Senior Software Engineer

Cisco; United States; Remote; USD 168,000 - 245,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401(k) match

Paid parental leave

Paid holidays

Job summary

Cisco Isovalent is seeking a Software Engineer for the Windows endpoint security team. You will develop runtime security features and system-level capabilities close to the OS, collaborating with senior engineers across Windows and Linux environments.

You will work on architecture and design discussions, investigate Windows platform behavior, and optimize performance for secure, reliable endpoint software across hybrid environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 5+ years software development, or Master's with 4+ years.
• Experience in systems programming using C or C++, including multi-threaded and multi-process apps.
• 2+ years of OS fundamentals: threads, processes, file systems, networking, IPC.
• Windows system programming: Win32 APIs, File I/O, Winsock, API hooking concepts.
• Experience debugging and troubleshooting complex software systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and enhance runtime security features for a Windows-based endpoint agent.
• Design and implement end-to-end security and monitoring capabilities on Windows.

Skills

Go

C

C++

Win32 APIs

File I/O

Winsock

Multi-threaded

Windows system programming

IPC

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS

Master's degree in CS

Tools

Windows debugging tools

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 11/29/2026 This is a fully remote role and can be based anywhere in the United States.

Meet the Team

Isovalent, now part of Cisco, is the company founded by the creators of Cilium and eBPF. Cisco Isovalent is building the next generation of products for securing workloads and AI infrastructure using advanced technologies across Linux and Windows. Our software agent team builds high-performance, secure, and lightweight software agents that run across traditional and modern workloads in on-premises and cloud environments. These agents collect rich information about workloads and system activity, provide network and runtime visibility, enforce security policies, and help protect containerized and endpoint environments.

Your Impact

Your Impact As a Software Engineer on the software agent team, you will develop and enhance runtime security features for a Windows-based endpoint agent. As part of the Windows agent engineering team, you will focus on extending these security capabilities to Windows environments. You will work closely with senior engineers, architects, and cross-functional teams to develop system-level security capabilities while contributing to a cross-platform product spanning Windows and Linux. You will use systems programming, Windows platform APIs, operating system fundamentals, and networking concepts to build reliable and efficient security capabilities that operate close to the underlying operating system. You will investigate Windows platform behavior and interactions between user-mode and kernel-mode components while designing and implementing endpoint security and system-monitoring functionality. You will participate in architecture and design discussions with senior engineers and architects, troubleshoot complex implementation issues, and optimize software for performance and reliability. Because our products operate across platforms, you will also collaborate with engineers developing related capabilities across Linux and other environments. The features you develop will contribute to Cisco Isovalent's ability to provide security, visibility, and protection across modern enterprise, data center, and cloud workloads.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and enhance runtime security features for a Windows-based endpoint agent.
• Design and implement systems-level endpoint security and monitoring capabilities using Go, C, and C++.
• Participate in architecture, design, and implementation discussions with senior engineers and architects.
• Develop software using Windows system programming interfaces, including Win32 APIs, File I/O, and Winsock.
• Investigate Windows platform behavior, APIs, and interactions between user-mode and kernel-mode components.
• Develop multi-threaded and multi-process applications and system-level software.
• Debug and resolve complex implementation issues and perform code reviews to improve software quality.
• Analyze and optimize feature performance to ensure efficient endpoint operation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand runtime security requirements and translate them into reliable software solutions.
• Contribute to cross-platform security capabilities spanning Windows and Linux environments.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 5+ years of software development experience, or a Master's degree with 4+ years of software development experience
• Experience with systems programming using C, or C++, including multi-threaded and multi-process application development.
• 2 + year’s experience with operating system fundamentals, including threads, processes, file systems, networking, and inter-process communication.
• Experience with Windows system programming, including Win32 APIs, File I/O, Winsock, and familiarity with API hooking concepts.
• Experience debugging and troubleshooting complex software systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of Windows kernel concepts and how user-mode and kernel-mode components interact.
• Experience developing endpoint security, cybersecurity, or system-monitoring software.
• Experience with Windows kernel programming, driver development, or low-level Windows internals.
• Familiarity with malware detection techniques, endpoint protection technologies, or security monitoring concepts.
• Experience with network programming and security-related protocols.
• Experience implementing complex systems-level software features in production environments.
• Experience analyzing and optimizing performance for systems-level or endpoint software.
• Experience collaborating with senior engineers and architects on software architecture and technical design decisions.

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 of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to 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. Cisconians power the future. We make impact as a team, innovating fast and fearlessly to create meaningful solutions on a large scale. The depth and breadth of our technology doesn't just benefit our customers – it also means limitless opportunities for us to experiment and learn. We understand the power each of our unique backgrounds bring when we work together. Because of that, we have a global network of thinkers, doers, experts, and curious creators who help one another do their life’s best work.