Staff Infrastructure Engineer, Networking (Groq Metal)
Other Engineering · Full-time
San Francisco, CA, USA · Fort Worth, TX, USA · New York, NY, USA · Dallas, TX, USA
USD 270,400-365k / year + Equity
Posted on Oct 15, 2026
Staff Infrastructure Engineer, Networking (Groq Metal)
San Francisco Bay Area • New York City Area • Dallas-Fort Worth Area
Platform Eng
In office
Full-time
About Groq
Inference is the engine that powers AI, and Groq was built from the silicon up to deliver the world's fastest inference at scale. We pioneered the LPU—the first processor designed specifically for AI inference—and are transforming that innovation into a global cloud platform powering production AI workloads.
With the capital, infrastructure, and team to execute, we're uniquely positioned to define the next era of AI infrastructure. The opportunity is massive, and it's still wide open. Now let's go build it!
Mission:
We're hiring a Sr Staff/Staff Infrastructure Engineer to own the bare-metal layer of our platform: how thousands of physical servers across multiple data centers become healthy, secure, tenant-assignable Kubernetes nodes — and stay that way.
This role sits on the Platform Engineering team and is the technical lead for everything below the Kubernetes API: server provisioning, OS lifecycle, datacenter networking fabric, BMC / firmware management, and integration with modern DPUs.
Location: This role will be based in one of our three hiring hubs: the Dallas, San Francisco, or New York City area. The person hired for this role must be based in one of these three areas. You’ll have the flexibility to work remotely while we establish our local Groq office, with the expectation that this role will transition to onsite once the office opens.
What you'll own:
- Bare-metal lifecycle at scale— automated server bring-up (PXE/iPXE, Metal3, Ironic, kubeadm), OS image lifecycle, BIOS/firmware/BMC fleet management, hardware health telemetry and remediation.
- Datacenter networking fabric— leaf/spine, BGP, ECMP, RoCE, congestion control, tenant traffic isolation, IPAM, switch automation. You'll partner with our networking architects on Spectrum-X-class fabrics that power multi-tenant AI workloads at line rate.
- Kubernetes substrate— the host clusters that run our multi-tenant control plane (Cilium CNI, Karpenter for capacity, GitOps via Flux/Argo, virtual cluster integration). You won't be the K8s app developer, but you'll be the person the K8s app developers trust to keep the floor solid.
- New datacenter bring-up— turn "rack lands on the floor" into "production capacity available to customers" as a repeatable, automated workflow.
- Day-2 operations— partner with DC field staff on hardware faults, maintenance windows, and on-call response. Be the voice of the physical layer in platform design conversations.
What we're looking for:
Required
- 8+ years in production infrastructure, with at least 3 years owning bare-metal lifecycle at scale.
- Strong in datacenter networking fundamentals: BGP, leaf/spine, MTU, congestion control, fabric debugging.
- Production Kubernetes operations experience — cluster bring-up, CNI internals, fleet upgrades.
- Comfort with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Helm) and GitOps.
- Has been on-call for a fleet of physical machines and knows what that costs.
Bonus:
- NVIDIA GPU clusters at scale (H100 / GH200 / GB200 / NVL72) — driver stack, NCCL, NVLink, GPU Operator.
- DPUs (NVIDIA BlueField, AMD Pensando) and offload patterns.
- Spectrum-X / RoCE / InfiniBand fabrics for AI workloads.
- Background in hyperscaler infra, AI cloud (CoreWeave / Crusoe / Lambda / Together), HFT, or HPC.
Why Join Us:
- Purposeful Hiring: You’re not here by accident, and neither is anyone else. Every teammate is handpicked with intention because who we build what matters.
- Builders Wanted: You’re not just riding the rocket ship, you’re building it. Your work directly shapes the trajectory of our company.
- Mission-Driven Work: We’re here to make a real impact. Our mission fuels everything we do.
- Tackling Hard Problems: If easy isn’t your thing, you’re in the right place. We solve some of the most complex and exciting challenges in our space.
- Excellence Is The Standard: High performance isn’t just encouraged, it’s the baseline. And it’s contagious.
If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!
Compensation:
Groq is committed to providing competitive compensation through our Total Cash philosophy, which incorporates potential bonus value directly into base pay. The total cash salary ranges for this position, which is inclusive of the potential bonus value, is dependent by level:
- Staff: $270,400 - $365,000
- Sr Staff: $341,400 - $401,600
Individual placement within these ranges is determined by your geographic location, experience, skills, and alignment with internal compensation standards. These ranges are specific to candidates located in the United States. Compensation for international candidates will vary based on local market dynamics. Beyond cash compensation, Groq currently offers a quarterly bonus as an interim alternative to equity, with plans to introduce long term incentive program participation in the near term future. Employees also receive a robust suite of benefits.
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US Job Posting
This position may require access to technology and/or information subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). To comply with these requirements, candidates for this role must meet certain citizenship or residency criteria. Specifically, they must qualify as U.S. Persons for export control purposes (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder), or a protected individual under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3) such as a refugee or asylee), or otherwise be eligible for an applicable export license.
Non-US Job Postings
This position may require access to technology and/or information subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, as well as applicable local laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). To comply with these requirements, candidates for this role must meet all relevant export control eligibility criteria.
Groq is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Groq complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any protected characteristic.
Groq is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application or to participate in the hiring process, please contact us at talent@groq.com. This contact is for accommodation requests only, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
All offers of employment are contingent upon verification of the applicant’s identity and employment authorization in accordance with federal law.
Groq encourages people with criminal record histories to apply for employment, and values diverse experiences, including prior contact with the criminal legal system. To that end, Groq welcomes such applicants in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act, Los Angeles City Fair Chance Act Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Act Ordinance, and San Francisco Fair Chance Act Ordinance. Philadelphia applicants can review information pertaining to Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance here: https://www.phila.gov/documents/fair-chance-hiring-law-poster.
As part of our hiring process, Groq may use artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools or automated systems to assist with activities such as reviewing applications, evaluating qualifications, scheduling interviews, analyzing assessment responses, or supporting recruiting operations. These tools are designed to assist—not replace—human decision-making, and hiring decisions are subject to human review. We may process information you provide during the application process, including resumes, application materials, interview responses, assessments, and, where applicable, audio, video, or transcript data. If legally required, we will request consent before using technologies that analyze biometric or video interview data. Candidates may request reasonable accommodations, an alternative evaluation process, additional information regarding the use of AI in the hiring process, or review of certain automated decisions by contacting ta-operations@groq.com.
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Req ID: R786