Lead Software Engineer, Secure AI Networking & Simulations

Cisco; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 274,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco is seeking a Lead Software Engineer for its AI Research team in a hybrid role based out of Seattle or San Jose. You will build secure, cloud-native networking and simulation platforms powering Cisco’s domain-specific LLMs, architecting topologies, automating controllers, and translating AI networking concepts into production capabilities.

You will mentor peers, set engineering standards, and drive data-provenance, RBAC, and SSDLC across cross-functional teams in a globally distributed

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field with 8+ years of experience or equivalent.
• 5+ years of professional software engineering in production-grade software.
• 4+ years of experience with enterprise/datacenter networking protocols and network simulation platforms.
• 3+ years of experience with cloud-native infrastructure, distributed systems, and containers.
• 3+ years of experience integrating and automating network controllers via REST APIs/SDKs.
• 2+ years of SSDLC, RBAC, and secrets management.

Responsibilities

• Architect high-fidelity, secure network topologies with CML and data contracts for AI data.
• Lead secure automation and integration of Cisco controllers across on-prem, hybrid, and cloud.
• Design and test high-performance distributed software and cloud architecture.
• Apply zero-trust, threat modeling, RBAC, and secrets management to data pipelines.
• Implement telemetry and monitoring for simulation performance and cloud infra.
• Mentor peers and shape engineering roadmap.

Skills

Python

Go

C++

Java

Networking protocols

Containerization

Distributed systems

REST APIs

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science

Master’s degree in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)

EVE-NG

GNS3

REST APIs/SDKs

Job description

Cisco is seeking a Lead Software Engineer for its AI Research team in a hybrid role based out of Seattle or San Jose. You will build secure, cloud-native networking and simulation platforms powering Cisco’s domain-specific LLMs, architecting topologies, automating controllers, and translating AI networking concepts into production capabilities.

You will mentor peers, set engineering standards, and drive data-provenance, RBAC, and SSDLC across cross-functional teams in a globally distributed