Mechanical Senior Principal Engineer jobs at Dell in United States, Santa Clara

You will:

• Design, develop, and maintain Linux kernel-level device drivers for storage subsystems

• Debug and resolve complex kernel and driver-level issues in production environments

• Mentor team members in design collaboration, code reviews, development tools and processes

• Take part in the full software development life cycle including development, test, continuous delivery and support

• Be an active member of an agile team, collaboratively realizing features through development, test and delivery

Essential Requirements

• Experience in all phases of software development: feasibility, design, implementation, integration, test and delivery

• Expertise in Linux kernel, SCSI, SCST, Fiber Channel, Virtual Tape Libraries, I/O device drivers

• Experience in RAID development and experience in NVMe protocol implementation and firmware development related to NVMe devices

• Expertise in persistent memory, hardware assisted compression technologies

• Experience in one or more of the following languages: C, Python, Go along with knowledge of version control, bug tracking systems (Git, JIRA)

Desirable Requirements

• Experience in Storage domain (SAN/NAS/Virtualization)

• Experience in developing software for software-defined infrastructure, including hybrid cloud/on-prem and multi-cloud environments

You will:

• Design, develop, and maintain Linux kernel-level device drivers for storage subsystems

• Debug and resolve complex kernel and driver-level issues in production environments

• Mentor team members in design collaboration, code reviews, development tools and processes

• Take part in the full software development life cycle including development, test, continuous delivery and support

• Be an active member of an agile team, collaboratively realizing features through development, test and delivery

Essential Requirements

• Experience in all phases of software development: feasibility, design, implementation, integration, test and delivery

• Expertise in Linux kernel, SCSI, SCST, Fiber Channel, Virtual Tape Libraries, I/O device drivers

• Experience in RAID development and experience in NVMe protocol implementation and firmware development related to NVMe devices

• Expertise in persistent memory, hardware assisted compression technologies

• Experience in one or more of the following languages: C, Python, Go along with knowledge of version control, bug tracking systems (Git, JIRA)

Desirable Requirements

• Experience in Storage domain (SAN/NAS/Virtualization)

• Experience in developing software for software-defined infrastructure, including hybrid cloud/on-prem and multi-cloud environments

Position Overview:

We are seeking a visionary and hands-onto lead our, while actively shaping our external industry presence and future technology roadmap. This role combines deep technical leadership with future-state thinking — you will architect enterprise-scale solutions, champion modern secure software delivery practices, and engage with external ecosystems to anticipate and influence emerging trends.You will serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, engineering teams, and external partners alike. You will play a pivotal role in embedding security-first principles across our development lifecycle, evolving our platform engineering approaches, and ensuring our technology strategy stays ahead of industry shifts.

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Define and own the end-to-end architecture for our DevOps platform and secure software supply chain
• Guide adoption of modern, scalable CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC), container orchestration, and cloud-native security patterns
• Develop architecture blueprints and reference implementations to enable product teams and platform engineers
• Lead security automation, vulnerability management, and compliance-by-design initiatives
• Expertise in emerging technologies such as LLM’s and AI practices

External Technology Radar & Industry Influence

• Continuously scan and assess emerging technologies, frameworks, and ecosystem shifts relevant to DevSecOps, secure software supply chains, and cloud-native architecture
• Build and maintain relationships with industry consortia, open-source communities, standards bodies, and technology partners
• Represent the company at key industry forums, conferences, and thought leadership platforms
• Provide strategic insights to senior leadership on technology evolution, risks, and opportunities

Executive Advisory & Roadmap Development

• Partner with CTO, CISO, CIO, and engineering leadership to shape enterprise technology roadmaps and investment strategies
• Translate future technology insights into actionable internal strategies and modernization initiatives
• Evangelize a culture of secure-by-default development and platform engineering excellence across the organization

Mentorship & Capability Building

• Coach and mentor senior engineers, architects, and DevSecOps practitioners across the enterprise
• Lead internal communities of practice and technical guilds
• Foster a high-trust, collaborative culture that empowers teams to build securely at speed

Required Experience:

• 15+ years in software engineering, infrastructure, and security roles, with deep expertise in DevOps and DevSecOps and platform engineering
• Proven experience as an enterprise architect, distinguished engineer, or equivalent senior technical leader
• Expert-level knowledge of cloud platforms, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation)
• Demonstrated leadership in designing and implementing secure, scalable, automated delivery pipelines
• Active participation in external communities or standards bodies (e.g., CNCF, OpenSSF, OWASP, etc.)
• Track record of technical thought leadership — publications, speaking engagements, patents, or open-source contributions
• Familiarity with zero-trust architectures, SBOM (Software Bill of Materials), and secure software supply chain frameworks
• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Cybersecurity, or related field

Key Competencies:

• Systems thinking and ability to navigate enterprise complexity
• Strategic foresight with a passion for anticipating technology shifts
• Influential communicator, comfortable engaging from engineering teams to C-suite
• Growth mindset with a relentless focus on learning and enabling others

Senior Principal Software Engineer - IT

What you’ll achieve

As member of technical staff, you will be working on our next-gen AI storage system to enable massive-scale AI factories. You will collaborate with the product architect to deliver best-in-class features with a focus on extreme performance and scalability. You will work with the R&D teams on designing and developing advanced filesystem and storage technologies.

You will:

• Design product components for extreme performance and massive scale.
• Innovate and differentiate the product w.r.t market competition.
• Design and develop scale-out filesystem, storage, and data services.
• Actively seek, communicate, and resolve internal and external customer requirements.
• Work on complex problems and provide innovative solutions.
• Technically lead scrum teams that span different geographic locations.

Essential Requirements:

• Proven experience designing and developing filesystem, storage, and networking enterprise software.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, communication and storage protocols, and object-oriented software development.
• In-depth operating system knowledge including memory management, concurrency & synchronization.
• Hands-on C/C++ development experience in Unix/Linux kernel internals/Agile software development
• Experience leading global technical teams.

Desirable Requirements:

• Storage workload modelling for sizing, optimization, and troubleshooting
• Storage virtualization, Data rationalization, Workload automation, Storage provisioning, Disaster Recovery and SAN Fabric management.
• Experience with distributed file systems, containers and Kubernetes.
• Performance analysis techniques for multi-threaded systems/Intellectual property development, industry trends & standards, publishing white papers and collaterals.