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.

We realize people do not fit into neat boxes. We are looking for curious and empathetic individuals who are committed to developing themselves and learning new skills, and we are ready to help you do that. We cannot complete our mission without building a diverse and inclusive team. We hire the best people based on an evaluation of their potential and support them throughout their time at Cloudflare. Come join us!

Available Locations: Austin TX, Atlanta GA, New York City, Denver CO, Seattle WA, Washington DC

About the role

We are seeking an Engineering Director to lead a team of engineers within our network and data center infrastructure operations. This leadership role is part of the Infrastructure Operations organization, which is responsible for building, scaling, and running one of the world's largest and most important cloud networks. Cloudflare’s global network spans more than 330 cities, and is a key strategic asset that supports all of our customers and products. As a leader on this team, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the performance, availability, and security of our infrastructure.

We operate in a fast-paced environment where you will be expected to drive both project delivery and operational excellence through continuous improvement, standardization, and optimization. This isn't just about day to day operations; it's about building a scalable, performant, secure, and resilient infrastructure that plays a critical role in us building a better Internet.

Who you are

You are an experienced engineering leader with a passion for building high-performing teams and a track record of driving operational excellence. You will set strategy, establish priorities, and mentor a group of top technical talent. This role is for a hands-on leader who can rapidly learn, adapt, and apply learnings to enable fast and sustainable growth. You thrive in a hyper-growth environment and have an outstanding ability to get things done under pressure while leading with optimism and grit.

You have a proven track record of scaling teams, driving change, and being a well-respected technical leader and people manager. You are not just a manager, but a mentor who can grow and empower your team to ensure an energized, motivating, and inclusive work environment.

What you'll do

Lead a passionate team of network engineers, data center engineers, and SREs who are at the core of our global infrastructure.
Own the successful deployment of CAPEX investments, ensuring our infrastructure scales ahead of demand.
Collaborate strategically with cross-functional partners including Project Managers, Finance, and Security to deliver on ambitious group initiatives.
Ensure optimal team staffing by aligning the right talent with the right projects.
Manage key third-party vendors and contractors, holding them accountable for performance and service level agreements (SLAs).
Define, implement, and analyze operational KPIs and metrics to measure and improve our operational health and performance.
Drive a culture of continuous improvement by championing standardization, optimization, and automation.
Own incident response, root cause analysis (RCA), and executive-level communication during critical events.
Foster a best-in-class operations team by bringing fresh perspectives, leadership acumen, and a focus on employee engagement.
Influence infrastructure architecture and design by providing operational feedback to engineering and product teams.

Examples of desirable skills, knowledge and experience

Minimum of 8+ years of operational management and team leadership experience in a global data center and network infrastructure environment, preferably at a hyperscale or cloud company.
Deep technical foundation in network engineering (Layers 1-3), data center architecture, and infrastructure automation.
Proven expertise in deploying time-sensitive and CAPEX-intensive infrastructure projects, including power planning, rack design, and structured cabling.
Exceptional ability to plan, forecast, measure, and execute to meet ambitious goals.
Outstanding verbal, written communication, and presentation skills.
Demonstrated ability to attract, hire, coach, and retain top engineering talent in a highly competitive market.
Experience navigating ambiguous and rapidly changing environments with a bias for action and a high degree of autonomy.
A master at building strong relationships and influencing outcomes across a wide range of cross-functional stakeholders, including non-technical teams and executives.
Extensive experience with on-call rotations, incident management, RCA, and post-mortem analysis.
A reputation as a trusted, respected, and high-judgment leader known for fairness, empathy, and high ethical standards.

Compensation

Compensation may be adjusted depending on work location.

Estimated annual salary of $165,000 - $227,000

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 & Accident Insurance
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
Employee Stock Participation Plan

Time Off

Flexible paid time off covering vacation and sick leave
Leave programs, including parental, pregnancy health, medical, and bereavement leave

What Makes Cloudflare Special?

We’re not just a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company. We’re a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company with a soul. Fundamental to our mission to help build a better Internet is protecting the free and open Internet.

Project Galileo: Since 2014, we've equipped more than 2,400 journalism and civil society organizations in 111 countries with powerful tools to defend themselves against attacks that would otherwise censor their work, technology already used by Cloudflare’s enterprise customers--at no cost.

Athenian Project: In 2017, we created the Athenian Project to ensure that state and local governments have the highest level of protection and reliability for free, so that their constituents have access to election information and voter registration. Since the project, we've provided services to more than 425 local government election websites in 33 states.

1.1.1.1: We released 1.1.1.1 to help fix the foundation of the Internet by building a faster, more secure and privacy-centric public DNS resolver. This is available publicly for everyone to use - it is the first consumer-focused service Cloudflare has ever released. Here’s the deal - we don’t store client IP addresses never, ever. We will continue to abide by our privacy commitment and ensure that no user data is sold to advertisers or used to target consumers.

Sound like something you’d like to be a part of? We’d love to hear from you!

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Please note that any offer of employment may be conditioned on your authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export laws without sponsorship for an export license.

Cloudflare is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and place great value in both diversity and inclusiveness. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to their, or any other person's, perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law. We are an AA/Veterans/Disabled Employer.

Cloudflare provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to, changing the application process, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. If you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job, please contact us via e-mail at hr@cloudflare.com or via mail at 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107.

Engineering Manager, Data Center and Network Infrastructure Operations