Senior Backend Software Engineer

Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 245,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) plan with company match

Paid time off & holidays

Bonuses & incentive programs

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is reimagining Threat Detection as a cloud-native security analytics platform. You will join a Splunk Enterprise Security team delivering across AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-prem Kubernetes, tackling real-world scale challenges and driving architectural decisions.

The role offers opportunities to shape a flagship transformation, learn across cloud and security domains, and contribute to leadership on critical backend features and deployment strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 7+ years experience or Master's with 4+ years or PhD with 2+ years in software engineering.
• 5+ years in programming languages such as Python or Java or C/C++.
• 3+ years of experience with client-side scripting and JavaScript frameworks (such as React) including HTML5/CSS3/Responsive Design.
• 5+ years of experience with data structures, algorithms, and RESTful APIs.
• 3+ years of experience building scalable, distributed web applications.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of backend features within the Splunk Enterprise Security ecosystem, ensuring scalable, high-quality code.
• Drive the technical execution of major features from design to deployment using microservices and RESTful/gRPC APIs.
• Provide mentorship and code reviews, sharing expertise in backend architecture and cloud-native patterns.
• Monitor performance and reliability with metrics to drive improvements and feature adoption based on feedback.

Education

Bachelor's degree and 7+ years or Master's and 4+ years or PhD and 2+ years

5+ years of experience in Python, Java, or C/C++

3+ years of experience with React and front-end technologies (HTML5/CSS3/Responsive Design)

5+ years of experience with data structures, algorithms, RESTful APIs

3+ years of experience building scalable, distributed web applications

Tools

React

Kubernetes

Kinesis

Kafka

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/28/2026

Meet the Team

Our Splunk Enterprise Security team is not just migrating - we are reimagining Threat Detection for the cloud era. Join us as we rebuild our legacy system into a modern, cloud-native security analytics platform, deploying across AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-prem Kubernetes. Address unique technical challenges at scale and leave your mark on a platform used by the world's leading organizations.

• Transform Legacy to Cloud-Native: Join us as we completely redesign our legacy Threat Detection platform into a modern, cloud-native solution.You'llhave the rare chance to shape a foundational security product from the ground up.

• Multi-Cloud Impact: Work directly with leading cloud platforms - AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform - as well as on-prem Kubernetes environments. Your solutions will run seamlessly across diverse, real-world deployments.

• Technical Challenge and Scale: Solve complex engineering problems in distributed systems, real-time data processing, and security analytics atglobalscale.

• Career-Defining Project: Be part of a flagship transformation initiative that offers deep technical learning, broad exposure to cloud and security, and opportunities for leadership.

Your Impact

This is a High Visibility role with significant impact to the organization. Your work will directly influence how security is implementedacross industries, helping customers transition securely to the cloud while supporting hybrid and on-prem needs.

Feature Ownership:

Take full ownership of the design, development, and delivery of core backend features within the Splunk Enterprise Security ecosystem, ensuring high-quality, scalable code.

Project Delivery:

Drive the technical execution of major features, frominitialdesign through to deployment, utilizing microservices, RESTful/gRPCAPIs, and advanced Splunk app development.

Technical Problem Solving:

Proactivelyidentifyand resolve complex technical hurdles in data orchestration, API design, distributed systems, and AI/ML model integration.Engineering Excellence: to drive guidelinesd, including secure coding standards, comprehensive automated testing, and the maintenance of reliable CI/CD pipelines.

Mentorship & Collaboration:

Provide technical guidance and code reviews to team members, sharingexpertisein backend architecture, agentic frameworks, and cloud-native patterns.

Performance Optimization:

Monitor product performance and reliability using technical metrics to drive continuous improvements and feature adoption based on customer feedback.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor'sdegreeand7+ yearsor Master'sand 4+years, or PhDand 2+years of relevant software engineering experience.

• 5+ years of experiencein programming languages such as PythonorJavaorC/C++

• 3+ years of experience withclient-side scripting and JavaScript frameworks (such asReact)including front-end technologies (such asHTML5/CSS3orResponsiveDesign)

• 5+ years of experience withdata structures, algorithms, and RESTful APIs.

• 3+ years ofexperience building scalable, distributed web applications using open source or proprietary technologies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to quickly learnnew technologiesand solve a wide range of technical challenges.

• Experience with Test Driven Development (TDD) and understanding of CI/CD technologies.

• Knowledge and Experience with secure coding practices.

• Familiarity with orchestration and cloud technologies like Kubernetes (k8s), Kinesis, and Kafka.

• Familiarity withSIEM orinformation securityis highly preferred.

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 $167,700.00 to $245,200.00 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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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:

$167,700.00 - $282,000.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$149,100.00 - $250,900.00

* 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.