Senior Software Engineer (C/C++ and Networking)

About Us

Sophos is a cybersecurity leader defending 600,000 organizations globally with an AI-driven platform and expert-led services. Sophos meets organizations wherever they are in their security maturity and grows with them to defeat cyberattacks. Its solutions combine machine learning, automation, and real-time threat intelligence with frontline human expertise from Sophos X-Ops to deliver advanced, 24/7 threat monitoring, detection, and response.

Sophos offers industry-leading managed detection and response (MDR) alongside a comprehensive portfolio of cybersecurity technologies — including endpoint, network, email, and cloud security, extended detection and response (XDR), identity threat detection and response (ITDR), and next-gen SIEM. Together with expert advisory services, these capabilities help organizations proactively reduce risk and respond faster, with the visibility and scalability needed to stay ahead of evolving threats.

Sophos goes to market with a global partner ecosystem, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), resellers and distributors, marketplace integrations, and cyber risk partners, giving organizations the flexibility to choose trusted relationships when securing their business. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com .

Role Summary

Sophos Firewall is the flagship product of Sophos, operating in the network security domain to safeguard customer network traffic when deployed in router or switch mode. It processes traffic across all layers, from L2 to L7. As a mature yet continuously evolving product adapting to the changing cybersecurity landscape, it offers the opportunity to work on L2/L3/L4 protocol stacks, high availability, SD-WAN, kernel-space data paths, and highly scalable design challenges handling millions of network flows, among other areas.

You’ll be a part of NSG engineering group. In this senior role, you will be part of an innovative engineering team, designing and developing features for the next generation firewall product. Your skills and experience will be put to good use in continually modernizing, scaling, upgrading, and innovating existing platforms that keep pace with the fast-moving industry. We have a highly collaborative work culture where you will work within and across different scrum teams to architect/design/develop/maintain features and solutions for the network security products that protect millions of end users.

What You Will Do

• Design and develop products or systems in line with asset technical strategy, specified project timescales, quality and functionality requirements as agreed with the Product management.
• Define and support appropriate Unit, System and Integration testing on own code and others across the product or system, fixing errors and entering defects into the defect tracking system, highlighting potential implications on other products or systems.
• Conduct and participate in peer reviews of code, designs and specifications as requested by Development Lead or Manager.
• Prioritize multiple activities and schedule your own time to deliver against agreed objectives.
• Provide recommendations and suggestions to Test Leads regarding testing approaches for the product or system.
• Review requirements for specifications for coverage, identify areas that require further clarification, and suggest alternative approaches to Product Management, in line with business needs.
• Propose, promote, and drive the adoption of new design and development approaches to improve overall quality, reliability, and speed of implementation across projects or own team.
• Suggest improvements to standards and procedures across engineering and the wider organization and take ownership for the implementation of elements assigned by the Manager.

What You Will Bring

• 7+ years of work experience in C/C++ programming, Linux system programming, Linux kernel programming
• 5+ years of domain experience in networking, routing, network security, cryptography, TCP/IP stack, application protocols like DHCP, DNS, LDAP, HTTP, HTTPS and TLS
• Experience with AWS is desirable
• Bachelors or Master of Science in Computer Software, Computer Science or related discipline or equivalent experience
• Great problem solver, quality-driven, self-initiative, creative, adaptive, listener, collaborator

#B2

Ready to Join Us?

At Sophos, we believe in the power of diverse perspectives to fuel innovation. Research shows that candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don't check every box in a job description. We challenge that notion. Your unique experiences and skills might be exactly what we need to enhance our team. Don't let a checklist hold you back – we encourage you to apply.

What's Great About Sophos?

• Sophos operates a remote-first working model, making remote work the primary option for most employees. However, some roles may necessitate a hybrid approach. While we are a remote first organization, applicants must have legal authorization to work in the jurisdiction where the position is posted, without requiring employer sponsorship.
• Our people – we innovate and create, all of which are accompanied by a great sense of fun and team spirit
• Employee-led diversity and inclusion networks that build community and provide education and advocacy
• Annual charity and fundraising initiatives and volunteer days for employees to support local communities
• Global employee sustainability initiatives to reduce our environmental footprint
• Global fitness and trivia competitions to keep our bodies and minds sharp
• Global wellbeing days for employees to relax and recharge
• Monthly wellbeing webinars and training to support employee health and wellbeing

Our Commitment To You

We’re proud of the diverse and inclusive environment we have at Sophos, and we’re committed to ensuring equality of opportunity. We believe that diversity, combined with excellence, builds a better Sophos, so we encourage applicants who can contribute to the diversity of our team. All applicants will be treated in a fair and equal manner and in accordance with the law regardless of gender, sex, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion or belief, color, age, military veteran status, disability, pregnancy, maternity or sexual orientation. We want to give you every opportunity to show us your best self, so if there are any adjustments we could make to the recruitment and selection process to support you, please let us know.

Data Protection

If you choose to explore an opportunity, and subsequently share your CV or other personal details with Sophos, these details will be held by Sophos for 12 months in accordance with our Privacy Policy and used by our recruitment team to contact you regarding this or other relevant opportunities at Sophos. If you would like Sophos to delete or update your details at any time, please follow the steps set out in the Privacy Policy describing your individual rights. For more information on Sophos’ data protection practices, please consult our Privacy Policy Cybersecurity as a Service Delivered | Sophos

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.