving cross-functional execution, and ensuring the optimal allocation of engineering resources to maximize impact.</p>

<h2>Responsibilities</h2>

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<h2>Leadership &amp; Strategy</h2>

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<li>Lead and define the long-term SONiC software product roadmap in alignment with hardware, product management, regional, and executive teams.</li>

<li>Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of software engineers, technical leads, and managers, ensuring alignment with business unit objectives and fostering a culture of technical excellence and accountability.</li>

<li>Engage directly with customers—including hyperscalers, cloud operators, and OEM partners—to gather insights and translate networking needs into actionable software requirements and feature definitions.</li>

<li>Provide strategic input across the organization to ensure software features, release cadence, and platform capabilities align with customer needs, market trends, and business goals.</li>

<li>Monitor industry, open-source, and technology trends (SONiC, DENT, SAI, P4, eBPF, AI/ML for networking) to inform strategy and maintain competitive differentiation.</li>

<li>Drive resource allocation, budgeting, and headcount planning across software functions to balance short-term delivery with long-term platform investment.</li>

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<h2>Software Development &amp; Delivery</h2>

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<li>Oversee the design, development, and maintenance of the SONiC network operating system across multiple hardware platforms and customer deployments.</li>

<li>Drive implementation and optimization of network protocols, control-plane and data-plane features, platform drivers, and software modules.</li>

<li>Establish and enforce engineering best practices for code quality, design reviews, performance analysis, and system reliability.</li>

<li>Lead continuous improvement of CI/CD infrastructure, automated regression testing, code coverage, and release engineering to enable rapid, high-quality software delivery.</li>

<li>Champion strong DevOps practices, version control discipline, and modern software lifecycle management across the organization.</li>

<li>Own software quality end-to-end—from feature definition through field deployment—and drive rapid resolution of complex, customer-impacting issues.</li>

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<h2>Cross-Functional Collaboration</h2>

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<li>Collaborate across functions—including Hardware Engineering, Product Management, Product Marketing, Operations, and Procurement—to deliver high-impact product initiatives on schedule.</li>

<li>Partner with Hardware and Platform teams on switch ASIC SDK integration, hardware abstraction layers (e.g., SAI, switchdev), and BSP development to ensure tight hardware/software co-design.</li>

<li>Drive the development of Product Requirements Documents (PRDs), software design specifications, user stories, and customer-facing technical collateral.</li>

<li>Develop and deliver high-quality, customer-facing presentations that articulate software value, architecture, and roadmap.</li>

<li>Partner with Sales, Solutions Engineering, and Marketing Communications to support go-to-market activities and create compelling technical sales collateral.</li>

<li>Represent Micas Networks externally in customer engagements, industry forums, and open-source communities such as the SONiC Foundation and OCP.</li>

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<h2>Qualifications</h2>

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<li>10+ years of software engineering and software management experience in networking, with significant exposure to Carrier Service Provider, Data Center, Hyperscaler, and/or Mission-Critical environments.</li>

<li>5+ years of experience leading software teams, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, and building high-performing organizations.</li>

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<h2>Preferred Qualifications</h2>

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<li>Active contributions to open-source projects and communities, particularly SONiC, DENT, or related networking ecosystems.</li>

<li>Hands-on knowledge of cloud computing and modern data center networking architectures (leaf/spine, EVPN-VXLAN, SmartNIC, AI/ML fabrics).</li>

<li>Experience developing or configuring whitebox/disaggregated network devices and switches at scale.</li>

<li>Prior experience working with hyperscaler or Tier-1 cloud customers on production deployments.</li>

<li>Experience scaling globally distributed software engineering organizations.</li>

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