Senior AI Architect — Scalable Backend Platforms

Cisco Systems, Inc.; North Carolina; On-site; USD 223,000 - 301,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a senior backend architect to define the architectural strategy for the Cisco IQ Services framework, driving an AI-first approach for automated workflows, migrations, and post-quantum assessments.

You will set standards for LLM interactions and MCP integrations, shaping the next generation of intelligent back-end systems. You will lead technical initiatives across the organization, mentor engineering leaders, and influence cross-functional teams to ensure

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of backend software architecture and core development using Python, Rust, or similar high-performance languages.
• Proven track record architecting and deploying large-scale, AI-spec driven applications and complex agentic workflows.
• Demonstrated mastery of infrastructure-as-code and architectural automation, specifically Terraform and Ansible.
• Extensive experience in leading large-scale technical initiatives and influencing cross-functional engineering organizations through the full software development lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Define and Architect the high-level strategy for scalable backend systems, ensuring the seamless integration of agentic AI into our core service delivery.
• Provide Technical Leadership across the organization, setting the vision and mentoring engineering leaders to ensure architectural consistency and long-term technical excellence.
• Influence and Align stakeholders across the business to define multi-year technical roadmaps, ensuring that architectural standards align with global innovation goals.
• Establish Standards for complex prompt engineering and model interactions, ensuring the reliability, security, and high-fidelity of AI-driven outputs at scale.

Job description

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a senior backend architect to define the architectural strategy for the Cisco IQ Services framework, driving an AI-first approach for automated workflows, migrations, and post-quantum assessments.

You will set standards for LLM interactions and MCP integrations, shaping the next generation of intelligent back-end systems. You will lead technical initiatives across the organization, mentor engineering leaders, and influence cross-functional teams to ensure