Principal AI-Driven Network Validation Architect

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; North Carolina; On-site; USD 220,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco is seeking a Senior Backend Architect to shape the Cisco IQ Validation framework. You will architect scalable backend services, lead technical direction, and drive AI‑driven workflows for network testing and lifecycle management across SD‑WAN and data center environments.

You will mentor engineering leaders, align roadmaps with reliability goals, and establish standards for prompt engineering and model interactions to ensure secure, high‑fidelity outputs at scale.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 15+ years in backend software architecture and core software development.
• Experience in networking, SD‑WAN, or data center infrastructure.
• Experience architecting AI‑driven applications and complex workflows.
• Led large‑scale technical initiatives across cross‑functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and architect scalable backend services for automated network validation.
• Set the technical vision across the organization for architectural consistency.
• Lead multi‑year roadmaps aligning innovation with reliability goals.
• Define best practices for prompt engineering and AI model interactions.
• Drive rapid, high‑velocity development while ensuring security and reliability.

Skills

Networking expertise

Architectural leadership

Stakeholder alignment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Python

Rust

LLM fine-tuning

Terraform

Ansible

Job description

Cisco is seeking a Senior Backend Architect to shape the Cisco IQ Validation framework. You will architect scalable backend services, lead technical direction, and drive AI‑driven workflows for network testing and lifecycle management across SD‑WAN and data center environments.

You will mentor engineering leaders, align roadmaps with reliability goals, and establish standards for prompt engineering and model interactions to ensure secure, high‑fidelity outputs at scale.