Technical Leader – Solution Testing & Quality

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 187,000 - 268,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with Cisco matching

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking an experienced Performance/Quality Engineer to design, script, and execute comprehensive load, stress, and endurance tests for SaaS and on‑premise platforms.

You will craft automation with Python/Java, use Selenium and Playwright, and apply AI-assisted methods to accelerate test generation. Collaboration with DevOps aims to establish robust performance guardrails and insightful feedback loops.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Software/Quality Engineering, Solution Testing, or Test Automation
• Proficiency in Python or Java with UI/API automation using Selenium, Playwright, PyTest, or REST Assured
• Experience with networking technologies (BGP, OSPF, TCP/IP, L2/L3)
• Hands-on in enterprise networking, cloud platforms, Linux/Unix, Kubernetes, CI/CD, distributed systems
• Troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, technical leadership, cross-functional collaboration

Responsibilities

• Design, script, and execute load, stress, endurance, and benchmarking tests across UI, API, and backend layers to ensure system reliability
• Develop and maintain detailed test plans and automation documentation for reproducibility
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate test case generation and optimize performance scripts
• Diagnose performance bottlenecks across Linux servers, networking hardware, and AWS infrastructure
• Integrate automated test suites into DevOps pipelines to establish continuous performance guardrails and provide actionable insights to development teams
• Measure success by improved performance, early regression detection, and enhanced customer experience

Skills

Python/Java

UI/API automation

Networking fundamentals

Linux/Unix/Kubernetes

Troubleshooting/leadership

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

Selenium

Playwright

PyTest

REST Assured

Splunk/Wireshark

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/02/2026 Meet the Team Cisco’s Customer Experience (CX) organization is a fast-growing, innovative team dedicated to delivering an outstanding digital experience for customers and partners. The CX Platform team supports this mission by building scalable, AI-driven performance testing solutions for modern cloud-native technologies. Our high-impact quality engineering team operates across the US and India, fostering a fast-paced, collaborative, and data-driven culture grounded in ownership and accountability. Joining us means contributing to seamless, high-performing SaaS and on-premises applications that accelerate customer success and drive Cisco’s agility in a dynamic market.

Your Impact Design, script, and execute comprehensive load, stress, endurance, and benchmarking tests across UI, API, and backend layers to ensure system reliability.

Develop and maintain detailed test plans and automation documentation to enable reproducibility.

Leverage AI tools to accelerate test case generation and optimize performance scripts.

Diagnose complex performance bottlenecks across Linux servers, networking hardware, and AWS infrastructure.

Integrate automated test suites into DevOps pipelines to establish continuous performance guardrails and provide actionable insights to development teams.

Your success will be measured by improved system performance, early detection of regressions, and enhanced customer experience.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years, or master's degree with 6+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Quality Engineering, Solution Testing, or Test Automation.
• Programming experience in Python or Java with experience in UI/API automation using Selenium, Playwright, PyTest, or REST Assured.
• Experience in networking technologies including BGP, OSPF, TCP/IP or L2/L3.
• Experience in enterprise networking, cloud platforms, Linux/Unix, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and distributed systems.
• Experience in troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, technical leadership, and cross-functional collaboration.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience architecting E2E solution testing strategies, automation frameworks, test environments, and quality gates.
• Experience with AI/GenAI, LLM-assisted testing, agentic workflows, and intelligent test automation.
• CCNA/CCNP preferred.
• Experience with Cisco products, Cisco IQ, enterprise platforms, device onboarding, telemetry, data pipelines, and integrated cloud/networking solutions.
• Experience with Splunk, Wireshark, test labs, defect governance, release readiness, and technical risk management.
• Experience in test strategy, methodologies, and end-to-end solution validation.
• Experience in mentoring engineers and drive adoption of modern testing and quality engineering practices.

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.

• 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.

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.

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.