Forward Networks is revolutionizing the way large networks are managed. The Forward Enterprise platform delivers a vendor-agnostic "digital twin" of the network, based on a mathematical model. The platform scales to support hundreds of thousands of network devices, whether cloud, hybrid cloud, or on-prem. It serves as a single source of truth for the network, enabling network operators to instantly verify security posture, accelerate troubleshooting, avoid outages, and modernize network management.

Over the past few years, Forward Networks has received tremendous industry recognition, including “Cool Vendor in Enterprise Networking” by Gartner, “Product of the Year” by Cloud Computing, “Hot Company” by Cyber Defense Magazine, “Enterprise Cloud Computing Software of the Year,” and has been named to Fortune’s “Best Workplaces in the Bay Area” list.

The company was founded by four Stanford PhD graduates who saw a massive opportunity to improve network operations. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, MSD Capital, Threshold Ventures, and Goldman Sachs.

Forward Networks is currently seeking a talented Engineering Manager to lead our Platforms team across two geographic regions (US and India). You will oversee the development and operations of a scalable, reliable and high performing platform. As a hands-on leader, you will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure that platform initiatives are executed smoothly and align with broader organizational goals.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Lead and Mentor the Platform Team: Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of skilled backend engineers. Foster growth, promote engineering best practices, and create a collaborative and innovative work environment.
  • Feature Development: Lead the team in designing and developing features that power our platform. Design and implement storage systems, job scheduling systems, data ingestion frameworks, monitoring frameworks etc to ensure high system performance and availability.
  • Collaborate with Cross-Functional Teams: Work closely with cross functional teams, including product management and other stakeholders to define, scope, and prioritize new features.
  • Code Reviews and Technical Excellence: Review code, design documents, and technical proposals, ensuring that the team consistently produces high-quality, maintainable code. Offer constructive feedback to foster a culture of technical excellence.

Operational Excellence: Monitor platform performance and establish practices for reliability, scalability, and incident response.

  • Project Management: Oversee project planning and execution. Balance hands-on development with team management duties to ensure that both personal contributions and team deliverables are completed on time and meet quality standards.
  • Hands-On Development: Contribute directly to the design and development of key backend systems. This includes driving platform architectural changes, designing new frameworks, writing clean and maintainable code, and addressing complex technical challenges within a Java/Spring codebase.

Requirements:

  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field; Masters or Ph.D. preferred.
  • 10+ years in Software Engineering: Extensive experience in full lifecycle software development, including hands-on backend development with large-scale applications.
  • 3+ years in a hands on leadership role managing engineering teams
  • Expertise in Java: Deep expertise in Java (version 17 or later) and hands-on experience with Spring or other similar frameworks. Proven ability to design, build, and maintain complex backend systems.
  • Strong technical expertise in containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), cloud-native technologies (AWS, Azure, GCP), and microservices architecture.
  • Object-Oriented Design & Testing: Expertise in object-oriented programming, design patterns, and writing testable, maintainable code. Strong focus on code quality and automated testing.
  • Communication & Stakeholder Management: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate technical concepts and engage with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

NOTE: experience in the networking domain is NOT a requirement for this role but is a plus.

This position is a regular, full-time opportunity with Forward Networks in Santa Clara, CA.

The base pay range for this role is between $200,000 and $240,000. Base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location

 

Apply for this Job

* Required

resume chosen  
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
cover_letter chosen  
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)


Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Forward Networks’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.


Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.


Enter the verification code sent to to confirm you are not a robot, then submit your application.

This application was flagged as potential bot traffic. To resubmit your application, turn off any VPNs, clear the browser's cache and cookies, or try another browser. If you still can't submit it, contact our support team through the help center.