Senior Principal Engineer – Infrastructure Engineering

Fastly

full-time

Posted on: 9/28/2025

Location Type: Hybrid

Location: San Francisco • California, Colorado, New York • 🇺🇸 United States

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💰 $266,270 - $319,524 per year

Senior

GoOpen SourceRust

About the role

Lead full lifecycle projects from architecture & design to deployment in support of Fastly’s edge systems
Write, test, and deploy C, Rust, and Go code
Maintain a broad understanding of how critical systems work together across different infrastructures and environments
Scale the edge platform on different infrastructures and integrate the edge in a variety of environments
Design, evolve, and implement critical systems and features with a focus on performance, resilience, and scalability
Anticipate where and when systems need adaptation to meet growth needs
Articulate technical strategy via design documents and sequence technical building blocks required to enable durable innovation
Guide, share knowledge, and lead teams toward implementing cross-functional systems
Enable outcome-driven, collaborative discussions using deep technical knowledge
Mentor and support the professional growth of engineers and lead by example as an active implementer
Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to shape technical roadmap, prioritize initiatives, and mitigate risks
Deploy, support, troubleshoot, and deliver features to customers and help guide debugging across the organization
Partner with senior engineering leaders to build and execute in both internal and open source contexts

Proven ability to design & implement complex, reliable, and highly efficient systems
Most Senior Principal Engineers at Fastly have at least 12 years of domain relevant engineering experience
Recent experience developing complex applications in C, C++, Rust, and/or Go
Experience leading development of new technologies that contribute to open source communities or setting standards through IETF, SVTA, or similar bodies
Demonstrated positive collaboration with external vendors, partners, or customers on complex solutions
Proven experience building systems that can be easily and reliably operated
Ability to balance collaboration with risks of “design by committee” or autocratic decision-making
Experience operating business-critical systems with high uptime requirements
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to produce clear comprehensive documentation
Collaborative mindset with experience working across cross-functional teams
Proven ability to mentor and support the growth of engineers
Availability during core business hours and occasional nights and weekends for on-call rotation
Willingness to travel as required

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to meet your needs. Our offerings may vary depending on the country where you work and are subject to change.
Comprehensive benefits starting on the first day of employment
Medical, dental, and vision insurance (US)
Family planning support
Mental health support and Employee Assistance Program
Insurance (Life, Disability, and Accident)
Flexible Vacation policy
Up to 18 days of accrued paid sick leave (US)
401(k) including company match (US)
Employee Stock Purchase Program
Eligibility for equity and discretionary bonus programs
11 paid local holidays and 11 paid company wellness days (2025)
In-person new hire orientation in San Francisco
Hybrid work model and flexibility to split time between office and home

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

CC++RustGosystem designperformance optimizationresilience engineeringscalabilitydebuggingopen source development

leadershipmentoringcollaborationcommunicationproblem-solvingstrategic thinkingknowledge sharingteam guidanceadaptabilitystakeholder engagement