Software Systems Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara, CA

About Us:

In today's world, where data spreads across various clouds and devices, traditional security measures aren't enough. Businesses need a dynamic approach to defend against constant cyber threats and ensure agile data security. Fortanix leads the way in data-centric cybersecurity for hybrid multicloud environments, using advanced cryptography, encryption, and confidential AI solutions.

As data breaches become more frequent and traditional defenses fall short, we focus on data exposure management to keep your information safe. Our unified data security platform addresses vulnerabilities in hybrid multicloud environments, defends against threats, and makes it easier to discover, assess, and fix data exposure risks. Whether implementing a Zero Trust model or preparing for the post-quantum computing era, we help businesses worldwide protect their most sensitive data, wherever it is.

Our commitment to solving the world’s toughest data security challenges has earned Fortanix multiple Cybersecurity Excellence and Innovation Awards, as well as recognition from industry giants such as NVIDIA, Microsoft, Intel, ServiceNow, and Snowflake.

Our team includes industry leaders and cryptography experts, creating a culture of trust, innovation and collaboration where every voice is valued. Recognized as a Great Place to Work, we're looking for passionate individuals to help us shape the future of data security and work towards a safer digital future.

We’re looking for a Staff Software Engineer to join our Confidential Computing Management team—an engineer who can design, build, and own core platform services powering secure, distributed systems at scale.

This is a high-impact, hands-on technical leadership role. You’ll shape architecture, lead critical design decisions, and build microservices that are foundational to how our platform operates—ensuring they are secure by design, highly reliable, and built to scale.

• Design and build distributed microservices that power Fortanix’s confidential computing platform across hybrid and multi-cloud environments
• Own system architecture end-to-end—from service design and APIs to deployment, scaling, and production reliability
• Drive technical direction across services, ensuring they fit cohesively into the broader platform architecture
• Lead system design and API discussions, influencing how services interact across the platform
• Build with a security-first mindset, ensuring services are resilient, auditable, and safe by design
• Write high-quality, production-grade code (Rust, C/C++, or similar) and contribute to critical code reviews
• Partner closely with engineering, product, and infrastructure teams to deliver complex, cross-functional systems
• Mentor and guide engineers, raising the bar on system design, code quality, and engineering rigor
• Contribute to core components such as our Runtime Encryption® technology and confidential computing services

This isn’t just another backend role.

You’ll be:

• Building foundational systems, not just features
• Working at the intersection of security, distributed systems, and modern infrastructure
• Owning architecture decisions that shape the entire platform
• Solving problems where performance, security, and scale all matter at once

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with strong backend and distributed systems expertise
• Proven experience designing and building microservices from scratch, and understanding how they fit into larger system architectures
• Experience owning end-to-end services (design, development, deployment, scaling, and operations)
• Strong experience with distributed systems concepts (scalability, reliability, fault tolerance, data consistency)

• Strong programming experience in Rust (will also consider C/C++, Go, or similar systems-level languages)
• Deep understanding of service architecture, API design, and system design
• Hands-on experience with:
• • Kubernetes and containerized environments
  • Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
  • CI/CD and production deployment pipelines
• Experience working in Linux environments, including debugging and performance tuning
• Familiarity with data storage systems (SQL/NoSQL, distributed storage, caching)

• Strong inclination toward building secure, reliable, and maintainable systems
• Experience with or interest in:
• • Confidential computing / Trusted Execution Environments (Intel SGX, AMD SEV, Nitro Enclaves, etc.)
  • Security infrastructure (key management, encryption, secure storage, access control)

• Experience with performance-critical systems or systems programming
• Exposure to secure AI / privacy-preserving systems
• Background in infrastructure platforms or developer platforms

• We offer a collaborative work environment, amazing equity, great benefits, competitive salary, and the opportunity to redefine cloud computing.

• Unlimited PTO (it’s between you and your work!)
• 40 hours of Volunteer Time Off/year
• Internet stipend

• Friendly culture that brings the best out of everybody
• 401k

Base salary offers for this position may vary based on factors such as location, skills, and relevant experience. Some positions may include additional compensation in the form of bonus, equity or commissions. We offer the following benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Retirement Savings, Wellness Program, Short-and Long-Term Disability, Holidays, and more. The compensation for this role is $200,000 - $250,000 / Year.

Fortanix is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive workplace with equal opportunity for all applicants and teammates. Our goal is to recruit the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool regardless of race, color, religion, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other status. If you’re interested in working in a fast growing, exciting working environment – we encourage you to apply!

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire.

For this role, candidates must have a minimum of 24 months of current U.S. work authorization remaining without the need for employer sponsorship.

We are able to support H-1B transfers for candidates already in H-1B status and may consider sponsorship for candidates currently in the United States on F-1 or J-1 status. We are not initiating new visa sponsorships for candidates who would require entry into the H-1B lottery from outside the United States.