Senior Software Engineer

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

This is a hybrid role with 3 days in office

Meet the Team The Cisco Distributed System Engineering (DSE) group is at the forefront of developing products that power the largest networks in the world. As the networking industry undergoes a massive transformation to build next-generation infrastructure for AI/ML workloads, this team is uniquely positioned to capture that market transition. You will work among a team of passionate engineers building large-scale distributed systems by harnessing open-source technologies while pushing the boundaries of Systems and Silicon Architecture.

Your Impact You will be part of a team of engineers involved in the development of software for our next-generation data center switching, which is critical for AI Infrastructure for Hyperscalers and the Cisco Hyperfabric project.

Your role involves:

Define, architect, design, test, and deliver new features and solutions on Cisco switches using open-source SONiC.Provide constant feedback to hardware and software teams for improvements and write functional and design specs independently.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams including ASIC SDK, Product Management, CX, and Open Source community groups.

Interact and Innovate through close collaboration with Distinguished and Principal engineers with a focus on Scale, Performance, and Reliability.

Drive end-to-end product development and production support in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Our

Minimum Qualifications for this role:

Bachelors + 7 years of related experience OR Masters + 4 years of related experience OR PhD + 1 year of related experience. 5+ years' experience developing routing/switching features, with test automation3+ years' experience configuring, debugging networking systems and solutions3+ years' experience using scripting languages including Python Knowledge of control & data plane technologies including L2, L3, BGP, EVPN, VXLANO

ur

Preferred Qualifications for this role:

Exposure to open source NoS SONiCFamiliarity with RDMA, RoCE and HPC networks

Knowledge of QoS and congestion control mechanism in data center network GIT, Jira, Jenkins and CI/CD pipeline tools.

Familiarity with AI Assisted development tools like co-pilot, cursor, windsurf 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 $ to $ 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…