Lead Engineer - Network Operating System, Software Developer

As a Lead Engineer , you serve as the technical anchor for the team supporting the Network Operating System (NOS) product. You own and drive the application architecture, ensuring it meets both functional and non-functional requirements. You will build, integrate, and debug software across the Linux stack, including kernel and user space, and contribute to SONiC builds that produce complete Linux-based network operating system images. You will work across hardware and software boundaries, including I2C, networking ASICs, SAI, and platform interfaces, while developing and supporting Docker-based container workflows. You are expected to troubleshoot complex issues spanning software, systems, networking, hardware, and infrastructure, driving problems from identification through resolution. You bring deep and broad engineering expertise, can design and implement solutions independently, and use that expertise to influence architecture, establish engineering best practices, mentor others, and raise the technical capabilities of the entire team.

Use your skills, experience, and talents to be a part of groundbreaking thinking and visionary goals. As a Lead Engineer, you’ll take the lead as you…

Use your technology acumen to apply and maintain knowledge of current and emerging technologies within specialized area(s) of the technology domain. Evaluate new technologies and participate in decision-making, accounting for several factors such as viability within Target’s technical environment, maintainability, and cost of ownership. Initiate and execute research and proof-of-concept activities for new technologies. Lead or set strategy for testing and debugging at the platform or enterprise level. In complex and unstructured situations, serve as an expert resource to create and improve standards and best practices to ensure high-performance, scalable, repeatable, and secure deliverables. Lead the design, lifecycle management, and total cost of ownership of services. Provide the team with thought leadership to promote re-use and develop consistent, scalable patterns. Participate in planning services that have enterprise impact. Provide suggestions for handling routine and moderately complex technical problems, escalating issues when appropriate. Gather information, data, and input from a wide variety of sources; identify additional resources when appropriate, engage with appropriate stakeholders, and conduct in-depth analysis of information. Provide suggestions for handling routine and moderately complex technical problems, escalating issues when appropriate. Develop plans and schedules, estimate resource requirements, and define milestones and deliverables. Monitor workflow and risks; play a leadership role in mitigating risks and removing obstacles. Lead and participate in complex construction, automation, and implementation activities, ensuring successful implementation with architectural and operational requirements met. Establish new standards and best practices to monitor, test, automate, and maintain IT components or systems. Serve as an expert resource in disaster recovery and disaster recovery planning. Stay current with Target’s technical capabilities, infrastructure, and technical environment. Develop fully attributed data models, including logical, physical, and canonical. Influence data standards, policies, and procedures. Install, configure, and/or tune data management solutions with minimal guidance. Monitor data management solution(s) and identify optimization opportunities.

Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.

• 4-year degree or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of software development experience
• Strong experience in C /C++ in a Linux environment
• Working knowledge of Python and scripting (bash or similar)
• Familiarity with common tools like git, make, and basic build systems
• Linux operating system services (e.g. systemd).
• Experience using Docker and understanding how containers work
• Familiarity with build tools and package management (apt, pip, etc.)
• Basic understanding of handling certificates, credentials, and secure access
• General understanding of networking concepts: Ethernet basics (Interfaces copper and optical, MAC addressing etc.) and Layer 2 / Layer 3 concepts (switching vs routing)
• Experience with protocols including ARP, ICMP, BGP, LACP, STP, LLDP, VLANs, etc.
• Awareness of infrastructure components like DNS, firewalls, and TLS
• Experience or familiarity with I2C devices and communication, network switch architecture, switching ASIC concepts, low-level concepts like memory-mapped I/O or interrupts

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here (https://corporate.target.com/about) .