Principal Software Engineer - Cisco IQ Services

The application window is expected to close on: 09/21/2026

At Cisco, we are redefining how our customers experience technology through the power of Cisco IQ Services and Applications. Our mission is to transform CX delivery by building intelligent, scalable platforms that anticipate needs rather than just reacting to them. As a member of our global, diverse, and AI-spec driven team, you will operate at the absolute frontier of innovation. We are deeply committed to leveraging the latest advancements in AI to build robust solutions that solve complex technical challenges for our enterprise customers, fostering a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and rapid iteration.

In this role, you will act as the primary technical authority, shaping the overarching vision and future of our digital services. You will define the architectural strategy for the Cisco IQ Services framework, championing an Agentic AI-first approach to complex workflows including automated network testing, seamless migrations, and post-quantum assessments. By establishing the standards for LLM-driven workflows, MCP integrations, and advanced prompt orchestration, you will drive the evolution of the intelligent backend systems that power our next generation of products.

• Define and Architect the high-level strategy for scalable backend systems, ensuring the seamless integration of agentic AI into our core service delivery.
• Provide Technical Leadership across the organization, setting the vision and mentoring engineering leaders to ensure architectural consistency and long-term technical excellence.
• Influence and Align stakeholders across the business to define multi-year technical roadmaps, ensuring that architectural standards align with global innovation goals.
• Establish Standards for complex prompt engineering and model interactions, ensuring the reliability, security, and high-fidelity of AI-driven outputs at scale.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of experience in back-end software architecture and core software development using Python, Rust, or similar high-performance languages.
• Proven track record of architecting and deploying large-scale, AI-spec driven applications and complex agentic workflows.
• Demonstrated mastery of infrastructure-as-code and architectural automation, specifically Terraform and Ansible.
• Extensive experience in leading large-scale technical initiatives and influencing cross-functional engineering organizations through the full software development lifecycle.

• Deep domain expertise in networking protocols, large-scale infrastructure management, and system-level design.
• Advanced experience in fine-tuning Large Language Models (LLMs) and deploying domain-specific AI architectures into production environments.
• Expert-level proficiency in designing and managing cloud-agnostic, distributed architectures across AWS, GCP, and private cloud environments.
• Recognized thought leader in the industry, with a history of open-source contributions or research showcasing complex, production-grade software architecture.
• Exceptional communication and executive presence, with the proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and translate high-level technical vision into actionable, long-term business outcomes.

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…