Remote Principal Software Engineer - Security Platform

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

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with matching

Parental leave

Disability coverage

Life insurance

Paid holidays

Sick time off

Volunteer days

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Principal Engineer for the Security and Policy Platform Group. You will lead development of scalable, secure software spanning cloud and client infrastructure, shaping policy and security across Cisco products.

You will mentor senior technical leaders, drive architectural direction, and translate strategic vision into high-impact, reliable solutions that sustain Cisco’s competitive edge.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience with security, privacy, and data protection principles in policy/platform systems.
• Experience designing and developing large-scale software, platform, or distributed systems.
• Experience building and scaling highly available, secure, distributed systems in cloud or hybrid environments.

Responsibilities

• Innovate, develop, and drive unique software solutions with global impact across Cisco’s product portfolio.
• Act as an internal and industry expert, mentoring and consulting on sophisticated challenges.
• Serve as a domain expert, connecting emerging tech trends to Cisco products.
• Guide the technical direction of Cisco’s software solutions, influencing architecture across product lines.
• Ensure strategies deliver long-term business impact and Cisco’s competitive advantage.
• Stay ahead of evolving tech trends to shape innovation and strategic direction.
• Partner with engineering, product, and business teams to translate strategy into scalable solutions.
• Mentor senior technical leaders to drive architectural consistency and engineering excellence.

Skills

Distributed systems design

Go

Rust

C++

Security principles

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in CS/EE

Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in CS/Engineering

Job description

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Principal Engineer for the Security and Policy Platform Group. You will lead development of scalable, secure software spanning cloud and client infrastructure, shaping policy and security across Cisco products.

You will mentor senior technical leaders, drive architectural direction, and translate strategic vision into high-impact, reliable solutions that sustain Cisco’s competitive edge.