SomanaStaff SWE - Networking
AI in this role
Design and implement the core networking and communication systems for generative robotics and physical AI infrastructure.
Staff SWE - Networking
Somana is a generative robotics company. We founded the company because the incredible advances in the modeling layer have no way to access a fragmented physical world. We're building the connective tissue that brings physical AI into the industrial world.
Somana is a hardware, software, and services platform powering rapid improvements in capacity, throughput, yield, and quality. Our compute platform will talk to hundreds of peripherals, survive factory floors, and keep getting smarter - which means the network fabric that binds modems, WiFi, sensors, cameras, switches, and compute subsystems together is as critical as the silicon itself. If you have a passion for solving hard distributed systems problems under real-world constraints — bandwidth-limited RF links, dynamic topologies, strict latency requirements — then this role is for you.
ROLE OVERVIEW
As a Staff Networking Engineer, you will own the software architecture and hands-on implementation of the core networking and communication systems that power our family of compute products. You will be the subject-matter expert for all things L1-L4, who still reads schematics, reviews driver code, debugs packet traces, and cares deeply about interrupt latency. You will be the one who knows whether a timing issue is in the PHY, the driver, or the scheduler - because you've been in that exact fight before on products at scale.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Design and improve the networking software stack, from prototype through high-volume production and field deployment, to operate reliably, securely, and compliantly
Define and own the L1-L4 networking architecture across heterogeneous interfaces
Manage scalability and performance tuning of multi-interface networks under real-world factory conditions; optimize for bandwidth, latency, jitter, and power
Serve as the primary technical interface between software, electrical, and firmware engineering teams, ensuring that networking constraints are resolved as a unified system across varied environments
Drive hardware bring-up and validation of networking subsystems, from BSP integration through driver development, protocol tuning, and production diagnostics
Own field reliability of the network stack: packet loss budgets, failover logic, HA, OTA pipelines, and degraded-mode behavior when factory conditions are not perfect
Establish design standards, documentation, and code review norms appropriate for a team that is moving fast but shipping hardware that has to last
PRIMARY QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related
Proficiency in a systems programming language (Rust, C, C++, or Go)
5+ years of professional experience designing, implementing, and shipping networking, robotics middleware, or embedded software systems at scale
Demonstrated track record of owning network architecture across multiple physical interfaces - you have shipped products that had to coordinate cellular, WiFi, Ethernet, and/or sensor/camera links under one software stack
Deep hands-on experience with Nix or Linux networking internals, user space development, and multi-threading or concurrent programming
Proven ability to debug at the hardware/software boundary: protocol analyzers, oscilloscopes, JTAG, packet traces, and vendor BSPs are tools you have actually used to solve real problems
Strong systems intuition and communication skills
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Experience building networking systems for compute or edge platforms that operate in challenging physical environments: industrial IoT, energy storage, wireless mesh networks, or cloud-edge connectivity
Comfort with manufacturing and production processes for networking hardware: RF validation, certification awareness (FCC/CE), DFM considerations for antenna and connector placement, and production test harness design
Enjoy reading / research in the field of robotics, computer vision, sensor fusion, or similar
LOCATION & COMPENSATION:
San Francisco, CA OR SoHo, New York City
Competitive salary + meaningful equity - this is a foundational role on a small team
Catered lunch, snacks, panoramic views, and pet-friendly office
Health, Dental, Vision benefits + 401k
How we rate this
Staff SWE - Networking at Somana rates 65 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Open the description and count.
Prepare for this job
A free preview built only from this posting: what it asks for, what you could be asked in an interview, and how to adjust your resume.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- Walk me through a computer vision problem you solved, from raw data to a deployed model.
- Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where networking was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where firmware was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where driver development was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Computer Vision, Distributed Systems, Networking, Firmware, and Driver Development. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them — a tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project — this role expects it to be a running habit.
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