Director, Software Engineering | Email Security, SaaS | 15+ years, Bangalore

Cisco; Bengaluru; Hybrid; INR 900,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco is seeking an experienced engineering leader in Bengaluru to steer the Email Threat Defense engineering organization. You will drive AI-enabled improvements to the SDLC and add customer-facing AI/LLM functionality to Threat Detection products.

The role also includes SRE/observability responsibilities and global collaboration with distributed teams. You will mentor managers and senior engineers, define short- and long-term goals, and shape the technical strategy for secure, scalable threat

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering, cloud/on-prem apps
• Proven leadership of multiple software teams
• Strong collaboration with Product, Design, Security and SRE
• Experience driving AI adoption in SDLC and product integration
• Experience in observability and reliability of large-scale systems

Responsibilities

• Define and execute a technical vision for Threat Detection and AI-enabled security.
• Partner with Product, Design and Engineering Directors to set long-term goals.
• Mentor and coach senior engineers and managers.
• Lead recruiting to build a diverse, high-performance team.
• Drive offsites, training and process improvements across teams

Skills

Software engineering

Cloud & on-prem architecture

Leadership

AI/SDLC

Observability

Job description

Meet the Team

You will lead engineering for industry leading software in security space. We invite you to join our Email Threat Defense with a focus on driving gen AI based improvements to the SDLC as well as AI Adoption with the teams. You will also work to add customer facing AI/LLM Functionality to our established suite of Threat Detection products. You will also work to apply our threat detection and security offerings to secure AI Agents. You will also have some SRE/observability responsibilities outside of threat detection.

Your Impact

Our Email Threat Detection teams offer a suite of on-prem and cloud-based threat detection solutions for enterprise customers. The team is globally distributed and provides critical functionality for Cisco Security.

• Deliver innovative, differentiated software solutions in threat detection, agentic AI security, and product security spaces.


• Work with Product Management, Design, and other Engineering Directors to set the technical vision for the future of Threat Detection.


• Work with Product Management and Design to set the vision for the future of Threat Detection.


• Guide engineering teams through defining short, medium, and long-term goals to achieve the vision


• Lead the recruiting strategy to build a diverse and inclusive team: driving decisions on whom the team needs to hire, partnering with our recruiters to define requirements, and talking to candidates


• Mentor and coach managers and senior engineers through technical and non-technical challenges


• Develop career plans for people on your team and help them do the same for theirs


• Encourage thoughtful and creative ways to recognize achievement


• Provide counsel as a member of senior engineering leadership


• Assist with engineering-wide initiatives such as offsites, training, and process evolution

Minimum Qualifications (Provide Up To Five (5) Bullet Points)

• Technical Expertise: at least 10 years of experience in software engineering, building cloud-based and on-prem applications.


• Leadership and Team Management: At least 7 years of experience leading multiple, high performing software engineering teams working on cloud and on-prem applications. Experience managing through managers and managing teams through change.


• Collaboration: Demonstrated prior experience partnering closely with Design, Data Science, Security, SRE, or Product Management to deliver usable and secure software solutions to customers.


• AI Expertise: a demonstrated track record of leading teams through AI driven changes in the SDLC. Experience driving AI adoption and product integration.


• Observability: Prior experience leading teams working on observability.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience in leading cross-functional teams, architecting scalable infrastructure, implementing secure software design principles, and delivering high-quality software products under tight deadlines and tight resources.


• Experience leading organizations of 50+ engineers with global distribution.


• Passion about growing as a leader


• Experience building a team, making decisions on recruiting, and organizational design


• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, enabling them to effectively convey complex technical ideas to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

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.

Disclaimer

To ensure that we hire the best talent in the right way, we follow a strict hiring process and recently, Cisco has been made aware of fraudulent recruiters claiming to be from the company. Please be advised that any communication from Cisco about careers will:

• be in direct response to an application you have submitted through the company career site


• begin with screening or an interview


• originate from a Cisco email address, and


• be conducted across email, phone, or WebEx

Cisco will never make a job offer without conducting an interview process or ask you for money in any way. If you have been requested to apply for a role or have received an offer from a site other than https://careers.cisco.com or cisco.wd5.myworkday.com, do not provide any personal identifying information, including your Aadhaar or other personal identifying number, birth certificate, banking information, driver's license, or passport.

If you are the target of a recruiting scam, consider filing a report with your local law enforcement authorities. Cisco bears no responsibility, and cannot be held liable, for any claims, damages, expenses, or other inconvenience resulting from or in any way connected to recruiting scams.

About

To ensure that we hire the best talent in the right way, we follow a strict hiring process and recently, Cisco has been made aware of fraudulent recruiters claiming to be from the company. Please be advised that any communication from Cisco about careers will:

• be in direct response to an application you have submitted through the company career site


• begin with screening or an interview


• originate from a Cisco email address, and


• be conducted across email, phone, or WebEx

Cisco will never make a job offer without conducting an interview process or ask you for money in any way. If you have been requested to apply for a role or have received an offer from a site other than https://careers.cisco.com or cisco.wd5.myworkday.com, do not provide any personal identifying information, including your Aadhaar or other personal identifying number, birth certificate, banking information, driver's license, or passport.

If you are the target of a recruiting scam, consider filing a report with your local law enforcement authorities. Cisco bears no responsibility, and cannot be held liable, for any claims, damages, expenses, or other inconvenience resulting from or in any way connected to recruiting scams.