AI Operations Engineering Technical Leader

Cisco Systems, Inc; Karnataka; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a highly experienced DevOps Engineer to design and implement scalable cloud infrastructure for our SaaS platforms.

You will drive end-to-end CI/CD, champion Kubernetes orchestration, and lead automation initiatives across global teams. You will collaborate with engineering, QA, and product groups to ensure reliable delivery and operational excellence while advancing IaC practices using Terraform, Helm, and GitOps.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of DevOps experience; master’s +5 or PhD +3 in related fields.
• Strong experience with CI/CD pipelines and automation tooling.
• Proficient in Kubernetes and Docker with hands-on cloud platform knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Implement end-to-end CI/CD workflows in a large-scale distributed environment with zero downtime.
• Scale microservice platforms across regions focusing on Kubernetes, cost optimization and autoscaling.
• Lead cross-functional DevOps projects from inception to completion with clear KPIs.
• Collaborate with engineering, QA, and product teams to streamline delivery pipelines.
• Advocate IaC using Terraform, Helm, and GitOps frameworks; adopt emerging DevOps tools to boost reliability and productivity.
• Participate in on-call rotations and act as DevOps SME to promote ownership and continuous improvement.

Skills

CI/CD pipelines

Automation tools

Kubernetes

Docker

Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Scripting (Python, Bash, Go)

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Engineering

Master's degree or PhD in related field

Tools

Jenkins

Github

ArgoCD

Terraform

Helm

Job description

Meet the Team

The Cisco AI Software & Platform Group incubates and delivers Generative AI based solutions to reinvent Cisco's existing Products and how customers interact with them. Our Group is also introducing new offerings that help customers roll out Generative AI at scale while doing so responsibly. Ultimately, we are doing so through internal platforms that unlock the benefits of this technology for Cisco teams and partners across our Security, Enterprise Networking, Collaboration and Splunk portfolios.

Your Impact

Cisco is looking for a highly experienced and innovative DevOps Engineer to join our global DevOps team. In this critical role, you will architect and build scalable, secure cloud infrastructure and lead the adoption of best-in-class DevOps practices across the organization. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless code delivery, system reliability, and operational excellence for our SaaS platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Implement end-to-end CI/CD workflows in a large-scale, distributed environment—enabling both on-demand and scheduled builds and deployments with zero downtime.

• Scale microservice-based platforms across multiple geographic regions, with a focus on container orchestration (Kubernetes), cost optimization, and automated scaling solutions.

• Lead cross-functional DevOps projects from inception to completion defining success criteria, coordinating execution, and measuring outcomes against clear KPIs.

• Collaborate with engineering, QA, and product teams to streamline delivery pipelines and promote DevOps best practices throughout the development lifecycle.

• Advocate automation in every layer of the infrastructure stack using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles and tools such as Terraform, Helm, and GitOps frameworks.

• Continuously evaluate and adopt emerging DevOps tools and technologies to increase system resilience, reduce operational overhead, and enhance developer productivity.

• Integrate AI-assisted tooling, copilots, and AIOps into day-to-day DevOps, CI/CD workflows, infrastructure automation, testing, and incident response to enhance efficiency and system reliability.

• Participate in on-call rotation.

• Serve as a subject matter expert within the DevOps organization—promoting a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Comp Science, Engineering (or related field /industry) + 8 years of DevOps experience, Masters + 5 years of related experience, or PhD + 3 years of related experience.

• Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines and automation tools.

• Strong proficiency in Kubernetes, Docker

• Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).

• Solid scripting and automation skills (e.g., Python, Bash, Go).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Deep expertise in CI/CD tooling and practices, including hands-on experience with systems like Jenkins, Github, ArgoCD, or similar.

• Demonstrated success scaling containerized microservices across regions with cost and performance optimizations.

• Proven leadership in cross-functional engineering projects with measurable outcomes.

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentoring skills.

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.