Software Engineering Senior Technical Leader - Networking
Cisco
The application window is expected to close on July 31st, 2025.
The job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.
Meet the Team
Cisco Silicon One is the center of Cisco’s ASIC design and is driving the development of next-generation network devices for the 5G and AI era.
Our outstanding team works in a startup atmosphere within a stable and leading corporate environment, and our design center hosts all silicon Hardware and Software development fields under one roof. Our devices are crafted for universal adaptability, delivering high speed without sacrificing programmability, buffering, power efficiency, scale, or feature flexibility. We enable the use of these innovative products in the fast-paced world of Open Standards, Open Networking, and massively Scalable Cloud Data Centers. If you want to work with amazing people and innovative customers developing the next generation of world-class products, join us! Our team develops the full software stack enabling the Silicon One network processors. We work with the Open Standards community and our incredible customers to deliver best in class routing and switching platforms. Work also with architecture and design teams to define the next generation of ASIC products being developed.
Your Impact
In this role, you will lead a team of engineers and technical leaders in the design and development of software features for control plane and data plane on Cisco’s Silicon One NPU. You will be responsible for creating software that will be used to build highly scalable, low power, low latency, dense systems for the ever-demanding AI/ML workloads, internet users and applications. You will use modern C++, Network processing language of Silicon One and Python to develop software on the NPU. As a senior technical leader, you will be part of requirement discussions with the customer and will work on scoping the feature post-closing the requirements. You will take complete ownership of delivering the software in a timely manner and with outstanding quality. You will lead a team of engineers and guide/unblock the team with any design/implementation related issues. You will be the gatekeeper of the code base in the domains you own. You will gain intimate knowledge of the Silicon One hardware architecture, software programming models and work with the architecture and hardware teams to define the next generation of ASIC products being developed.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelors + 8 years of experience in networking software development or Masters + 6 years of experience, or PhD + 5 years of experience.
- Experience using programming languages such as C, C++, and Python for programming and design.
- Experience with networking protocols (e.g., L2/L3, MPLS, BGP, OSPF).
- Experience with software-hardware integration and debugging.
- Experience in analytical reasoning and debugging, with practical experience in using tools such as GDB or PDB.
Preferred Qualifications
- Microcode programming skills in P4 or other similar network programming languages.
- Experience in debugging customer related issues.
- Experience in algorithms and data structures.
- Experience with cloud, data center, or edge networking products.
Why Cisco?
At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint. Simply put – we power the future.
Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.
We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.
When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.
U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.
Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter. Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.
Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:
.75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;
1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;
1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.
For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.