Principal Software Development Engineer in Test at Akamai
Cambridge, MA
$169,300–$304,700from the description
Jul 7, 2026
Cambridge, MA
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior individual contributor role focused on testing and validating a custom Linux kernel used in a large-scale AI and compute cloud platform. The work centers on building and scaling automated test frameworks, developing test suites for kernel enhancements and VM infrastructure, debugging low-level system issues, and maintaining continuous integration pipelines. The role also carries technical leadership responsibilities, including mentoring. Suits a deeply experienced engineer with a strong background in Linux kernel internals and systems-level testing.
Senior level · 12+ years · Remote · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 2 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
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 990 people nationally plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software quality assurance analysts and testers). range 200–1,500
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 $106,594 (middle half $82,076–$136,109). This posting is about at that midpoint.
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 (8)
The role title is 'Principal SDET' but the scope and 12-year experience requirement align more closely with a Senior-level position on a standard career ladder; 'Principal' in this context appears to be a title convention rather than an org-wide technical authority role.
SOC classification is Medium confidence: the role is heavily test/validation-focused (15-1253) but also requires substantial software development work (building frameworks, CI infrastructure, kernel-level code in C), making 15-1252 a genuine runner-up.
The scripting requirement lists Python/Shell/Perl as a slash-separated group of interchangeable options; Python is captured as the primary with Shell and Perl as alternatives.
The Linux kernel internals list (KVM, virtio drivers, cgroups, memory management, file systems, block IO, ethernet drivers, TCP/IP stack) is treated as a single deep-knowledge gate; KVM, virtio, cgroups, and TCP/IP are called out individually as the most concrete named technologies. Memory management, file systems, block IO, and ethernet drivers are general kernel subsystem knowledge areas rather than discrete named tools and are not emitted as separate skills.
Bachelor's degree is listed but the JD explicitly accepts 'its equivalent,' so the degree requirement is set to None.
Compensation range ($169,300–$304,700/year) is stated for US-based candidates only; the posting notes that compensation for candidates outside the US will vary.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): Linux kernel debugging tools.
Caller marked this a fully-remote role — scored against the national candidate pool.
Read the full posting
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