Senior Leader, Software Engineering (People Manager)

Cisco Systems, Inc; San Jose, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 191,000 - 281,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with Cisco matching

Paid parental leave

Disability coverage

Basic life insurance

Flexible vacation time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Senior Manager of Cloud Security Engineering to lead SaaS-focused software teams responsible for designing, building, testing, and deploying robust cloud-based solutions.

The role emphasizes leadership, strategic thinking, and deep software engineering experience. The Engineering Leader will guide a small team within the Control Plane organization, focusing on microservices for cloud network experiences, traffic optimization, and insights for Umbrella and Cisco

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering or computer science.
• 12+ years total experience, including 5+ years in people management.
• Hands-on cloud-based solutions using distributed systems.
• Proficiency in Python and/or Go; cloud platforms AWS/Azure/GCP.
• Strong Agile and DevOps understanding.

Responsibilities

• Lead fast-paced teams to design, develop and deliver scalable production-quality cloud applications.
• Partner with internal/external teams to plan and deliver requirements.
• Own delivery and end-to-end ownership of projects.

Skills

Leadership/people management

Python

Go

AWS

Azure

GCP

Agile

DevOps

CI/CD

ReactJS

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or computer science

Tools

Jenkins

Git

ReactJS

Job description

The application window for this role is expected to close on 11/30/2025. However, the job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Strong preference for Bay Area candidates that can work onsite in the San Jose.

Meet The Team

Cloud Security Engineering at Cisco drives the technology that's transforming the way customers secure their networks, and more importantly, their users.

We're seeking a Senior Manager for our Software Engineering teams focusing on Software as a Service (SaaS) products. The individual will lead our dedicated engineers in designing, developing, testing, and deploying robust cloud-based software solutions. A successful candidate should have strong leadership skills, an extensive background in software engineering, a strategic attitude, and experience in people management.

As an Engineering Leader within the Control Plane organization, you will be a part of a team to help design, development, and operation of key microservices focused on cloud network experience, traffic optimization and insights related that our Umbrella and Cisco Secure Access products offer.This is a small team that does big things.

Your Impact

• Lead fast-paced teams of cisco cloud security to effectively Design, develop and deliver production quality applications that are highly scalable, supportable and maintainable.

• Partner with internal and external teams, understand business and technical requirements, plan and deliver

• Be responsible for Delivery and end to end ownership of projects

• Develop excellent working relationships

• Align to and influence Company and Org Goals

• Display excellent communication skills - presentation, verbal and written.

• Customer Advocate and designated POCs for select customers

• You understand the inter-company dependencies and develop action plans to address problems

• You understand and drive the team to solve complex network level technical problems.

• Set clear expectations and goals for individuals and team. Drive team with using objectives and key results with measurable metrics.

• Recognize people and team for outstanding impact.

• Can provide strong technical vision for your team and ensure consistent delivery on objectives

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering or computer science, with at least 12 years of overall experience, including 5 years in people management having managed multiple teams.

• Minimum 5 years of hands on experience building and delivering cloud-based solutions using distributed system architectures.

• Proficiency in multiple programming languages such as Python and/or Go with practical experience in cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP.

• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies and DevOps principles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with developing cloud security products using AWS.

• Strong background in full stack software development, design, architecture, and the full Agile development lifecycle, with hands on development experience in Python and / or Go and ReactJS.

• Proven ability to balance tactical needs with long-term strategic initiatives, demonstrating strong business insight and industry awareness.

• Effective leader with experience giving clear, actionable feedback, holding teams accountable, and inspiring others to achieve goals.

• Proficient in CI/CD and DevOps practices, with working knowledge of tools such as Jenkins and GIT.

• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills; able to collaborate effectively with multi-functional teams in a fast-paced environment.

• Demonstrates strong sense of ownership, initiative, and commitment to developing talent and supporting team growth.

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 $191,400.00 to $281,400.00 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:

$191,400.00 - $323,600.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$176,100.00 - $287,900.00

* 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.