Senior Software Engineer (Identity Engineering - SSO)

Cisco Systems, Inc.; Ann Arbor (MI); Remote; USD 139,000 - 204,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking an Identity Platform Back-End Engineer to help build the authentication and federation foundation of Cisco's identity platform.

You will design secure, scalable SSO and identity-broker services using Python and own components from design through delivery. The role emphasizes API design, automation, and collaboration across engineering, product, and architecture teams, with AI-assisted development tools guiding the process.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of related experience, master's with 4+ years, or PhD with 1+ years.
• Professional experience building enterprise or customer-facing backend services and APIs using Python.
• Experience designing components within distributed systems and communicating technical decisions and tradeoffs.
• Experience delivering quality software through automated testing and modern software development practices.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools as part of day-to-day software engineering while validating security, correctness, and maintainability.

Responsibilities

• Identity Platform Engineering & SSO: Design and develop secure, scalable SSO and identity-broker services using Python.
• Build APIs and platform capabilities that support authentication, federation, identity orchestration, and integration across Cisco products.
• Technical Design & Ownership: Own complex software components from design through implementation, testing, and delivery.
• Evaluate tradeoffs involving security, scalability, performance, and extensibility, and document decisions through technical designs and ADRs.
• AI-Native, Spec-Driven Development: Turn ambiguous requirements into clear specifications and acceptance criteria, using AI tools while ensuring security and maintainability.
• Engineering Excellence & Collaboration: Deliver high-quality software through automated testing, code reviews, and cross-team collaboration.

Skills

Python backend services

Distributed systems

Automated testing

AI-assisted development

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree in related field

PhD in related field

Tools

OpenAPI specifications

AWS

SQL

Redis

Asynchronous Python

Event-driven architectures

React

TypeScript

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 12/13/2026

Preferred candidates will be based in Ann Arbor, MI or Austin, TX. Remote candidates will be considered

Meet the Team

Cisco's Identity Engineering organization is building a unified foundation for connecting, managing, and securing identity across Cisco products and diverse enterprise identity systems.

The platform will support identity lifecycle management and consistent security enforcement for workforce users, service identities, and emerging AI agents.

You will join the squad responsible for the platform's core SSO and identity-brokering capabilities. The team works on authentication, federation, and identity orchestration across heterogeneous systems, solving complex distributed-systems and cross-product integration challenges.

Your Impact

In this role, you will help build the authentication and federation foundation of Cisco's identity platform. Key responsibilities include:

Identity Platform Engineering & SSO: Design and develop secure, scalable SSO and identity-broker services using Python. Build APIs and platform capabilities that support authentication, federation, identity orchestration, and integration across Cisco products.

Technical Design & Ownership: Own complex software components from design through implementation, testing, and delivery. Evaluate tradeoffs involving security, scalability, performance, and extensibility, and document significant decisions through technical designs and Architecture Decision Records.

AI-Native, Spec-Driven Development: Turn ambiguous requirements into clear technical specifications, acceptance criteria, and incremental implementation plans. Use AI-assisted development tools throughout the software development lifecycle while independently validating the security, correctness, and maintainability of the resulting software.

Engineering Excellence & Collaboration: Deliver high-quality software through automated testing, code reviews, and sound development practices. Collaborate with engineering, product, and architecture partners to solve cross-product integration challenges and strengthen engineering practices across the squad.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of related experience, master's degree with 4+ years of related experience, or PhD with 1+ years of related experience.
• Professional experience building enterprise or customer-facing backend services and APIs using Python.
• Experience designing components within distributed systems and communicating technical decisions and tradeoffs.
• Experience delivering quality software through automated testing and modern software development practices.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools as part of day-to-day software engineering while validating the security, correctness, and maintainability of the resulting work.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with spec-driven development practices.
• Experience building REST APIs using OpenAPI specifications and related code-generation workflows.
• Knowledge of identity and federation protocols such as SAML, OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, SCIM, or WS-Federation.
• Experience with AWS, SQL, Redis, asynchronous Python, or event-driven architectures.
• Experience with React and TypeScript.
• Experience writing technical specifications, design documents, or Architecture Decision Records.

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 $139,300.00 to $203,600.00 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.