{"id":1231569,"url":"https://alion.io/job/searchapi-proxy-network-engineer","title":"Proxy Network Engineer","company":{"id":1852794,"name":"SearchApi","domain":"searchapi.io","url":"https://alion.io/company/searchapi","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"D","score":45,"open_postings":11,"ghost_share":0.909,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-09-28T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Networking","role_family":"Networking","seniority":null,"employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"board_field","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"inferred","locations":["Luxembourg City, Luxembourg","Hong Kong","Singapore"],"countries":["LU","HK","SG"],"hiring_countries":["DE","JP","FR","GB","AR","AU","AT","BE","BR","BG","CA","HR","CY","CZ","DK","EG","FI","HU","IE","IL","IT","KZ","MY","MX","NL","NZ","NO","PH","PL","RO","RS","ZA","KR","ES","SE","TW","TR","VN","AL","CL"],"hiring_countries_total":56,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Linux","optional":false},{"name":"Nginx","optional":false},{"name":"Terraform","optional":false},{"name":"ChatGPT","optional":true},{"name":"Claude","optional":true},{"name":"Cursor","optional":true},{"name":"DNS","optional":true},{"name":"GitHub","optional":true},{"name":"Slack","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2025-12-05T18:01:03Z","employer_posted_date":"2025-12-05","last_verified_at":"2026-09-28T14:32:20Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":297,"trust":{"level":"ghost","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale","company_stale"],"days_open":296},"description":"Proxy Network Engineer\nWe are looking for an engineer who can build proxy infrastructure from scratch. Not configure existing solutions. Build. Residential networks, ISP proxies, rotation systems, session management. If you understand the difference between a high-level integration and writing a reverse proxy yourself, this role is for you.\nAbout SearchApi\nSearchApi is a real-time SERP API delivering structured data from 100+ search engines and sources, including Google Search, Google Shopping, Google Jobs, Bing, Baidu, YouTube, Amazon, and many more. We power production workloads for Fortune 500 companies and fast-moving startups who need reliable search data at scale.\nWe're a lean, profitable, bootstrapped team. No VC pressure, no bloat. Just engineers shipping real products to real customers.\nWhy Join Us?\nBuild from scratch. Not glue existing tools together. Design and implement proxy infrastructure.\n\nGreenfield project. You'll shape the architecture from day one. No legacy to work around.\n\nDeep technical work. Networking, protocols, performance optimization. The hard stuff.\n\nReal scale. Billions of requests. Your infrastructure needs to handle it.\n\nBootstrapped and Profitable. We answer to customers, not investors.\n\nWe are searching for someone who can build high-quality proxy infrastructure. We use existing solutions today. We want someone who understands their limitations and can build something better.\nTech Stack\nLow-level networking (TCP/UDP, sockets, connection handling)\n\nHTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS5 protocols\n\nHTTP/2, HTTP/3\n\nReverse proxy implementation (not just nginx/squid configuration)\n\nLinux networking stack\n\nCloud infrastructure (provider TBD based on IP policies and networking speed)\n\nTerraform is a plus (for autoprovisioning)\n\nWe use Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, GitHub, and Slack daily.\nYou Control AI, AI Doesn't Control You\nWe ship faster because we use AI tools aggressively. Cursor and Claude. But you own the output. If you can't evaluate what AI produces, you're not ready for this role.\nWhat You'll Do\nBuild proxy infrastructure from scratch. Not integrate existing solutions. Write the core systems yourself.\n\nDesign and implement rotation systems. IP rotation, session management, sticky sessions, intelligent routing.\n\nManage IP reputation and quality. Monitor, track, score, and optimize IP health across pools.\n\nBuild bandwidth reporting and metering. Track usage, report stats.\n\nWrite reverse proxy systems. High-performance, optimized for our use case. Not just configure squid or nginx.\n\nHandle multiple proxy types. Residential, mobile, datacenter, ISP. Understand the differences, characteristics, and when to use each.\n\nImplement geo-targeting. Country, city, ASN level targeting.\n\nOptimize for performance. Every millisecond matters. Every connection matters.\n\nWork with networking fundamentals. Routing, DNS, TCP/UDP tuning, connection pooling, concurrent connection limits.\n\nSupport multiple protocols. SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS. Different session types and authentication methods.\n\nUnderstand HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 differences. And how they affect proxy behavior.\n\nBuild monitoring and health checks. Track proxy pool health, failover, redundancy.\n\nHandle IPv4 and IPv6. Understand the differences and implications.\n\nYou define the architecture. We have requirements, not a blueprint. You'll decide how to build it.\nThe Hard Parts\nThis role is not for everyone. Here's what makes it hard:\nNo existing codebase. You're building from zero. No one to ask how it was done before.\n\nPerformance is everything. Slow proxies are useless proxies. You'll obsess over latency and throughput.\n\nComplexity at scale. Managing thousands of IPs, tracking reputation, handling failures gracefully.\n\nDeep debugging. When something breaks at the network level, you need to figure it out. Packet captures, connection traces, protocol analysis.\n\nUnderstanding trade-offs. We use existing solutions now. You should understand what they do well, where they fall short, and what could be done better.\n\nIf you prefer working with existing tools and frameworks without understanding what's underneath, this isn't for you.\nAbout You\nDeep networking knowledge. TCP/UDP, sockets, connection handling, routing. Not surface-level.\n\nProtocol expertise. HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5. You understand them at the byte level.\n\nCan write a reverse proxy from scratch. Not just configure squid or nginx. Write the proxy.\n\nPerformance obsessed. You profile, measure, and optimize. You know where the bottlenecks are.\n\nUnderstand proxy types. Residential, mobile, datacenter, ISP. Their characteristics, use cases, and limitations.\n\nExperience with IP reputation. How it works, how to manage it, how to recover from blacklisting.\n\nGeo-targeting knowledge. Country, city, ASN level. How it works, accuracy limitations.\n\nLinux networking. iptables, routing tables, network namespaces. Comfortable at this level.\n\nSelf-directed. You don't need someone to tell you what to build next.\n\nGreat writer. Documentation, architecture decisions, protocol specs. Clear communication matters.\n\nFluent in English, written and spoken.\n\nBSc or higher in CS or equivalent technical field.\n\nRequired experience:\nBuilt proxy or networking infrastructure before (not just used it).\n\nDeep understanding of HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS5 protocols.\n\nExperience with high-throughput, low-latency systems.\n\nTCP/UDP programming at socket level.\n\nWe're especially looking for:\nExperience building residential or ISP proxy networks.\n\nUnderstanding of ISP relationships and mobile carrier specifics.\n\nIP rotation and session management systems.\n\nIP quality scoring and reputation management.\n\nGeo-targeting implementation (country, city, ASN).\n\nMulti-tenancy and customer isolation.\n\nHTTP/2 and HTTP/3 proxy experience.\n\nTerraform for infrastructure provisioning.\n\nExperience at massive scale.\n\nWhat We Look For\nWhat makes a strong application:\nTell us about proxy or networking infrastructure you've built. Not configured. Built. What were the requirements? What did you design? What performance did you achieve? What are the limitations of existing solutions you've worked with? We want specifics.\nSignals we look for:\nNetworking projects you've built. Low-level systems experience. Technical blog posts about protocols or networking. Open-source contributions to proxy or networking tools. Evidence you understand this domain deeply.\nInclude \"Octopus Tentacle\" in your application so we know you read this. [redacted]\n Discuss your experience with proxy and networking systems.\n\nTechnical deep-dive. Architecture discussion, protocol knowledge, design questions.\n\nTake-home challenge. Realistic networking problem.\n\nMeet the team. 30 minutes.\n\nReference check + Offer\n\nWhat You Get\nFully Remote. Work from anywhere.\n\nEquity share. Own a piece of what you're building.\n\nProfit sharing. When we win, you win.\n\nGreenfield project. Build something from scratch.\n\nAnnual team retreats (last one in Spain).","description_format":"text","description_chars":6960,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[{"language":"English","level":"Advanced (C1)","optional":false}]},"benefits":["Equity"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"Germany","iso":"DE","kind":"country"},{"name":"Japan","iso":"JP","kind":"country"},{"name":"France","iso":"FR","kind":"country"},{"name":"United Kingdom","iso":"GB","kind":"country"},{"name":"Argentina","iso":"AR","kind":"country"},{"name":"Australia","iso":"AU","kind":"country"},{"name":"Austria","iso":"AT","kind":"country"},{"name":"Belgium","iso":"BE","kind":"country"},{"name":"Brazil","iso":"BR","kind":"country"},{"name":"Bulgaria","iso":"BG","kind":"country"},{"name":"Canada","iso":"CA","kind":"country"},{"name":"Colombia","iso":null,"kind":"country"},{"name":"Croatia","iso":"HR","kind":"country"},{"name":"Cyprus","iso":"CY","kind":"country"},{"name":"Czech Republic","iso":"CZ","kind":"country"},{"name":"Denmark","iso":"DK","kind":"country"},{"name":"Egypt","iso":"EG","kind":"country"},{"name":"Finland","iso":"FI","kind":"country"},{"name":"Hungary","iso":"HU","kind":"country"},{"name":"Ireland","iso":"IE","kind":"country"},{"name":"Israel","iso":"IL","kind":"country"},{"name":"Italy","iso":"IT","kind":"country"},{"name":"Kazakhstan","iso":"KZ","kind":"country"},{"name":"Malaysia","iso":"MY","kind":"country"},{"name":"Mexico","iso":"MX","kind":"country"},{"name":"Netherlands","iso":"NL","kind":"country"},{"name":"New Zealand","iso":"NZ","kind":"country"},{"name":"Norway","iso":"NO","kind":"country"},{"name":"Philippines","iso":"PH","kind":"country"},{"name":"Poland","iso":"PL","kind":"country"},{"name":"Romania","iso":"RO","kind":"country"},{"name":"Serbia","iso":"RS","kind":"country"},{"name":"South Africa","iso":"ZA","kind":"country"},{"name":"South Korea","iso":"KR","kind":"country"},{"name":"Spain","iso":"ES","kind":"country"},{"name":"Sweden","iso":"SE","kind":"country"},{"name":"Taiwan","iso":"TW","kind":"country"},{"name":"Turkey","iso":"TR","kind":"country"},{"name":"Vietnam","iso":"VN","kind":"country"},{"name":"Albania","iso":"AL","kind":"country"},{"name":"Chile","iso":"CL","kind":"country"},{"name":"Costa Rica","iso":"CR","kind":"country"},{"name":"Estonia","iso":"EE","kind":"country"},{"name":"Georgia","iso":"GE","kind":"country"},{"name":"Greece","iso":"GR","kind":"country"},{"name":"Iceland","iso":"IS","kind":"country"},{"name":"Latvia","iso":"LV","kind":"country"},{"name":"Lithuania","iso":"LT","kind":"country"},{"name":"Luxembourg","iso":"LU","kind":"country"},{"name":"Malta","iso":"MT","kind":"country"},{"name":"Moldova","iso":"MD","kind":"country"},{"name":"Portugal","iso":"PT","kind":"country"},{"name":"Slovakia","iso":"SK","kind":"country"},{"name":"Slovenia","iso":"SI","kind":"country"},{"name":"Uruguay","iso":"UY","kind":"country"},{"name":"Hong Kong","iso":"HK","kind":"country"},{"name":"Singapore","iso":"SG","kind":"country"},{"name":"Luxembourg City","iso":null,"kind":"city"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Search Engine Optimization (SEO)","Web Scraping & Proxy Networks"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-25T14:59:42Z"}],"liveness":{"score":3,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.107,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":296,"expected_fill_days":18,"reasons":["conf:9","stale_co","ghost","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-09-28T05:45:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/searchapi-proxy-network-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/searchapi-proxy-network-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-09-29T04:33:08Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":4317,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":683,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-09-30T00:00:00Z"}}}