Sr. Software Engineer- Container Security at Illumio
Sunnyvale, CA
$170,000–$196,000
Jul 16, 2026
Sunnyvale, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior software engineering role focused on building container security features — specifically orchestrating segmentation at the application and pod level within Kubernetes-based ecosystems (including Istio, OpenShift, and managed Kubernetes services). The work involves designing and owning distributed system components, implementing networking and security controls, and mentoring less experienced engineers. Suited to engineers with strong distributed systems and Kubernetes experience, ideally with a networking or security background.
Senior level · 5+ years · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 600 people in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 450–780
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $217,796 (middle half $177,469–$231,052).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The role is titled simply 'Software Engineer' (or similar) with no explicit seniority level in the title — advertised seniority is Unspecified. However, the 5+ years requirement and expectations around owning/designing critical subsystems, defending designs, and mentoring junior engineers support a Senior classification.
The JD requires proficiency in 'at least one higher-level language such as Go, Python, Java, etc.' — Go is listed as the primary skill with Python and Java as named alternatives; all three satisfy the same single requirement.
Kubernetes is listed under requirements with firm language ('Familiarity with, and passion for Kubernetes and related technologies') — treated as a hard gate. The specific platforms Istio, OpenShift, AKS, EKS, and GKE appear in the 'Your Impact' narrative section describing the work context rather than in a requirements block, so they are marked preferred.
Networking and security controls experience is explicitly called 'a plus' in the requirements section — marked preferred accordingly.
A Bachelor's in CS is listed as required but immediately qualified with 'or equivalent degree,' so no formal degree is hard-gated.
Master's degree is explicitly noted as 'a plus' — preferred only.
No compensation figures are provided in the posting.
Read the full posting
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