Role description
Software Engineer - Networking (Agent Infra)
basetenABOUT BASETEN
Baseten powers mission-critical inference for the world's most dynamic AI companies, like Cursor, Notion, OpenEvidence, Abridge, Clay, Gamma, and Writer. By uniting applied AI research, flexible infrastructure, and seamless developer tooling, we enable companies operating at the frontier of AI to bring cutting-edge models into production. We're growing quickly and recently raised our $1.5B Series F, led by Altimeter Capital, Conviction Partners, and Spark Capital. Join us and help build the platform engineers turn to ship AI products.
THE ROLE
Every agent on Baseten Sandboxes runs in its own microVM. Agents call models, reach tools and APIs, expose services, and more and more often talk to each other. Networking built into today's cloud providers was not designed for very large numbers of isolated machines that suspend, resume, and exchange data constantly.
The Agent Infra team builds its own networking stack for sandboxes, designed from the start for that scale. It runs in user space, with VPP (FD.io) as its main data plane technology, and is built from virtualized network functions (VNF/NFV): carrier-grade, low-latency packet processing designed for very large numbers of agents. In September 2026, Baseten acquired Blaxel, whose sandboxes, storage, and networking are the foundation for Baseten Sandboxes.
You'll build multi-tenant virtual private networking that connects each customer's agents and services privately and securely, using modern overlay technologies.
We are building a cloud, not just using one. We want engineers who expose the network as a programmable API and write the code, not operators who push router and switch configuration. The team is small and ownership is big: we ship in weeks and months, not multi-year programs.
This role is separate from Baseten's GPU-to-GPU networking. Here you'll own how sandboxes connect to each other, to Baseten services, to customer networks, and to the internet.
If you've built user-space data planes, virtualized network functions, or multi-tenant cloud networking and want to design one for agents, we'd love to talk.
EXAMPLE INITIATIVES
Blaxel is joining Baseten to build the future of agentic infrastructure
Securing the open frontier with NVIDIA OpenShell and Blaxel sandboxes
RESPONSIBILITIES
Design and build the user-space, VPP-based data plane that connects microVM sandboxes to each other, to Baseten services, and to the internet
Build multi-tenant virtual private networking and overlays (for example EVPN, GENEVE, VXLAN) across regions
Expose the network as a programmable API that the rest of the platform calls
Cut latency and raise connection scale for agent-to-agent and agent-to-service traffic
Build routing that sends each request to the nearest region and keeps connections working as sandboxes suspend and resume
Build secure ingress and egress for sandboxes, including firewalling, static egress IPs, and custom domains with managed TLS
Build L7 proxies for request inspection, filtering, secret injection, and auditing
Own per-sandbox addressing, including IPv6, and network isolation between tenants
Build observability for the packet path across guest, host, and network, and debug production issues end to end
Work closely with the compute, storage, GPU infrastructure, and datacenter teams
REQUIREMENTS
Experience with user-space packet processing (DPDK, VPP, or similar) or virtualized network functions (VNF/NFV)
Experience building multi-tenant networking in production (VXLAN, GENEVE, VRF)
Experience building a software-defined network, overlay network, or packet-processing data plane in production
You write production code: strong systems programming in Rust, Go, and/or C/C++. Network architects are welcome if they build, not only configure
Experience building cloud networking as the provider, not only consuming a cloud provider's network
Solid grounding in TCP/IP and routing
Experience building or operating proxies, load balancers, or L4/L7 gateways at scale
Experience debugging latency and throughput problems with packet captures, tracing, and profiling
You move fast and like owning a problem end to end on a small team
NICE TO HAVE
Experience with VPP / FD.io, our main networking technology
Experience with GENEVE or VXLAN overlays and EVPN
Linux kernel networking: eBPF/XDP, netfilter or nftables, network namespaces
Familiarity with virtual machine networking: virtio-net, vhost, TAP devices, or networking for Firecracker or Cloud Hypervisor
Experience running IPv6 at scale
Background in telecom user-plane or 5G core networking, or in low-latency trading networks
Experience with multi-region traffic routing, anycast, or BGP
Experience with TLS termination, DNS, and egress security controls
BENEFITS
Competitive compensation, including meaningful equity
(U.S. only) 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and dependents
Flexible PTO policy including company wide Winter Break (our offices are closed from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day!)
Paid parental leave
Fertility and family-building stipend through Carrot
(U.S. only) Company-facilitated 401(k)
Exposure to a variety of ML startups, offering unparalleled learning and networking opportunities.
Apply now to embark on a rewarding journey in shaping the future of AI! If you are a motivated individual with a passion for machine learning and a desire to be part of a collaborative and forward-thinking team, we would love to hear from you.
At Baseten, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law (by example, the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, where applicable).