AI Operations Engineering Technical Leader

Cisco Systems, Inc.; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 216,300 - 280,800; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a highly experienced DevOps Engineer to join our global DevOps team in the United States. You will architect and build scalable, secure cloud infrastructure and drive best-practice DevOps adoption across SaaS platforms.

You will lead end-to-end CI/CD, scale microservices with Kubernetes, implement IaC with Terraform and GitOps, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve reliability, performance, and developer productivity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering + 8 years DevOps experience; or Master's +5 years; or PhD +3 years.
• Experience in CI/CD pipelines and automation tools.
• Experience working in Kubernetes, Docker.
• Experience in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Experience in scripting and automation (Python, Bash, Go).

Responsibilities

• Implement end-to-end CI/CD workflows in a large-scale, distributed environment with zero downtime.
• Scale microservice platforms across regions with Kubernetes and automated scaling.
• Lead cross-functional DevOps projects with clear KPIs and outcomes.
• Collaborate with engineering, QA, and product teams to streamline delivery pipelines.
• Advocate IaC using Terraform, Helm, and GitOps frameworks.
• Continuously evaluate and adopt new DevOps tools to increase resilience and productivity.
• Participate in on-call rotation.
• Serve as a subject matter expert promoting ownership and continuous improvement.
• Integrate AI-assisted tooling into DevOps workflows to enhance efficiency.

Skills

CI/CD pipelines

Automation tools

Kubernetes

Docker

AWS

Azure

GCP

Python

Bash

Go

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Master's degree

PhD

Tools

Terraform

Helm

GitOps

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 11/27/2026

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

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.
• Participate in on-call rotation.
• Serve as a subject matter expert within the DevOps organization—promoting a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• 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.

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.
• Experience in CI/CD pipelines and automation tools.
• Experience working in Kubernetes, Docker
• Experience in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Experience in 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.

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

The starting salary range posted for this position is $216,300.00 to $280,800.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks. Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:

• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
• Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees
• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)
• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto the next
• Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members
• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. 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 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

$216,300.00 - $322,900.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$197,500.00 - $287,300.00

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.