Principal Software Engineer - Service Networking

Roblox
San Mateo, CA

In the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026, Roblox filed 62 H-1B positions titled "Senior Software Engineer". Source: U.S. Department of Labor, LCA disclosure data. A record of filings already made, not a commitment to sponsor.

Who this role is best for

Best suited to experienced infrastructure engineers working in distributed systems and cloud environments.

Best fit for

  • Experienced infrastructure engineers with a strong background in service mesh and cloud platforms
    — “building and operating large-scale distributed systems”
  • Candidates who have led infrastructure migrations or performance improvements in production
    — “leading infrastructure migrations or performance improvements”
  • Individuals with deep knowledge of Envoy, Istio, and Kubernetes-based systems
    — “guide the evolution of our Envoy- and Istio-based platform”

Things to consider

  • Requires in-office presence for San Mateo-based roles, with limited remote flexibility
    — “Roles that are based at our headquarters in San Mateo, CA: The starting base pay”
  • No support for H-1B sponsorship for US-based roles at this time
    — “may not be able to employ candidates for this role who have United States work authorization related to certain U.S. visa categories”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience in designing and operating service mesh systems across multiple platforms
    — “Design and build control-plane and data-plane capabilities for service discovery”
  • Demonstrate leadership in large-scale infrastructure migrations or cloud transitions
    — “Experience operating Kubernetes or comparable orchestration platforms in production”
  • Showcase your ability to translate ambiguous problems into technical strategy and execution
    — “record of turning ambiguous problems into technical direction and coordinated execution”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Set technical direction and lead hands-on development of service mesh systems
  • Guide the evolution of Envoy- and Istio-based platform
Typical background
8+ years of software engineering experience building and operating large-scale distributed systems

Skills & requirements

Required

Service MeshEnvoyIstioKubernetesNomadGoC++RustNetworkingService DiscoveryLoad BalancingTraffic PolicyOperational Reliability

Preferred

Experience With ActimizeFinancial CrimeAMLFraudComplianceBanking TechnologyCloud-based Enterprise PlatformsPMPPrince2PMI

Stack & domain

Service MeshProxiesApplication GatewaysService DiscoveryRoutingLoad BalancingTraffic PolicyEnvoyIstioKubernetesNomadCloud EnvironmentsWorkload IdentityMutual TLSTraffic Policy EnforcementPerformance AnalysisTestingObservabilityIncident ResponseDeployment AutomationGoC++RustSystems LanguageDebuggingOperating-system BoundariesEnvoy/istio InternalsXdsSubstantive Open-source ContributionsTurning Ambiguous Problems Into Technical DirectionCoordinated ExecutionCommunicating TradeoffsHelping Other Engineers Lead Independently

About the role

Original posting from Roblox

Every day, tens of millions of people come to Roblox to explore, create, play, learn, and connect with friends in 3D immersive digital experiences– all created by our global community of developers and creators. 

At Roblox, we’re building the tools and platform that empower our community to bring any experience that they can imagine to life. Our vision is to reimagine the way people come together, from anywhere in the world, and on any device. We’re on a mission to connect a billion people with optimism and civility, and looking for amazing talent to help us get there. 

A career at Roblox means you’ll be working to shape the future of human interaction, solving unique technical challenges at scale, and helping to create safer, more civil shared experiences for everyone.

Roblox’s Service Networking team connects and secures the services behind our platform across our data centers and cloud infrastructure.

As a Principal Software Engineer on Service Networking, you will set technical direction and lead hands-on development of the systems that make service-to-service communication reliable, secure, and efficient. You will guide the evolution of our Envoy- and Istio-based platform as services move across Kubernetes, Nomad, and cloud environments. You will partner with Compute, Security, and application teams, and help senior engineers lead complex technical work.

You will:

Set the technical strategy and roadmap for service mesh, balancing reliability, security, performance, and operating cost.

Design and build control-plane and data-plane capabilities for service discovery, routing, load balancing, and traffic policy using Envoy, Istio, and related technologies.

Lead integration and migration across Kubernetes, Nomad, and cloud environments, with clear compatibility requirements and safe rollout plans.

Partner with Security and application teams to deliver workload identity, mutual TLS, and traffic policy enforcement in production.

Improve resource efficiency and operational reliability through performance analysis, testing, observability, incident response, and deployment automation.

Lead technical decisions across teams, write and review production code, and mentor senior engineers to expand their judgment and ownership.

You have:

8+ years of software engineering experience building and operating large-scale distributed systems, including leading substantial initiatives across teams.

Expertise in service mesh, proxies, application gateways, or a closely related infrastructure domain, demonstrated through systems you have designed, shipped, and operated.

A strong understanding of networking fundamentals, service discovery, traffic management, failure isolation, and secure service communication.

Strong programming skills in Go, C++, Rust, or another systems language, with experience debugging across application, proxy, control-plane, and operating-system boundaries.

Experience operating Kubernetes or comparable orchestration platforms in production and leading infrastructure migrations or performance improvements. Envoy/Istio internals, xDS, workload identity, and substantive open-source contributions are especially relevant.

A record of turning ambiguous problems into technical direction and coordinated execution, communicating tradeoffs clearly, and helping other engineers lead independently.

You’ll Love: 

Industry-leading compensation package

Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage

A rewarding 401k program

Flexible vacation policy

Roflex - Flexible and supportive work policy 

Roblox Admin badge for your avatar

At Roblox HQ: 

Free catered lunches five times a week and several fully stocked kitchens with unlimited snacks

Onsite fitness center and fitness program credit

Annual CalTrain Go Pass

For roles that are based at our headquarters in San Mateo, CA: The starting base pay for this position is as shown below. The actual base pay is dependent upon a variety of job-related factors such as professional background, training, work experience, location, business needs and market demand. Therefore, in some circumstances, the actual salary could fall outside of this expected range. This pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. All full-time employees are also eligible for equity compensation and for benefits as described on this page.

Annual Salary Range$295,250—$345,040 USDRoles that are based in an office are onsite Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with optional presence on Monday and Friday (unless otherwise noted).

Roblox provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Roblox also provides reasonable accommodations to candidates with qualifying disabilities or religious beliefs during the recruiting process.

For US based roles only, please note the Company may not be able to employ candidates for this role who have United States work authorization related to certain U.S. visa categories, or support future H-1B sponsorship at this time.

Source: Roblox careers

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