Principal Software Engineer, Load Balancer - Isovalent

Cisco Systems; City Of London; Remote; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company in the UK is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to develop a next-generation Load Balancer. You will define architecture and lead design for scalable traffic management in cloud environments, collaborating across teams. The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, experience with load balancing software, Kubernetes, and Go programming. This role offers opportunities to impact cloud-native infrastructure solutions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience developing load balancing software, preferably with Go.
• Experience with Kubernetes, Cloud Native workloads and/or distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the architecture of our enterprise-grade load balancer.
• Lead design and development of the load balancer's data plane, control plane and orchestration tools.
• Collaborate across engineering, product, and customer teams.

Skills

Load balancing software development

Kubernetes

Go programming

Distributed systems

Education

Bachelors in Computer Science or related fields

Job description

Principal Software Engineer, Load Balancer - Isovalent

Remote Europe

Isovalent, now part of Cisco, is the company founded by the creators of Cilium and eBPF. Cisco Isovalent builds open-source software and enterprise solutions solving networking, security, and observability needs for modern cloud native infrastructure. The flagship technology, Cilium, is the choice of numerous, industry‑leading, global organizations.

We believe in fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where every team member feels valued, respected, and empowered. We believe that every employee contributes to our success, and we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone can thrive. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply and join us in our mission to deliver exceptional products and services.

About this role

Cisco Isovalent is seeking a skilled and experienced Software Engineer to develop its next generation Load Balancer leveraging the technology developed with Cilium. You will be responsible for driving forward a standalone eBPF load balancer, enabling scalable, secure, and resilient traffic management in cloud and hybrid enterprise environments. You will work with a highly collaborative and skilled team to build solutions that advance the next generation of networking and security in Kubernetes environments.

What you’ll do

• Define and evolve the architecture of our enterprise‑grade load balancer.
• Lead design and development of the load balancer’s data plane, control plane and orchestration tools for scalable traffic management and high availability within Kubernetes.
• Guide the team through technical decisions, design reviews, and performance/security optimizations.
• Collaborate across engineering, product, and customer teams to align technical direction with business needs.
• Contribute to and uphold engineering best practices, code quality, and operational excellence.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors Computer Science degree, or related fields
• 5+ years of experience developing load balancing software, preferably with Go
• Experience with Kubernetes, Cloud Native workloads and/or distributed systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge about Linux systems design, security and/or networking, Linux kernel
• Desire to write high quality and efficient code
• Experience designing and implementing APIs
• A public track record of open‑source code commits is a plus

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.

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.

Cisco is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.

Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.