Engineering Project Manager

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 138,000 - 197,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. in Milpitas, CA is seeking a Technical Program Manager to lead cloud-native SaaS and generative AI delivery, partnering with engineering leaders, product managers, and researchers to turn ambitious roadmaps into reliable production systems.

You will own planning, milestones, dependencies, and release readiness while coordinating across groups, applying Agile practices and ensuring operational excellence in a fast-paced, globally distributed environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical field.
• 2+ years of experience in technical program management, software delivery, or software engineering.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional software, cloud SaaS, data, or AI projects through production releases.
• Foundational understanding of modern software lifecycles, Agile practices, cloud services, and APIs.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day delivery of cloud-native SaaS and generative AI workstreams from planning to production launch.
• Translate requirements into work breakdown structures, milestones, and delivery commitments.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams across Product Management, Core Software Engineering, Applied AI/ML, Data Platforms, Infrastructure, and Security.
• Track critical paths, surface delivery risks, and support release readiness and deployment validation.

Skills

Cross-functional coordination

Project planning

Agile methodologies

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Jira

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/14/2026

Meet the Team

Join Cisco's AI Platform Group to accelerate the delivery of groundbreaking generative AI and cloud-native SaaS solutions. Our team drives Cloud Control—Cisco's top-priority enterprise platform integrating our networking, security, and observability portfolio with modern AI. We operate with startup agility, high autonomy, and dedicated senior mentorship, building an AI-native engineering culture that scales globally. In this role, you will partner directly with engineering leaders, product managers, and applied AI researchers to turn ambitious roadmaps into reliable production systems.

Impact

Own the day-to-day delivery of defined cloud-native SaaS and generative AI workstreams from initial technical planning through production launch. Translate product requirements and architectural plans into clear work breakdown structures, milestones, dependencies, and delivery commitments. Coordinate cross-functional contributors across Product Management, Core Software Engineering, Applied AI/ML, Data Platforms, Infrastructure, and Security. Proactively track critical paths, surface delivery risks early, resolve routine operational blockers, and elevate architectural or resourcing trade-offs with clear context. Support release readiness, testing, deployment validation, and operational handoffs, tracking reliability and monitoring requirements alongside engineering teams. Foster strong execution hygiene by applying fit-for-purpose Agile practices, facilitating sprint rituals, and contributing to shared delivery templates.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical field, plus 2+ years of experience in technical program management, software delivery, or software engineering (or Master's degree with 1+ years).
• Applied experience coordinating cross-functional software, cloud SaaS, data, or AI projects through a production release or major milestone.
• Demonstrated ability to build project schedules, track dependencies, manage critical paths, and resolve operational blockers using Jira or equivalent tooling.
• Foundational understanding of modern software development lifecycles, Agile practices, cloud services, and APIs to collaborate effectively with technical teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting enterprise SaaS platforms or cloud-native microservices environments.
• Familiarity with Generative AI concepts, LLM integration, agentic workflows, RAG pipelines, or AI evaluation harnesses.
• Educational background from a top-tier engineering institution or demonstrated AI internship / capstone project experience.
• Experience supporting API integrations, data platform pipelines, security compliance, or operational readiness reviews.

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

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada: The starting salary range posted for this position is $138,100.00 to $196,500.00 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 of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to 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: $138,100.00 - $226,000.00 Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $124,000.00 - $201,000.00 * 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. Cisconians power the future. We make impact as a team, innovating fast and fearlessly to create meaningful solutions on a large scale. The depth and breadth of our technology doesn't just benefit our customers – it also means limitless opportunities for us to experiment and learn. We understand the power each of our unique backgrounds bring when we work together. Because of that, we have a global network of thinkers, doers, experts, and curious creators who help one another do their life’s best work.