Principal Software Engineer (SSE) (Onsite-Milpitas)

Cisco; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 251,000 - 363,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) plan with Cisco matching

Paid parental leave

Short and long-term disability

Basic life insurance

Cisco RSUs

Job summary

Cisco Secure Access seeks a Principal Software Engineer to design, develop, and deliver scalable, production-quality applications within Cisco's cloud security group. You will guide architecture, oversee code quality, and mentor engineers while partnering with internal and external teams to meet business requirements.

You will evaluate new technologies, drive API and micro-services improvements, and ensure robust, scalable deployments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science with 17+ years of experience, or a Master’s with 10+ years owning architecture and technical strategy across multiple teams.
• 7+ years in a technical leadership role and architecture.
• 10+ years development in AWS cloud or similar; proficiency in Python, Go or Java.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems, cloud-native architecture, APIs, micro-services, data platforms, multi-tenant services, and production operations.
• Experience building agentic systems and leveraging AI to improve productivity across the SDLC.

Responsibilities

• Oversee architecture, design, code quality, and deployments across teams.
• Mentor junior developers and participate in design and code reviews.
• Document technical solutions and communicate with leadership.
• Evaluate new tech stacks and run proofs-of-concepts and benchmarks.
• Troubleshoot high-complexity stability and scalability issues.

Skills

Technical leadership

Architecture

Distributed systems

AWS cloud

Python/Go/Java

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or CS

Master's degree in Engineering or CS

Tools

Kafka

Kubernetes

NoSQL

Job description

Cisco Secure Access is cloud-delivered security service edge (SSE) solution, grounded in zero trust, gives users an exceptional user experience and protected access from any device too anywhere. Cisco Secure Access enforces security policies such as access control, threat protection and data security using ZTNA, SWG, DNS, CASB and FWaaS. As a team member, you'll play a crucial role in enhancing seamless and secure access to applications and resources, and protecting organizations from diverse cyber threats. Join the Cisco Secure Access team, where innovation meets cutting-edge technology in a dynamic and collaborative environment.

Your Impact

You will serve as a Principal Software Engineer within Cisco's cloud security business group, collaborating across multiple fast-paced teams to design, develop, and deliver scalable, supportable, and maintainable production-quality applications! Your responsibilities include building new capabilities to the products as well as and improving existing processes and architecture, developing, partnering with internal and external teams to understand business and technical requirements and documenting technical specifications for development. You will oversee architecture, design, code quality, and deployments, while also documenting and communicating technical solutions to architecture groups and leadership. Additionally, you will participate in design and code reviews, mentor junior developers, evaluate new technology stacks and third-party tools through proof of concepts and benchmarks, and troubleshoot sophisticated system-level stability and scalability issues.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Computer Science with a minimum of 17+ years of relevant industry experience, or a Master’s degree and 10 years of relevant industry experience owning architecture and technical strategy across multiple teams, from problem definition and system design through rollout, adoption, and operational support.
• 7+ years of experience in a technical leadership role and architecture.
• 10+ years experience in development in AWS cloud or similar and proficiency in Python, Go or Java.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems, cloud-native architecture, APIs, micro-services architecture, data platforms, multi-tenant services, and production operations.
• Experience building agentic systems and leveraging AI to improve productivity across the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

Preferred requirements:

• Experience with LLM applications, retrieval-augmented generation, agent orchestration, tool calling, prompt and context management, model evaluation, LLMOps, AI safety, guardrails, and responsible AI.
• Experience with streaming data, feature engineering, anomaly detection, behavioral or graph analytics, model drift, explain-ability, feedback loops, and investigation or analyst workflows.
• Experience with data pipelines handling large volumes and sound knowledge in technologies such as Kafka, Kubernetes, NoSQL.
• Ability to work independently, research current and emerging technologies, propose changes as needed to cater to changing business / technical conditions.
• Ability to optimally lead teams and inspire others to achieve goals through innovation, quality and excellence.
• Excellent debugging skills, ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex system level stability or scalability issues.
• A track record of setting engineering standards, resolving cross-organization architectural tension, mentoring principal-level talent, and communicating complex ideas to mixed audiences.

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.

• medical, dental and vision insurance
• a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
• paid parental leave
• short and long-term disability coverage
• basic life insurance
• grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time