Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer, CVAD 

About This Team 

Citrix is the recognized leader in VDI, Desktop-as-a-Service, and application delivery solutions. We empower enterprises of all sizes to enable secure hybrid and remote working from anywhere, using any device. Our platform delivers high-performance user experience, zero-trust security, and operational cost efficiency across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid deployments. 

The CVAD (Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops) team is a unique blend of structured vision and startup-like innovation. You will develop leading-edge software alongside a talented team to create innovative cloud solutions. By joining us, you’ll help build cutting-edge solutions for 100 million people worldwide to securely access their desktops and applications. 

Job Description 

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer with 12–15 years of expertise in C/C++ systems programming (or 8 years with a Master’s / 5 years with a PhD). The ideal candidate is driven by solving complex operating system challenges and possesses a deep mastery of data structures, algorithms, and kernel-level frameworks 

You are well-rounded in driving innovation and managing the entire software development life cycle. You are self-driven, proactive, and a team player with strong communication skills. You thrive in collaborative environments and understand the power of a team over the individual. If you have a "can-do" attitude and a passion for ever-improving performance, we would love to talk to you! 

Position Overview 

The position within CVAD (Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops) will focus on the development of Citrix-Managed Cloud Services product line, which will present you with a unique opportunity to solve complex problems.

In this role, you will tackle high-stakes challenges within PVS (Provisioning Services) while building elite-level expertise across major platforms like Azure, GCP, AWS, VMware, and XenServer. 

Our team culture is a unique blend that combines the structured vision and process maturity of a well-established software company with the dynamism and vibrancy of a small startup. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Design and maintain low-level streaming drivers, including custom networking and storage stacks. Expertly manage the Windows boot process by implementing custom miniport drivers that provide the system boot disk at the earliest stages of OS initialization. 

• Utilize deep expertise in NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) and STORPORT to architect high-performance data paths that bridge network communication with disk I/O. 

• Develop and support UEFI firmware applications based on industry standards (e.g., Tiano Core/EDK II) to manage pre-boot execution and hardware handoffs. 

• Architect and troubleshoot end-to-end network boot pipelines using PXE, TFTP, DHCP, and DNS to facilitate bare-metal and virtual machine provisioning. 

• Own the development of VHD/VHDX stack implementations, ensuring compatibility and high performance across both user-mode applications and kernel-mode operations. 

• Engineer sophisticated "write cache" solutions using VHDX differencing disks. Design and maintain storage filter drivers (Upper Filters for STORPORT) to optimize I/O redirection for non-persistent environments 

• Lead the development of system utilities for configuring local boot media (ISOs, local disk partitions) and maintaining the underlying C++ SDKs and PowerShell libraries. 

Required Experience & Skills 

• Advanced Systems Programming: Expert-level C and C++ skills with a focus on resource-constrained environments, memory safety, and high-performance optimization. 

• Kernel-Mode Development: Proven track record of developing and maintaining drivers or core operating system components within complex kernel frameworks. 

• Firmware Engineering: Practical experience with UEFI/BIOS environments and developing pre-boot applications that facilitate the handoff between hardware and the OS. 

• Software Lifecycle & Process: Experience leading technical initiatives within mature, large-scale agile development environments. 

• Platform Security: Understanding trusted execution environments, secure boot sequences, and cryptographic code-signing standards. 

• Technical Strategy: Demonstrated ability to translate highly technical low-level constraints into clear requirements for product stakeholders and cross-functional teams. 

Good to have Experience & Skills 

• Storage & Networking Subsystems: Extensive experience architecting and debugging data paths for network and storage I/O, including miniport and filter driver logic. 

• Advanced System Debugging: Proficiency with low-level debuggers to diagnose kernel-mode crashes, race conditions, and system-level performance bottlenecks. 

• OS Architecture & Internals: Deep understanding of system execution flows, interrupt handling, memory management, and I/O request lifecycles. 

• Network-Based Deployment: Comprehensive knowledge of pre-boot networking infrastructure and automated provisioning protocols. 

• Virtual Disk & Storage Standards: Technical understanding of virtualized storage formats, including the management of snapshots, differencing disks, and metadata structures. 

• Cross-Layer System Design: Ability to architect solutions that integrate seamlessly across user-mode applications, system libraries, and kernel-mode services.