Software Engineer - BackEnd

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Richardson (TX); On-site; USD 129,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is hiring a Software Engineer in its CX Engineering organization to build AI-driven software across products and services. You will design and maintain Python-based applications, RESTful APIs, and microservices, integrating AI/LLM capabilities with robust CI/CD pipelines and container platforms.

You will collaborate with design and product teams to turn requirements into high-quality features, while ensuring code quality through testing and reviews in an agile environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's with 5+ years of related experience, or Master’s with 3+ years of related experience.
• Experience in Python development.
• Experience with Docker for containerization and Kubernetes for orchestration and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience leveraging AI-assisted development environments, such as GitHub, or CoPilot or Cursor to accelerate the SDLC while maintaining code quality standards.
• Experience in RESTful API design and relational data modeling.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain Python-based applications, scalable RESTful APIs, and microservices that seamlessly integrate AI/LLM capabilities.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions) and deploy containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes across major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Ensure operational stability through comprehensive Pytest suites, rigorous code reviews, post-mortems, and on-call rotations.
• Partner with cross-functional teams, including design and product management, to translate requirements into high-quality, delivered features.

Skills

Python development

RESTful API design

AI/ML frameworks

CI/CD

GitHub Actions

CI/CD pipelines

Agile/Scrum

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree + 5+ years

Master's degree + 3+ years

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

GitHub

CoPilot

Cursor

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/29/2026

Meet the Team

Cisco’s Customer Experience (CX) engineering organization is a global team of experts dedicated to delivering world-class digital experiences by building advanced AI applications and capabilities through an industry leading platform centric approach with Cisco IQ. These capabilities provide high value directly to our customers and partners and empower our internal teams to deliver superior, data-driven services. We pride ourselves on a culture that thrives on customer-centricity and technical rigor, solving complex challenges leveraging AI/ML solutions.

Your Impact

As a Software Engineer in Cisco’s CX Engineering organization, you will play a critical role in shaping the future of AI-driven solutions across our product and services portfolio. Leveraging your expertise in software engineering and AI/ML technologies, you will build robust, scalable systems that solve real-world business challenges and deliver exceptional value for customers and partners.

• Design, develop, and maintain Python-based applications, scalable RESTful APIs, and microservices that seamlessly integrate AI/LLM capabilities.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions) and deploy containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes across major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Ensure operational stability through comprehensive Pytest suites, rigorous code reviews, post-mortems, and on-call rotations.
• Partner with cross-functional teams, including design and product management, to translate requirements into high-quality, delivered features.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's with 5+ years of related experience, or Master’s with 3+ years of related experience.
• Experience in Python development.
• Experience with Docker for containerization and Kubernetes for orchestration and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience leveraging AI-assisted development environments, such as GitHub, or CoPilot or Cursor to accelerate the SDLC while maintaining code quality standards.
• Experience in RESTful API design and relational data modeling.

Preferred Qualifications

• AI/ML Expertise: Experience with frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Hugging Face Transformers.
• Experience with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) or open-source models.
• Knowledge of vector databases (eg: Pinecone, Weaviate, ChromaDB) and semantic search.
• Experience with Git, secrets management (HashiCorp Vault), and object storage (S3/MinIO).
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; experience working in Agile/Scrum environments and a commitment to creating comprehensive technical documentation.
• Cisco networking knowledge is a strong plus.

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 $128,600.00 to $184,900.00 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.

• New York City Metro Area: $155,000.00 - $256,000.00
• Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $138,100.00 - $227,900.00
• * 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.

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
• 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.

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.