Full-Time

Proof of Concept Test Engineer

Nexthop.ai

Nexthop.ai

201-500 employees

AI-driven cloud networking hardware and software

No salary listed

Santa Clara, CA, USA

In Person

Category
QA & Testing (2)
,
Required Skills
Computer Networking
iOS/Swift
DevOps
Requirements
  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a related field
  • Minimum 10 years of experience in Proof of Concept or Systems/Solutions Testing across network technologies
  • Leadership roles require 15+ years of experience delivering customer success in pre-sales/POC engagements
  • Proficient in networking technologies software with hands-on experience across diverse Network Operating Systems (NOS) such as IOS, IOS-XR, EOS, and Junos
  • Experience with SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud) or any Open source OS is highly desirable
  • Proven ability to effectively debug and troubleshoot complex networking issues.
  • Significant experience in DevOps, Network Operations, or Network Engineering within a cloud provider or enterprise-level team
Responsibilities
  • Deliver exceptional customer experiences by executing thorough technical proof of concepts for new products and solutions that match customer deployments
  • Develop deep expertise in our products and solutions - collaborate closely with Software and Hardware Engineering teams to diagnose issues and with Customer Engineering team to ensure customer success
  • Responsible for testing our products (hardware and software) for functionality, scale and performance, network operations and interoperability, benchmarking against customer specific requirements
  • Maintain documentation of detailed test plans, topologies vetted by customers and drive fixes for issues encountered during POC to enhance our product offering and test coverage
  • Present the POC findings to internal and external stakeholders
  • Responsible to maintain the testbed across multiple product generations
  • Required to invest in automation best practices, maximize throughput and minimize time taken to support multiple POCs
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud) or any Open source OS is highly desirable

Nexthop AI develops networking hardware and software designed for AI-driven cloud infrastructure. Its products combine specialized routers and software that optimize data-center networks for AI workloads, built through close co-development with large cloud operators. The company works by partnering with hyperscalers to tailor and deploy scalable networking solutions, rather than selling generic gear. This approach sets Nexthop AI apart from competitors by focusing on deep, collaborative development with cloud providers and delivering integrated hardware-software systems that fit specific AI cloud needs. The goal is to meet the rising demand for advanced cloud infrastructure by delivering efficient, scalable networking solutions through strategic partnerships and joint development.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Series B

Total Funding

$610M

Headquarters

Santa Clara, California

Founded

2024

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Oversubscribed $500M Series B at $4.2B valuation led by Lightspeed and Andreessen Horowitz fuels expansion.
  • Ethernet switching market for AI reaches $200B over next decade per 650 Group analysis.
  • NH-4220 enables seamless 102.4 Tbps migration to 800G/1.6T AI clusters without rack changes.

What critics are saying

  • Nvidia Spectrum-X erodes hyperscaler partnerships with GPU Direct in 6-12 months.
  • Broadcom Jericho3-AI commoditizes Tomahawk silicon, slashing NH-4010 margins in 12-18 months.
  • US-China restrictions halt Bengaluru exports, crippling 40% engineering for NH-5010 in 6-12 months.

What makes Nexthop.ai unique

  • Nexthop AI launches Disaggregated Spine architecture co-developed with hyperscaler, cutting costs and power by 30%.
  • NH-4010 delivers 51.2 Tbps with 15-20% power savings using Broadcom Tomahawk 5 silicon.
  • Top 10 SONiC contributor and Governing Board member supports open networking for hyperscalers.

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People at Nexthop.ai who can refer or advise you

Benefits

Health Insurance

Flexible Work Hours

Remote Work Options

Paid Vacation

PTO/vacation

Hybrid Work Options

Wellness Program

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

5%

2 year growth

-6%
Business Wire
Mar 11th, 2026
Nexthop AI Accelerates Into Hypergrowth With Oversubscribed $500M Series B Funding, Catapulting the Company’s Valuation to $4.2 Billion

Nexthop AI raises $500M at $4.2B evaluation, to build the most efficient AI infrastructure

Connectweb Technologies, Inc.
Mar 10th, 2026
Nexthop AI Unveils Transformative, industry-leading Scale-out and Scale-across Switches engineered for Hyperscalers & NeoClouds

Nexthop AI unveils transformative, industry-leading scale-out and scale-across switches engineered for Hyperscalers & NeoClouds. Nexthop AI Underlines focus on power efficient solutions, deployment velocity and open networking SANTA CLARA, Calif.-BUSINESS WIRE- Nexthop AI, the leading pioneer of highly efficient AI Networking, today launched a range of products for scale-out, scale-across and front-end applications for cloud and AI datacenters. The launch portfolio sets new standards for performance, power efficiency, and deployment speed - very critical metrics in AI infrastructure. Nexthop AI's highly efficient scale-out and scale-across AI networking portfolio Nexthop also unveiled the Disaggregated Spine architecture - a new, highly efficient, scale-across network design developed in collaboration with a large hyperscaler. This innovative architecture decomposes the traditional monolithic chassis running proprietary software into independent, optimized, functional tiers. It features a scale-across leaf tier (data center fabric facing) and scale-across spine tier (data center interconnect facing) offering deep buffers, line-rate MACsec encryption and expanded routing tables. This architecture delivers 30% lower cost and 30% lower power consumption than legacy chassis-based systems and facilitates adoption of open network operating systems such as SONiC. Driving the Future of Open Networking Nexthop AI is an active contributor to the open networking ecosystem, serving as a SONiC Governing Board member of the Linux Foundation. In a very short timeframe, Nexthop has risen to be amongst the top 10 global contributors to the SONiC project. Nexthop empowers customers to run their preferred version of a network operating system like SONiC or FBOSS on its switches. In addition, for the NeoClouds, Nexthop offers a hardened, supported, high-quality distribution of the Nexthop Network Operating System powered by SONiC. "We are delighted to see the tremendous contributions Nexthop has made to the open networking community in such a short time. They are partnering with the community on several new initiatives, including pioneering new concepts like the Disaggregated Spine. Their speed of execution, coupled with their unwavering dedication to customer success, is truly commendable," said Dave Maltz, Principal Network Architect for Azure Networking at Microsoft. Pioneering New Platforms for AI and Cloud Nexthop AI's launch portfolio sets new standards for performance, power efficiency, and deployment speed - very critical metrics in AI infrastructure. These platforms can run any version of SONiC or FBOSS that hyperscalers choose or are also available as a turnkey solution fully integrated with Nexthop NOS for NeoClouds. * NH-4010: The industry's lowest power 51.2 Tbps switch based on Broadcom Tomahawk 5 silicon. Its highly efficient system design is proven to save customers 15-20% power in like-for-like configurations, delivering 10s of Megawatts of total power savings at scale. * NH-4220: The industry's highest density 102.4 Tbps air cooled system based on Broadcom Tomahawk 6 silicon. These switches are specifically engineered to provide seamless migration from previous generations without requiring disruptive changes to rack or fiber plants, enabling rapid deployment of next-generation AI clusters. * NH-5010: The first deep-buffer, scale-across spine switch based on Broadcom Qumran 3D silicon, enabling the Disaggregated Spine architecture for leading Hyperscalers. "We are pleased to collaborate with Nexthop on SONiC and SAI-based architectures to deliver standards-based Ethernet switching solutions for deployments within and across data centers, serving our hyperscale and data center customers. Nexthop's deep system expertise and integration of our low-power switching silicon have enabled scalable, highly power-efficient solutions," said Asad Khamisy, senior vice president and general manager, Core Switching Group, Broadcom. Nexthop platforms offer advanced real-time telemetry for efficient congestion control, advanced load balancing and real-time layer 1 and optics monitoring - significantly improving overall network performance and link reliability. "Ethernet Switching is a key building block for AI Networking. Led by new AI and scale-across use case expansions, the market is poised to approach $200B over the next decade," said Alan Weckel, founder and technology analyst at 650 Group. "Nexthop AI is taking a unique co-development approach to product development and their initial platforms represent the start of a foundational portfolio that raises the bar to fundamentally address the efficiency, density, and reliability challenges to support 800G and 1.6T deployments." Availability and Additional Resources Nexthop AI's innovative platforms and software solutions are already shipping to leading Hyperscalers. Nexthop platforms also have a complementary optics portfolio with dedicated focus on Layer 1 validation that improves stability and deployment speed for customers. Its team will be at OFC 2026 in Los Angeles, demonstrating some of its AI solutions. To schedule a meeting with Connectweb, reach out to [email protected]. About Nexthop AI Nexthop AI is a cohesive team of seasoned industry experts, who through their collaborative product design as well as system and network engineering capabilities are building innovative networking products and solutions for Hyperscalers and NeoClouds. Nexthop is headquartered in Santa Clara with additional locations in Seattle, Vancouver, Dublin and Bengaluru, India. For more information visit http://nexthop.ai nexthop ai, the nexthop ai logo, and all related product and software names are trademarks of Nexthop Systems Inc. All other trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners. Product specifications and information are subject to change without notice. Contact details: Media Contact Arthi Ayyangar [email protected] +1 877 271 6550 * Images - product_stack_with_logo.jpg Nexthop AI's highly efficient scale-out and scale-across AI networking portfolio Download - Nexthop_AI_Logo_color_2x.jpg Download

Benzinga
Mar 10th, 2026
Nexthop AI raises $500M Series B at $4.2B valuation for AI networking solutions

Nexthop AI has raised $500 million in an oversubscribed Series B round, pushing its valuation to $4.2 billion. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with Andreessen Horowitz joining as a major investor, alongside Altimeter and existing backers. The Santa Clara-based company specialises in AI networking solutions for data centres, delivering switching solutions built on open-source operating systems such as SONiC and FBOSS. Founded by CEO Anshul Sadana, Nexthop serves hyperscalers and cloud providers with customised and off-the-shelf networking products. Alongside the funding announcement, Nexthop launched a range of products for cloud and AI data centres, focusing on performance, power efficiency and deployment speed. The company has offices in Seattle, Vancouver, Dublin and Bengaluru.

Business Wire
Mar 10th, 2026
Nexthop AI launches switches for hyperscalers with 30% lower power and cost

Nexthop AI has launched a range of switches for cloud and AI datacentres, claiming industry-leading performance and power efficiency. The portfolio includes the NH-4010, a 51.2 Tbps switch that saves 15–20% power compared to similar configurations, and the NH-4220, a 102.4 Tbps air-cooled system based on Broadcom Tomahawk 6 silicon. The company also unveiled its Disaggregated Spine architecture, developed with a large hyperscaler, which delivers 30% lower cost and power consumption than legacy chassis-based systems. Nexthop is a SONiC Governing Board member and ranks amongst the top 10 global contributors to the SONiC project. The platforms are already shipping to leading hyperscalers. Nexthop AI is headquartered in Santa Clara with offices in Seattle, Vancouver, Dublin and Bengaluru.

House Digest
Apr 23rd, 2025
19 US AI Startups Raising $100M+ in 2025

Nexthop AI, an AI infrastructure company, announced a $110 million Series A round on March 25, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and including Kleiner Perkins, Battery Ventures, and Emergent Ventures.