Senior Kubernetes Platform Engineer

Cisco; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 300,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco is seeking a senior Platform Engineer to lead Kubernetes-based platform architecture across cloud and on-prem environments. You will translate complex requirements into practical designs, partner across runtime, Kubernetes operator, security, and product teams, and help modernize a mature enterprise platform while maintaining reliability and compatibility.

The role emphasizes collaboration, scalable systems design, and delivering secure, evolving platform services that support Cisco’s

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience designing, building, or operating production distributed systems.
• 2+ years of hands-on Kubernetes experience, including workload orchestration, controllers, or cloud-native deployment patterns.
• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience building backend, platform, infrastructure, or distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical direction for Kubernetes-based platform architecture across deploy/upgrade/diagnose operations.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate requirements into practical designs and implementation plans.
• Identify cross-component dependencies, failure modes, and migration risks before they impact releases or customers.
• Drive modernization of an enterprise platform while preserving reliability and compatibility.

Skills

Kubernetes

Distributed systems

Backend development

Go

C++

Java

Python

Job description

Cisco is seeking a senior Platform Engineer to lead Kubernetes-based platform architecture across cloud and on-prem environments. You will translate complex requirements into practical designs, partner across runtime, Kubernetes operator, security, and product teams, and help modernize a mature enterprise platform while maintaining reliability and compatibility.

The role emphasizes collaboration, scalable systems design, and delivering secure, evolving platform services that support Cisco’s