Principal Software Engineer

Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Jose, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 251,000 - 363,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) matching contributions

Paid parental leave

Paid time off and volunteer days

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a senior Platform Engineer to shape a Kubernetes-based platform that runs reliably across cloud and customer-managed environments.

You will lead architecture decisions, define implementation plans, and partner with multiple teams to ensure scalable, maintainable platform services. The role emphasizes designing APIs, lifecycle orchestration, and modernization while maintaining customer trust and compatibility, with a strong focus on production reliability and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and 15+ years of experience.
• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience (backend/platform/infrastructure).
• 5+ years designing, building, or operating production distributed systems.
• 2+ years hands-on Kubernetes experience (workload orchestration, operators/controllers).
• Experience designing production APIs, lifecycle orchestration, configuration or upgrade systems, or platform services.
• Proficiency in backend languages such as Go, C++, Java, or Python.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical direction for Kubernetes-based platform architecture across cloud and customer-managed environments.
• Translate complex requirements into designs, contracts, and implementation plans.
• Collaborate across runtime, Kubernetes operator, configuration, and product teams to ensure aligned execution.
• Identify dependencies, failure modes, and migration risks early to avoid customer impact.
• Drive modernization of a mature enterprise platform while preserving reliability and compatibility.

Skills

Kubernetes experience

Go

C++

Java

Python

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 09/29/2026

Meet The Team

Splunk’s Platform Engineering team is evolving the core platform to run reliably on Kubernetes across cloud and customer-managed environments. The team builds the runtime foundations, orchestration patterns, lifecycle capabilities, and platform services that enable Splunk products to move faster on a common cloud-native substrate. We are a senior, systems-oriented group working across core engineering, product, security, operations, and customer-facing teams. Our work is complex, high-impact, and central to Splunk’s FY27 priorities around Kubernetes adoption, cloud growth, customer-managed platform parity, and future innovation. This is an opportunity to help shape how a large-scale enterprise platform modernizes while preserving the reliability and compatibility customers depend on.

Your Impact

Lead technical direction for Kubernetes-based platform architecture that makes Splunk easier to deploy, operate, upgrade, diagnose, and evolve. Translate complex product, customer, and feature-team requirements into practical designs, engineering contracts, and implementation plans. Partner across core runtime, Kubernetes operator, configuration, application platform, search, security, cloud, and product teams to align execution around reusable architecture. Identify cross-component dependencies, failure modes, lifecycle gaps, and migration risks before they become release or customer-impacting issues. Drive incremental modernization of a mature enterprise platform while preserving customer trust, compatibility, and operational quality.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors in related field with 15 years experience.
• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience building backend, platform, infrastructure, or distributed systems.
• 5+ years of experience designing, building, or operating production distributed systems.
• 2+ years of hands‑on Kubernetes experience, including workload orchestration, operators/controllers, or cloud‑native deployment patterns.
• Experience designing production APIs, lifecycle orchestration, configuration systems, upgrade systems, or platform services.
• Professional experience with at least one backend/platform programming language such as Go, C++, Java, Python.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Kubernetes operators, control planes, developer platforms, infrastructure automation, or large-scale platform services.
• Experience modernizing legacy or monolithic enterprise systems toward cloud-native operating models.
• Experience with enterprise customer commitments, regulated environments, cloud/on-prem deployment variance, and long-lived compatibility expectations.
• Ability to synthesize ambiguous cross-team requirements into clear technical direction, tradeoffs, and execution plans.
• Interest in using AI‑assisted engineering tools responsibly for code comprehension, review preparation, test planning, incident triage, documentation, or migration analysis.

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 $250,600.00 to $362,600.00 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:

$250,600.00 - $416,900.00

Non‑Metro New York state & Washington state:

$241,400.00 - $371,000.00

* 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.