Software Engineering Technical Leader - Wireless

Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 187,000 - 268,000; Full time

Job summary

C Cisco Meraki is seeking a Lead Firmware Engineer for the Wireless Performance team to drive performance evaluation and optimization on MR Access Point devices. You will tackle regressions, implement data plane optimizations, and collaborate across teams to deliver innovative solutions aligned with 802.11 standards.

You will lead features from design to completion, develop tests, and advocate for customer-centric improvements, balancing performance with compatibility across platforms and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field with 8+ years of total software engineering experience or Master's with 6+ years of total software engineering experience.
• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience in production environments using C or C++ programming
• Prior experience with Wi-Fi drivers and firmware, including direct collaboration with Wi-Fi vendors to triage, open, and resolve technical issues
• Experience working in Linux and/or embedded systems environments with knowledge of TCP/IP and UDP protocols
• Applied experience with 802.11 wireless standards and core network protocols (DNS, DHCP, VLANs), including analyzing Wireshark packet captures for debugging and root cause analysis

Responsibilities

• Drive evaluation and optimization of performance on MR Access Point devices.
• Design and implement next-level data plane optimizations by evaluating existing components and bottlenecks.
• Develop comprehensive tests and processes to proactively triage and resolve performance and functional issues.
• Lead small-to-medium features from technical design through completion.
• Advocate for customer-centric improvements and articulate design choices grounded in market awareness.

Skills

C/C++ programming

Wi-Fi drivers/firmware

Linux/embedded systems

TCP/IP/UDP networking

802.11 standards

Performance optimization

Wireshark debugging

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Master's degree in CS or related field

Tools

iperf

Ixia Chariot

iGen

DPDK

VPP

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 12/24/2026

Meet the Team

Cisco Meraki's Wireless team develops and maintains the world's leading cloud-managed WLAN Access Point ecosystem, serving millions of active devices across the globe. Our mission is to simplify technology so customers can focus on what matters most—their students, patients, customers, and businesses. The MR firmware team is a collaborative group of highly experienced software engineers with diverse technical backgrounds, working on everything from leading-edge wireless protocols to architectural innovations and customer-impacting optimizations. We're passionate about delivering wireless solutions that simply work, and we're excited to tackle the next generation of performance and capability challenges in 802.11 standards and beyond.

Your Impact

As a Lead Firmware Engineer on the Wireless Performance team, you will drive the evaluation and optimization of performance on MR Access Point devices, directly impacting millions of customers worldwide. Solve functional and performance-related regressions in our Access Point firmware while actively developing features aligned with emerging 802.11 and networking standards, ensuring we maintain both innovation and legacy compatibility. Design and implement next-level data plane optimizations by evaluating existing components, identifying performance bottlenecks, and collaborating across teams to deliver novel solutions. Develop comprehensive tests and processes to proactively triage and resolve performance and functional issues, working with the team to establish processes that elevate product quality. Lead small-to-medium features from technical design through completion, advocating for customer-centric improvements and articulating design choices grounded in market awareness and competitive positioning.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field with 8+ years of total software engineering experience or Master's with 6+ years of total software engineering experience
• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience in production environments using C or C++ programming
• Prior experience with Wi-Fi drivers and firmware, including direct collaboration with Wi-Fi vendors to triage, open, and resolve technical issues
• Experience working in Linux and/or embedded systems environments with knowledge of TCP/IP and UDP protocols
• Applied experience with 802.11 wireless standards and core network protocols (DNS, DHCP, VLANs), including analyzing Wireshark packet captures for debugging and root cause analysis

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep understanding of system performance optimizations including system/traffic profiling and performance-oriented data structure and algorithm development
• Hands-on experience with performance testing tools such as iperf, Ixia Traffic Generators (Ixia Chariot, iGen), and equivalent platforms
• Experience with hardware and software acceleration paradigms including DPDK, VPP, multi-threading, or similar technologies
• Proficiency with Yocto build systems and embedded Linux development
• AI-first development mindset with demonstrated experience using modern AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or Codex

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 $186,900.00 to $267,700.00 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:

$186,900.00 - $307,800.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$166,300.00 - $274,100.00

* 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.