Hiring: Principal Engineer, Kubernetes Storage (Trident) Company: NetApp Location: Morrisville, NC Job Posted Time: 2026-09-11 12:31:41 Employment Type: Hybrid Target Skills & Keywords : AWS, Agile, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, Microsoft Excel, Product Management, Python, R, Systems Design About the job Experience: •10+ years building software, or equivalent demonstrated impact Required Skills: •Own the Kubernetes story for the world's #1 storage OS. •Trident was the first open-source, out-of-tree dynamic storage provisioner for Kubernetes. We shipped it before CSI was a spec. Today it's how thousands of teams run stateful workloads on NetApp, and it runs in production at some of the largest Kubernetes estates on the planet. •You'll set the architecture for persistent storage and data protection on Kubernetes at NetApp. That means real decisions with real consequences: how volumes behave under failure, what the snapshot and recovery story looks like across clouds, where we invest upstream and where we don't. •This is a hands-on principal role. You'll be in the Go code, in design reviews, and on calls with customers who are running something hard and need it to work. You'll partner with product management on the roadmap instead of receiving it. And when we take a position in the CSI community or on a conference stage, you're the one taking it. •ONTAP manages hundreds of exabytes for more than 30,000 customers. Trident is the bridge between that and the cloud-native world, and the bridge is still being built. There is a lot of surface area here for someone who wants their architectural decisions to show up in other people's production clusters. •We build in the open, we argue about designs, and we ship. If you want ownership over a problem that matters to a large number of engineers, this is it. •10+ years building software, or equivalent demonstrated impact •Deep Kubernetes knowledge: architecture, APIs, controllers and operators, and how storage actually gets consumed Qualifications: •Lead architecture for Trident and the Kubernetes data services around it •Design and ship production Go, not just diagrams •Guide engineers through complex, cross-team technical work •Work directly with customers on escalations, requirements, and validation •Raise the bar on testing, debugging, and performance •Run PoCs and R&D on where Kubernetes storage is heading •Represent NetApp upstream and in the open-source community •Bachelor's degree in technical area of study: engineering disciplines •Master's degree in technical field such as engineering, software development, preferred with less additional experience stated above Compensation: •$227,800 - $338,000 / year •Competitive benefits and rewards package Interested candidates, please apply directly through the job posting on company's career page or try via AI auto apply on this platform. Don't miss this opportunity to join a forward-thinking team!