Jobs Private USA → Engineering, Construction and Energy → Manufacturing and hardware engineering → Distinguished Engineer, Networking

Distinguished Engineer, Networking

Equinix, Inc · Tampa, FL · posted 75 days ago

In short: Distinguished Engineer, Networking at Equinix, Inc in Tampa, FL, posted 75 days ago.

By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 08/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.

Equinix, Incemployer

Tampa, FLlocation

Manufacturing and hardware engsub-niche

75 days agoposted

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The job

LIVE Live feed (private-sector employer) Source: The Muse public API · Data: listed 2026-08-25

Employer	Equinix, Inc
Location	Tampa, Florida
Field	Engineering, Construction and Energy › Manufacturing and hardware engineering
Level	Senior Level
Source category	Software Engineering
Posted	2026-08-25 (75 days ago)
Work arrangement	A remote or flexible location is listed
Pay	Not published in the source listing

Job description

Who are we?

Equinix is the world's digital infrastructure company®, shortening the path to connectivity to enable the innovations that enrich our work, life and planet.

A place where tech thinkers and future builders turn bold ideas into breakthrough experiences, we welcome your unique perspective.

Help us challenge assumptions, uncover bias, and remove barriers-because progress starts with fresh ideas. You'll find belonging, purpose, and a team that welcomes you-because when you feel valued, you're empowered to do your best work.

Job Summary

As a Distinguished Engineer within the Infrastructure Engineering organization, you will serve as the definitive technical authority for network architecture across the Network Edge product line. This is a company-wide leadership role that sets the long-term network architectural vision and translates it into concrete engineering direction for product teams.

You will own the network designs underpinning Equinix's Virtual Network Function (VNF) platform, drive high-impact initiatives such as the high-throughput VNF effort and dual-Data Center connectivity, and serve as the primary technical bridge between product engineering and Equinix's Network Architecture and Operations organizations. This role also carries direct customer-facing responsibility-providing expert-level guidance and troubleshooting for Equinix's most strategic customers.

Distinguished Engineers at Equinix operate at an industry level. You will be recognized as an expert inside and outside the company, influencing product roadmaps multiple years out and elevating the engineering community through mentorship and thought leadership.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

Define and own the multi-year network architecture vision for Network Edge, ensuring designs are scalable, resilient, and aligned with Equinix's global infrastructure strategy
Lead network architecture and design for critical platform initiatives, including high-throughput VNF enablement and dual-Data Center connectivity
Establish authoritative design patterns, reference architectures, and standards for virtual network functions, overlay networking, and carrier-grade performance tuning across on-prem and cloud environments
Identify and resolve systemic architectural gaps across the Network Edge platform, providing clear technical recommendations that unblock engineering teams
Drive performance engineering for VNFs, including profiling, tuning, and qualification of throughput-sensitive network workloads (DPDK, SR-IOV, CPU pinning, and related techniques)

Cross-Organizational Influence

Serve as the primary technical liaison between product engineering and Equinix Network Architecture, Network Operations, and external network vendors
Influence Equinix's broader network and infrastructure strategy by contributing architectural guidance that spans product, platform, and operations boundaries
Partner with Product, Engineering, and Strategy leadership to define the 2027+ product roadmap and ensure technical feasibility of new features and services
Represent Equinix Network Edge capabilities to strategic customers, partners, and industry forums, providing expert-level consultation and thought leadership
Set and model a high bar for technical excellence, fostering a culture of quality, innovation, transparency, and continuous improvement

Engineering Community & Mentorship

Mentor and develop Senior Principal and Principal Engineers, accelerating their technical growth and organizational impact
Publish internal design documents, architectural decision records, and best-practice guides that elevate the craft of network engineering across Equinix
Champion rigorous problem-solving, transparency, and continuous learning within the engineering organization

Customer & Field Engagement

Engage directly with strategic customers to diagnose complex network issues, validate architectural approaches, and build confidence in the Network Edge platform
Translate field observations and customer feedback into actionable architectural improvements and product requirements

Qualifications

Leadership & Experience

15+ years of experience in network engineering, with deep expertise in large-scale, high-performance network architecture and operations
Demonstrated track record of defining and delivering network architectures for commercial-grade telecommunications, cloud, or digital infrastructure products
Proven ability to influence technical direction at the company level, across engineering, product, and operations organizations
Experience engaging directly with enterprise or carrier-grade customers in a technical advisory or escalation capacity
Inclusive leadership approach with strong collaboration and communication skills; ability to translate complex network concepts for technical and non-technical audiences alike

Technical Expertise

Deep expertise in network architecture for virtualized and cloud-native environments, including SDN/NFV, overlay networking (VXLAN, MPLS, Segment Routing), and virtual routing/switching
Expert-level knowledge of Virtual Network Function (VNF) architecture, performance tuning, and qualification-including DPDK, SR-IOV, CPU pinning, and high-throughput packet processing techniques
Strong command of BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, and other routing protocols as applied in large-scale multi-tenant or carrier environments
Experience designing and operating interconnected multi-site (multi-Data Center) or multi-region network topologies with stringent availability and latency requirements
Familiarity with Kubernetes networking, cloud-native CNI plugins, and service mesh concepts as they apply to infrastructure products
Ability to engage deeply with both software engineering and network operations teams, bridging low-level protocol knowledge with product and platform requirements
Experience applying AI/ML tools or automated analysis to network observability, fault detection, or capacity planning is a plus

Education & Professional Background

Strong foundation in networking, computer science, or electrical engineering demonstrated through professional experience, education, industry certifications (e.g., CCIE, JNCIE), or equivalent practical expertise

The targeted pay range for this position in the following location is / locations are:

United States - Redwood City Office GHQ : 269,000 - 403,000 USD / Annual

United States - Dallas Infomart Office DAI : 224,000 - 336,000 USD / Annual

United States - Tampa Office TAO : 224,000 - 336,000 USD / Annual

United States - New York City Office NYO1 : 246,000 - 370,000 USD / Annual

Canada - Toronto Office TRO : 202,000 - 302,000 CAD / Annual

Our pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum target for new hire pay for the full-time position determined by role, level, and location.The pay range shown is based on our compensation structure in place at the time of posting and may be updated periodically based on business needs. Individual pay is based on additional factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and/or training.

The targeted pay range listed reflects the base pay only and does not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Employees are eligible for bonus, and equity may be offered depending on the position.

Equinix Benefits

As an employee, you become important to Equinix's success. We ensure all your benefits are in line with our core values: competitive, inclusive, sustainable, connected and efficient. We keep them competitive within the current marketplace to ensure we're providing you with the best package possible. So, wherever you are in your career and life, you'll be able to enhance your experience and bring your whole self to work.

Employee Assistance Program: An Employee Assistance program is available to all employees.
US Benefits: - Insurance: You may enroll in health, life, disability and voluntary plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members. - Retirement: You and Equinix may contribute to a retirement plan to help you plan for your financial future. - Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays: You will receive an accrued amount of PTO each pay period along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific plan or program terms.Canada Core Benefits: - Insurance: You may enroll in healthcare coverage that is designed to complement the provincial healthcare system, along with life, disability and optional benefit plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members. - Retirement: You may also enroll in Equinix-sponsored retirement or savings plans: Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP), Group Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Plan (TSFA). - Vacation and Paid Holidays: Equinix offers both vacation and personal time, along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits. Benefits are subject to specific plan or program terms, and to change at Equinix discretion.

Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability. If you are a qualified candidate and need assistance or an accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.

Equinix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and, in the U.S., an Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy / childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political / organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law.

We use artificial intelligence in our hiring process. Learn more here.
This posting is for a backfill position, meaning it is to fill an existing vacancy within our organization.

Explore around this job

Field: Engineering, Construction and Energy Sub-niche: Manufacturing and hardware engineering All jobs at Equinix, Inc Jobs in Florida Jobs in Tampa, FL Tampa city guide Florida state guide Hillsborough County economy

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About the role

This is a Senior Level role in the Engineering, Construction and Energy field (Manufacturing and hardware engineering) at Equinix, Inc. Senior roles usually expect substantial experience, ownership of results and often the ability to guide others.

We could not match this job title to one occupation in the official wage statistics, so no pay estimate is shown. Pay is not in the source listing; ask the employer for the range and compare in the 240 job niches.

Does the pay work here? (estimate)

Gross salary a year Filing State income tax rate %

Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set; set your own state tax rate. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.

How to prepare and behave

This is editorial guidance, not information from the employer.

Read the whole description and match your examples to its requirements; use the same words the posting uses where they are true for you.
Research the employer before the interview: what it does, who its customers are and recent news; prepare two or three questions about the work.
Arrive early (or log in early for a video call), dress one step above the daily dress code, and test your camera and audio beforehand.
Answer with short stories: the situation, what you did and the result. Give numbers when you have them and never invent them.
Be honest about gaps; say what you did to learn and how fast you can close them.
Ask about the team, the first 90 days, how success is measured and the schedule; do not open with salary and time off.
When pay comes up, know the market range for the occupation and your lowest acceptable offer before you answer; ask for the full package in writing.
Send a short thank-you message within a day, mentioning one thing you discussed.
The listing mentions a remote or flexible location. Confirm with the employer whether remote work applies to your state: taxes, licensing and benefits can depend on where you live.

Know your rights as a candidate and an employee:

The city

The job is in Tampa, FL. Below is what the official statistics say about living and working there.

How Tampa compares. Among the 120 largest places in Florida, Tampa is #3 by population, #20 for remote work (#1 = most), #100 for homeownership (#1 = highest), #24 for college degrees (#1 = most). Its county, Hillsborough County, is #3 of 67 counties for average pay ($75,256).

The place in numbers

Tampa has 401,618 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 1.8% of the population of Florida. It covers 114 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 3,508 people per square mile. The median age is 35.9, 16% younger than the state median (35.9 against 42.6).

Housing

The median gross rent is $1,701 a month (rent plus utilities), about the same as the state median ($1,701 against $1,669). Over a year that is 27.0% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $420,400, which is 5.6 times the median household income ($75,475); a ratio above 5 usually means buying is out of reach without savings or a second income. 50.3% of households own their home, 26% below the state average (50.3% against 67.6%). A low ownership share points to a rental-heavy market with more apartments and shorter stays.

Work and pay

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metropolitan area has 1,447,120 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $48,940 a year, 4% below the national median ($48,940 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (185,560 jobs, median $45,800); sales and related (147,430 jobs, median $37,540); food preparation and serving related (138,090 jobs, median $34,840). The area is most specialised in legal (1.4 times) and business and financial operations (1.2 times), where the share of workers is above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($117,690) and computer and mathematical ($101,730). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Hillsborough County was 4.3%. 66.1% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Hillsborough County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.

Getting around

Among workers, 63.4% drive alone, 1.3% use public transit, 2.2% walk, 22.0% work from home. 12.5% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 31% below the state average (12.5% against 18.1%). Remote work is more common than in the state as a whole, which widens the set of employers a resident can work for without moving.

People and education

45.7% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 34% above the state share (45.7% against 34.1%). 19.4% of residents were born outside the United States, 11% below the state share (19.4% against 21.9%). The poverty rate is 15.4%, 23% above the state rate (15.4% against 12.6%).

Climate

The warmest month is Jul, averaging 82°F (27.8°C), and the coolest is Jan at 59°F (15.2°C). About 1,440 mm (57 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Aug is the wettest month (252 mm) and Nov the driest (49 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.

Nearby cities to compare

Closest cities in this guide: Carrollwood (6 miles, similar rent); Town 'n' Country (7 miles, similar rent); University (8 miles, rent 24% lower); Brandon (11 miles, rent 5% higher). Rent differences are against Tampa; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.

Full guide to Tampa →Florida guide All jobs in Tampa

Official links for Tampa

These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.

Where to live

CITY Official statistics Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Places within 50 miles (straight line) of Tampa, FL that have a guide, with what living there costs. No pay estimate is shown because the title did not match one occupation.

Sort:

Place ⇅	Distance from the job city ⇅	Median rent ⇅	Median home value ⇅	Median household income ⇅	Commute 45+ min ⇅	Rent as % of occupation pay ⇅	Open jobs there ⇅
Tampa, FL	0 mi	$1,701	$420,400	$75,475	12.5%	n/a	Jobs
Carrollwood, FL	6 mi	$1,715	$384,600	$81,959	14.9%	n/a	—
Town 'n' Country, FL	7 mi	$1,734	$337,100	$73,538	17.1%	n/a	—
University, FL	8 mi	$1,295	$164,900	$37,207	16.0%	n/a	—
Brandon, FL	11 mi	$1,784	$339,000	$79,685	17.6%	n/a	—
Riverview, FL	15 mi	$2,002	$384,200	$100,438	30.8%	n/a	—
Valrico, FL	16 mi	$1,937	$393,700	$104,839	23.2%	n/a	—
Pinellas Park, FL	16 mi	$1,631	$278,900	$63,432	8.4%	n/a	—
Land O' Lakes, FL	17 mi	$2,045	$377,400	$98,568	21.8%	n/a	—
St. Petersburg, FL	17 mi	$1,663	$371,100	$75,192	13.6%	n/a	Jobs
Clearwater, FL	18 mi	$1,658	$361,300	$66,381	9.8%	n/a	Jobs
Largo, FL	18 mi	$1,618	$229,100	$62,096	11.7%	n/a	—
Palm Harbor, FL	19 mi	$1,806	$405,300	$78,935	16.4%	n/a	—
Wesley Chapel, FL	19 mi	$2,100	$403,700	$107,504	26.2%	n/a	—
Dunedin, FL	20 mi	$1,675	$396,000	$74,477	11.6%	n/a	—
Plant City, FL	22 mi	$1,409	$291,800	$67,439	18.9%	n/a	—
Lakeland, FL	33 mi	$1,395	$249,400	$64,185	12.9%	n/a	Jobs
Bradenton, FL	34 mi	$1,618	$309,400	$60,822	14.0%	n/a	—
Spring Hill, FL	35 mi	$1,440	$288,500	$68,432	25.3%	n/a	—
Lakewood Ranch, FL	38 mi	$2,299	$678,200	$122,925	18.3%	n/a	—

Career paths

We could not match this title to one occupation, so here are the other sub-niches in Engineering, Construction and Energy, where your skills may carry over:

Construction and field engineering (189) Energy and utilities (394)

Distances

CITY Calculation (straight line) Source: U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer (coordinates) · Data: 2024

How far Tampa, FL is from the 20 largest US cities, in straight-line miles (not driving distance). Click a column to sort.

Sort:

From ⇅	Straight-line distance (miles) ⇅	Population of that city ⇅
Jacksonville, FL	171 mi	977,670
Charlotte, NC	509 mi	903,844
Houston, TX	791 mi	2,328,253
Columbus, OH	831 mi	914,802
Indianapolis, IN	842 mi	885,860
Dallas, TX	913 mi	1,307,930
Philadelphia, PA	931 mi	1,579,706
Austin, TX	935 mi	979,539
Fort Worth, TX	946 mi	963,194
San Antonio, TX	977 mi	1,479,835
Chicago, IL	1,002 mi	2,711,226
New York, NY	1,002 mi	8,483,844
Oklahoma City, OK	1,022 mi	697,125
Denver, CO	1,515 mi	718,877
Phoenix, AZ	1,793 mi	1,642,323
San Diego, CA	2,083 mi	1,389,526
Los Angeles, CA	2,157 mi	3,857,263
San Jose, CA	2,359 mi	990,138
San Francisco, CA	2,428 mi	830,235
Seattle, WA	2,525 mi	754,195

Nearby cities with open jobs (within 120 miles)

Sort:

City ⇅	Straight-line distance ⇅	Open jobs ⇅
Sebring, FL	72 mi	3
Orlando, FL	81 mi	137

The employer

Equinix, Inc is the employer in this listing. See all its open jobs here →

We do not hold headcount or revenue for this employer. Check its careers site and, if it is listed on a stock exchange, its public filings (SEC EDGAR search).

What it is like to work at a company (culture, schedules, benefits) is not in the source data, so we do not describe it. Read the description and ask the questions under "How to prepare".

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FAQ

What is the Distinguished Engineer, Networking job at Equinix, Inc?

A senior level role in engineering, construction and energy (manufacturing and hardware engineering) listed 75 days ago. The full description is on this page and on The Muse.

Where is this job?

Tampa, FL. A remote or flexible location is listed; confirm with the employer which states are accepted.

How do I apply?

Use the "View this job and apply on The Muse" button. AtiveSite does not receive applications.

How much does it pay?

The listing does not publish pay, and we could not match the title to one official occupation.

What is the cost of living there?

Median rent in Tampa is $1,701 a month and median household income $75,475 (ACS 2020–2024).

How old is this listing?

It was posted on 2026-08-25 (75 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.

Are there similar jobs?

Yes: browse manufacturing and hardware engineering jobs in Florida.

Sources and terms

Job data: The Muse public API (listing dated 2026-08-25). The job disappears from this site when it disappears from the source.
Wages and projections: BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections 2025–35.
City and county figures: Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, BEA, BLS QCEW and LAUS, NASA POWER climatology; distances from Census Gazetteer coordinates.

AtiveSite is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Muse, the employer or any government agency, and does not process applications. Verify every detail with the employer before acting.

Sources

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