Lead DevOps Engineer

Cisco; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco is seeking a highly experienced DevOps Engineer in San Jose to architect and optimize scalable cloud infrastructure for our SaaS platforms. You will lead end-to-end CI/CD, champion Kubernetes-based microservices, and promote IaC and GitOps across squads.

Expect collaboration across security, networking, and software teams, with on-call responsibilities and a focus on reliability. The role emphasizes hands-on leadership in DevOps, cloud-native tooling, and AI-assisted operational

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; 8+ years DevOps experience or advanced degrees.
• Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines and automation tools.
• Proficient with Kubernetes and Docker in cloud environments.

Responsibilities

• Implement end-to-end CI/CD workflows for large-scale SaaS platforms.
• Scale microservice platforms across regions with Kubernetes orchestration.
• Lead cross-functional DevOps projects with clear KPIs and outcomes.
• Promote DevOps best practices across engineering, QA, and product teams.
• Advocate IaC using Terraform, Helm, and GitOps workflows.
• Evaluate new DevOps tools to improve reliability and developer productivity.
• Participate in on-call rotation and incident response.
• Serve as SME within DevOps, driving ownership and continuous improvement.
• Integrate AI-assisted tooling, copilots, and AIOps into pipelines.

Skills

CI/CD pipelines

Kubernetes

Docker

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Scripting (Python, Bash, Go)

Infrastructure as Code (Terraform,Helm

GitOps

On-call rotation

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Jenkins

Github Actions

ArgoCD

Terraform

Job description

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.