Senior Software Engineer, Hybrid, Milpitas, CA

Cisco Systems, Inc.; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life Insurance

Vision Insurance

Parental Leave

Paid Holidays

Sick Time

401(k)

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is hiring a Senior Software Engineer in Milpitas, CA, with a hybrid work model. You will design AI-driven workflows, deploy AI-powered applications, and mentor junior engineers across the Webex engineering group.

The role emphasizes scalable AI systems, LLM orchestration, and collaboration with product and data science teams to deliver immersive, secure, and efficient solutions for hybrid collaboration across devices and rooms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or higher with 7 years’ experience, or Master's with 4 years, or PhD with 1 year related experience.
• Professional experience in AI/ML and agentic systems.
• Experience deploying AI-powered apps into production at scale.
• Coding in Python or Java with AI frameworks and LLM orchestration.
• Understanding of distributed systems, API design, and cloud-native architectures.
• Experience leading technical initiatives and mentoring teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop autonomous AI-driven workflows within the Control Hub ecosystem.
• Implement scalable solutions using LLMs, vector databases, and agentic frameworks.
• Ensure AI features are production-ready with focus on latency, cost, security, and ethics.
• Establish model evaluation, prompt engineering, and agentic reliability standards.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers.
• Collaborate with product management and data science to translate business needs into AI solutions.

Skills

AI/ML experience

Python/Java

Distributed systems

API design

Leadership mentoring

Education

Bachelors in CS/Engineering

Masters in CS/Engineering

PhD in CS/Engineering

Tools

LangChain

AutoGen

Pinecone/Milvus

LLM orchestration

Job description

Senior Software Engineer, Hybrid, Milpitas, CA

life insurance, vision insurance, parental leave, paid holidays, sick time, 401(k)

United States, California, Milpitas

Sep 08, 2026

The application window is expected to close on: 09/28/2026 Meet the Team

Cisco's Webex Engineering Group is redefining the future of collaboration. We're building a world where people connect effortlessly to enjoy modern, uncompromised collaboration across every room, desk, pocket, and application.

Our technology powers industry-leading products like Webex Meetings, Webex Calling, and Webex Contact Center. As a member of our team, your work will ensure every user gets a truly immersive experience regardless of device or location, empowering the hybrid working patterns of the future.

Your Impact

• Design and develop autonomous agents and AI-driven workflows that integrate seamlessly into the Control Hub ecosystem.

• Implement scalable solutions using Large Language Models (LLMs), vector databases, and agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, or similar).

• Ensure AI features are production-ready, focusing on latency, cost-efficiency, security, and ethical AI practices.

• Establish standards for model evaluation, prompt engineering, and agentic reliability.

• Provide high-level technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineering team, fostering a culture of innovation in AI and machine learning.

• Partner with product management and data science teams to translate business needs into cutting-edge AI solutions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree, combined with 7 years of experience in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or Master's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, combined with 4 years of experience or PhD, combined with 1 year of related experience.

• Professional experience in software engineering with a focus on AI/ML and agentic systems.

• Experience in deploying AI-powered applications into production environments at scale.

• Coding experience in Python or Java, with a background in AI frameworks and LLM orchestration.

• Understanding of distributed systems, API design, and cloud-native architectures.

• Prior experience in leading technical initiatives and mentoring engineering teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, CrewAI, AutoGen) and multi-agent orchestration.

• Experience integrating AI with streaming/batch data platforms (e.g., Spark, Flink, or vector databases like Pinecone/Milvus).

• Experience with fine-tuning, RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), and LLM observability/evaluation tools.

• Experience architecting AI solutions within major cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or Azure).

• Experience managing the full lifecycle of mission-critical, high-availability AI platforms.

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.

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