Senior Networking Tech Lead: L2/L3 Forwarding for AI Data Centers

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 214,000 - 310,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) with Cisco matching

RSU grants

Paid holidays

Paid time off

Job summary

Cisco’s Datacenter Switching team is seeking a Tech Lead to drive software design and implementation for high-performance Nexus 9K platforms. You will focus on secure coding, UX, and scalable networking features in a Linux environment.

You will partner with design, product, and other engineering teams to deliver impactful solutions for AI-ready data centers, guiding architecture and mentoring engineers along the way.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in C/C++ programming within a Linux environment.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in the networking domain.
• Experience with L2/L3 forwarding concepts, with familiarity in Datapath architecture within ASICs.
• Proven experience in feature development for network switches and routers.
• VXLAN or other Overlay technologies preferred.
• Experience with Python-based infrastructure automation is a plus.
• Ability to bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders to drive alignment.

Responsibilities

• Architect and lead software design in Cisco's Design Thinking framework with a focus on UX and secure coding.
• Collaborate with design and product management to deliver customer-centric solutions.
• Provide technical design docs and contribute to end-user documentation.
• Debug and resolve software issues in development and production environments.
• Lead major projects and drive regional or functional objectives.
• Influence engineering priorities and align teams to technical vision.
• Mentor senior engineers and improve knowledge sharing practices.

Skills

C/C++ (Linux)

Networking experience

L2/L3 forwarding concepts

ASIC datapath familiarity

Switch/Router feature development

Education

Advanced degree in CS or related field

Tools

Python scripting

CoPilot/Cursor AI tools

Job description

Cisco’s Datacenter Switching team is seeking a Tech Lead to drive software design and implementation for high-performance Nexus 9K platforms. You will focus on secure coding, UX, and scalable networking features in a Linux environment.

You will partner with design, product, and other engineering teams to deliver impactful solutions for AI-ready data centers, guiding architecture and mentoring engineers along the way.