Associate Software Engineer – Software Defined Networking

Job Description 

We're looking for a curious, technically grounded engineer ready to grow their career at one of the world's most influential companies. 

As an Associate, Software Engineering at JPMorganChase, you will contribute to the engineering effort behind a firm-wide software-defined networking platform. You will work across agile teams to build, test, and deliver trusted, market-leading networking technology in a secure, stable, and scalable way.

This role is ideal for someone with a strong academic or research background in mathematics, computer science, or distributed systems who is eager to apply rigorous analytical thinking to real-world infrastructure challenges. You will be expected to leverage AI-assisted tooling for research, prototyping, and code generation, and to contribute to the team's culture of technical writing, documentation, and knowledge sharing.

Job Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design and implementation of core platform components, including control plane (OVN), data plane (OVS/DPU), software gateways, load balancers, and IPAM systems, under the guidance of senior engineers.

• Write production-quality code in Go, Python, or C/C++ for networking infrastructure, with an emphasis on correctness, clarity, and testability.

• Apply knowledge of distributed algorithms (consensus, coordination, graph-based routing, scheduling) to networking and systems problems.

• Use AI-assisted tooling (e.g., generative AI code assistants, LLM-based research tools) to accelerate development, prototyping, and technical exploration.

• Conduct focused research into emerging networking technologies, distributed systems techniques, and mathematical approaches relevant to platform design, and communicate findings through clear technical writing.

• Produce well-structured technical documentation, design proposals, and research summaries for internal audiences.

• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and agile ceremonies, contributing to continuous improvement across the team.

• Collaborate with vendor partners on integration tasks and roadmap alignment.

• Engage with open-source communities and industry forums where appropriate.

• Support the firm's culture of diversity, opportunity, inclusion, and respect.

Required Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• 3+ years of experience (including academic research, internships, or industry) in software engineering, systems engineering, networking, or distributed systems.

• Degree (completed or in progress) in Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related technical field. Candidates nearing completion of a graduate program with relevant research experience are encouraged to apply.

• Solid grounding in mathematics relevant to distributed systems and networking: graph theory, combinatorics, optimization, probability, or formal methods.

• Demonstrated understanding of distributed algorithms and systems concepts (e.g., consensus protocols, distributed coordination, fault tolerance, convergence).

• Proficiency in one or more programming languages: Go, Python, C/C++, or Rust.

• Experience using AI/ML-assisted tooling for code generation, research augmentation, or rapid prototyping.

• Strong technical writing skills, with experience producing documentation, design documents, research summaries, or academic/technical papers.

• Foundational knowledge of networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, routing, switching, load balancing).

• Practical experience with modern development practices (CI/CD, version control, testing, infrastructure as code).

• Ability to collaborate effectively across teams and communicate technical concepts clearly.

Preferred Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills 

• Graduate degree (MS or PhD, completed or nearing completion) in Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related discipline, particularly with a thesis or research focus in distributed systems, algorithms, or networking.

• Hands-on experience with software-defined networking (SDN) technologies such as OVN, OVS, or equivalent.

• Exposure to DPU/SmartNIC technologies (NVIDIA BlueField, AMD Pensando, Intel IPU).

• Familiarity with high-performance networking frameworks (eBPF, XDP, DPDK).

• Experience with CNI implementations (Cilium, Calico, Flannel) and Kubernetes networking.

• Understanding of advanced routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, VXLAN, EVPN).

• Published technical writing, conference papers, or contributions to open-source projects.

• Cloud-native development experience.