Engineer III, Smart Switch Software Development

About this job

The Engineer III, Smart Switch Software Development role at NETGEAR involves working within the Enterprise Engineering team to develop and maintain embedded Linux firmware for smart switch product families. NETGEAR has pioneered advanced networking technology since 1996, building innovative products that connect people to the internet and power businesses worldwide. In this role, you will focus on application and integration layers of the firmware stack, which includes system daemons, command line interfaces, cloud integration agents, and web-based management UI backends. A normal day involves building and maintaining user-space daemons, collaborating across time zones with engineering teams, writing test cases, validating firmware on physical hardware, and using AI coding assistants in your daily workflow to accelerate coding, debugging, and feature delivery.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain user-space daemons and services for the switch firmware runtime environment.
• Work on the Insight cloud agent subsystem, handling REST APIs, SSL/TLS integration, and cloud-to-device communication.
• Enhance the Cisco IOS-style CLI framework and configuration database engine for proper configuration persistence.
• Develop and manage web-based management interfaces using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
• Implement and maintain SNMP MIB support for network management system integration.
• Perform firmware validation on physical hardware and write test cases to build test automation capabilities.
• Collaborate with distributed engineering teams through code reviews, sprint planning, and technical documentation.
• Utilize AI coding agents in your daily workflow to speed up coding, debugging, and documentation.

Requirements

• B.Tech/B.E. or M.Tech/M.E. in Computer Science, Electronics, or a related field.
• 4 to 7 years of professional experience in embedded or systems software development.
• Proficiency in C programming on Linux for user-space applications and IPC mechanisms.
• Working knowledge of networking fundamentals including TCP/IP, VLANs, Ethernet, ARP, and DHCP.
• Experience with at least one of REST API development in C, embedded HTTP servers, or SSL/TLS integration.
• Familiarity with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS for web interfaces along with GNU Make build systems.
• Comfortable working with Git in a multi-developer environment.
• Active use of AI coding assistants or AI agents in daily development work.

Good to have

• Experience with embedded Linux networking products such as switches, routers, or access points.
• Familiarity with SNMP, MIB development, or CLI framework development.
• Experience with L2 networking protocols like STP, LLDP, IGMP, or LACP.
• Exposure to Docker-based build environments or CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience debugging on resource-constrained embedded targets using serial console or remote GDB.

Who should apply

This role is ideal for mid-career embedded or systems engineers who have 4 to 7 years of professional experience and want to deepen their networking firmware expertise. Candidates who are comfortable programming in C on Linux, possess strong networking fundamentals, and actively use AI coding assistants in their daily workflow will find this position a great fit. It suits individuals looking to take end-to-end ownership of meaningful features for global products.

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