Senior Systems Engineer - Hyperscaler, AI, and Cloud Titans

Company Description

Arista Networks is an industry leader in data-driven, client-to-cloud networking for large data center, campus and routing environments. What sets us apart is our relentless pursuit of innovation. We leverage the latest advancements in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and software-defined networking to provide our clients with a competitive edge in an increasingly interconnected world. Our solutions are designed to not only meet the current demands of the digital landscape but to also anticipate and adapt to future challenges. At Arista we value the diversity of thought and perspectives that each employee brings to the table. We believe that fostering an inclusive environment, where individuals from various backgrounds and experiences feel welcome, is essential for driving creativity and innovation. Our commitment to excellence has earned us several prestigious awards, such as Best Engineering Team, Best Company for Diversity, Compensation, and Work-Life Balance. At Arista, we take pride in our track record of success and strive to maintain the highest standards of quality and performance in everything we do.

Job Description

Who You’ll Work With When you join Arista as a Senior Systems Engineer within our Hyperscaler team, you will become part of a highly technical organization supporting some of the world's largest and most demanding cloud infrastructure environments. Reporting directly to the SE Leader of the Hyperscaler Account Team, you will serve as a key technical leader and trusted advisor for one of Arista's strategic hyperscaler customers. You will work closely with the customer's engineering, architecture, deployment and operations teams, developing a deep understanding of their technology strategy, infrastructure and evolving requirements. Internally, you will collaborate with a broad range of Arista teams, including Sales, Hardware Engineering, Software Engineering, Product Management, System/Solution Test, Proof of Concept (POC) and Technical Assistance Center (TAC). You will act as the technical bridge between the customer and Arista, bringing together the right expertise and resources to address complex technical challenges, drive innovation and ensure successful customer outcomes. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence large-scale network architectures, contribute to the evolution of Arista's products and technologies, and build long-term technical relationships with some of the most advanced engineering organizations in the industry. What You’ll Do As a senior member of the Arista Hyperscaler SE team, you will play a critical role in driving the technical success and business growth of one of Arista's strategic customer accounts. You will be responsible for both ensuring the continued success and evolution of Arista's existing deployments and identifying, developing and influencing new business opportunities. Combining deep networking expertise, customer engagement and cross-functional leadership, you will act as a trusted technical advisor to the customer, driving initiatives across the entire customer lifecycle, from existing infrastructure and technology adoption to new architectures, projects and strategic opportunities. Your responsibilities will include:

• Customer Engagement & Technical Ownership: Build and maintain strong technical relationships with the customer's engineering, architecture, deployment and operations teams. Act as the primary technical point of contact and trusted advisor, understanding customer requirements, priorities and future technology roadmap, and translating them into actionable technical initiatives.
• Installed Base Ownership & Technical Evolution: Own the technical lifecycle and continued success of the existing Arista footprint. Drive the evolution, adoption and expansion of deployed solutions, identifying opportunities for modernization, scaling, new features and improved performance while ensuring alignment with customer requirements.
• New Business & Strategic Account Development: Proactively identify and develop new business opportunities within the customer account. Engage early in new projects to influence technical requirements, architectures and technology decisions. Promote Arista technologies and differentiation, lead technical evaluations and POCs, and work closely with Sales to advance strategic opportunities and win new business.
• Solution Architecture, Test & Validation: Design and validate scalable, resilient network solutions addressing hyperscale requirements. Lead architecture discussions, qualify customer validation requirements, and coordinate with Arista Engineering teams to ensure technical readiness and successful deployments.
• Product, Engineering & Technical Escalations: Act as the technical bridge between the customer and Arista Product Management, Hardware Engineering, Software Engineering and TAC. Drive customer requirements, feature requests and complex technical issues through the appropriate internal teams, ensuring alignment, progress and satisfactory outcomes.
• Cross-Functional Technical Leadership: Lead technical initiatives across multiple Arista organizations, bringing together the appropriate expertise and resources to drive progress, manage dependencies and deliver customer outcomes. You are not expected to execute every technical activity personally, but you will be accountable for technical ownership, coordination and results.
• Stay current with industry trends and advancements in hyperscale networking, cloud infrastructure and distributed systems, sharing customer and field insights to help shape Arista's products, technology and strategy.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in networking engineering, systems engineering, network architecture or a related technical field.
• Proven experience working with large-scale Data Center networking environments, preferably in hyperscale or cloud service provider and AI environments.
• Strong expertise in Data Center networking technologies and architectures, including Leaf-Spine topologies, VxLAN and EVPN.
• Expert knowledge of Ethernet, switching and Layer 2/Layer 3 networking technologies.
• Strong understanding of routing protocols and technologies, including BGP, OSPF and MPLS.
• Experience designing, implementing and troubleshooting complex, highly scalable network architectures.
• Previous experience as a Systems Engineer, Network Engineer or Solutions Architect at a networking equipment vendor is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with customers and building trusted relationships with senior technical stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage in complex technical discussions with experienced engineering and architecture teams.
• Proven ability to lead technical initiatives and coordinate cross-functional teams without direct reporting authority.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to understand complex technical challenges and drive them to resolution.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document technical requirements, architectural recommendations and technical findings.
• Occasional domestic and international travel may be required.
• Willingness to work on-site at customer facilities in the Seattle area 1-2 days per week.

Compensation Information This role has a base salary range of $128,000-186,000K. The actual base pay offered will be based on a wide range of factors, including skills, qualifications, relevant experience, and work location. The pay range provided reflects base pay only and in addition this role is eligible for discretionary Arista bonuses and equity. US-based employees are also entitled to benefits including medical, dental, vision, wellbeing, tax savings and income protection. The recruiting team can share more details during the hiring process specific to the role and location. #LI-TH1

Additional Information

Arista Networks is an equal opportunity employer. Arista makes all hiring and employment-related decisions in a non-discriminatory manner without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or any other factor determined to be unlawful under applicable federal, state, or law law. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Arista Networks is an equal opportunity employer. Arista makes all hiring and employment-related decisions in a non-discriminatory manner without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or any other factor determined to be unlawful under applicable federal, state, or law law. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.