Hardware Engineer II

Are you excited to build the next generation of cloud server architecture?

Do you enjoy hands-on bring-up and deep dives into data plane behavior?

Join our Server Team!

Our Hardware Engineering team designs, qualifies, and scales the server platforms that power Akamai Cloud. We partner closely with OEM/ODM manufacturers to deliver reliable, efficient, and secure platforms from concept through global deployment.

Partner with the best

You will focus on the SmartNIC/DPU software and hardware that underpins our compute and GPU servers. These DPUs offload CPU resources, improve isolation, and accelerate networking, storage, and security services across Akamai Cloud. You will help integrate host + DPU architectures, validate RoCE and virtualization capabilities, and support platform offload and acceleration from early concepts through mass production and global deployment.

As a Hardware Engineer II, you will be responsible for:

• Supporting DPU hardware and software integration into Akamai compute and GPU server platforms, including PCIe, networking, storage, and manageability interfaces.
• Executing validation plans for DPU platforms, including functional, performance, interoperability, stress, and reliability testing for data-center-scale use cases.
• Implementing and maintaining automation, scripts, and test tooling to exercise DPUs, collect telemetry at scale, and summarize results for stakeholders.
• Implementing and validating networking and offload features such as RDMA/RoCE, L2/L3/L4 Ethernet/IP forwarding, SR-IOV/virtio-net/vDPA, overlay networks, and congestion control behaviors.
• Collaborating with Kernel, NetEng, SDN, Storage, Security, and Cloud teams to align workloads and SLOs in testing setups and configurations.
• Working with component and silicon vendors to reproduce issues, capture detailed traces, and validate firmware and feature updates.

Do what you love

To be successful in this role you will:

• Have 5+ years of relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering or a related field.
• Gain practical experience with server and networking hardware, including data center NICs, SmartNICs, DPUs, and integration into x86 or ARM systems.
• Be familiar with PCIe, SR-IOV, virtualization, and Linux, and comfortable working across hardware, firmware, and software boundaries.
• Have a strong understanding of L2/L3/L4 networking fundamentals and data center technologies such as VXLAN, BGP, RDMA/RoCE, congestion control, and ECMP.
• Demonstrate expertise in hardware and platform validation, executing tests, system stress assessments, and automation via Python or Bash scripting.
• Communicate effectively in English, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and adapt to hybrid work requiring three on-site days weekly.

Work in a way that works for you

FlexBase, Akamai's Global Flexible Working Program, is based on the principles that are helping us create the best workplace in the world. When our colleagues said that flexible working was important to them, we listened. We also know flexible working is important to many of the incredible people considering joining Akamai. FlexBase, gives 95% of employees the choice to work from their home, their office, or both (in the country advertised). This permanent workplace flexibility program is consistent and fair globally, to help us find incredible talent, virtually anywhere. We are happy to discuss working options for this role and encourage you to speak with your recruiter in more detail when you apply.

Learn what makes Akamai a great place to work

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We power and protect life online, by solving the toughest challenges, together.

At Akamai, we're curious, innovative, collaborative and tenacious. We celebrate diversity of thought and we hold an unwavering belief that we can make a meaningful difference. Our teams use their global perspectives to put customers at the forefront of everything they do, so if you are people-centric, you'll thrive here.

Working for you

At Akamai, we will provide you with opportunities to grow, flourish, and achieve great things. Our benefit options are designed to meet your individual needs for today and in the future. We provide benefits surrounding all aspects of your life:

• Your health
• Your finances
• Your family
• Your time at work
• Your time pursuing other endeavors

Our benefit plan options are designed to meet your individual needs and budget, both today and in the future.

About us

Akamai powers and protects life online. Leading companies worldwide choose Akamai to build, deliver, and secure their digital experiences helping billions of people live, work, and play every day. With the world's most distributed compute platform from cloud to edge we make it easy for customers to develop and run applications, while we keep experiences closer to users and threats farther away.

Join us

Are you seeking an opportunity to make a real difference in a company with a global reach and exciting services and clients? Come join us and grow with a team of people who will energize and inspire you!