Software Engineering Technical Leader

The application window is expected to close on: 07/13/2026

** Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received** .

This is a hybrid role working onsite 3 days a week in Milpitas. However, candidates working remotely from the USA will be considered.

** MEET THE TEAM*
* This team builds and supports networking products leveraging Cisco IOS-XR and open-source technologies, operating at the intersection of systems and silicon. The environment spans hyper-scale data centers, cloud infrastructure, and highly distributed systems where reliability, scalability, and customer outcomes are critical.

The team combines deep platform and networking expertise with modern automation and data-driven approaches, including AI-assisted workflows, to accelerate issue resolution and improve product behavior in production. This role sits at the center of customer engagement, production support, and engineering collaboration, serving as a key bridge between customers and internal teams.

** YOUR IMPACT*
* You will play a critical role in strengthening the team's ability to design, deploy, and troubleshoot large-scale datacenter and cloud networking environments while scaling operational excellence through automation and intelligent tooling!

+ Serve as a technical focal point for customer solutions, translating real-world constraints into scalable, supportable designs and operational models

+ Partner closely with engineering teams to troubleshoot and resolve complex issues across datacenter and cloud networking stacks, establishing repeatable diagnostics and clear escalation paths

+ Support high-priority customers on deep, cross-layer issues, driving problems to root cause with data-backed analysis and clear technical narratives

+ Apply hyper-scale operational best practices, including telemetry, alerting, and workflow automation, to improve mean time to detect and resolve issues

+ Develop and maintain Python-based tools to parse, correlate, and visualize operational data, and leverage AI/ML or LLM-based approaches where appropriate for log analysis, triage, and summarization

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* MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

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* + Bachelors degree + 7 years of related experience, or Masters + 5 years of related experience, or PhD + 2 years of related experience.

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Experience with routing and switching technologies in production environments or advanced lab settings

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Experience with Python programming skills, including building automation, parsing workflows, and troubleshooting tools (beyond basic scripting)

+ Experience working with structured data and operational telemetry, including experience with time-series concepts, anomaly detection, or similar analytical approaches

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Experience with AI-assisted tools or workflows in engineering environments, including safe and effective use of GenAI or LLM-based APIs for operational support

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* PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

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* + Strong Linux experience supporting lab, tooling, or production-adjacent environments

+ Background in system architecture, deployment engineering, or field engineering within Tier-1 enterprise or hyperscale environments

+ Experience building scalable automation solutions using APIs, CI/CD pipelines, and repeatable workflows for testing and troubleshooting

+ Experience applying AI-assisted techniques to operational workflows such as classification, anomaly detection, or search across telemetry and support data

+ Familiarity with open-source and network operating systems such as SONiC, IOS-XR, or FBOSS

+ Solid understanding of networking fundamentals including L2/L3, VXLAN, and security services such as MACsec

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Experience with development and collaboration tools including Git, Jira, and CI/CD systems

+ Proven ability to troubleshoot and perform root cause analysis in large-scale, multi-vendor environments

+ Experience supporting high-priority or escalated customer issues, with the ability to lead technically during critical situations

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Experience with network testing and validation tools such as Ixia, Spirent, or similar platforms

LI-RN1

** Why Cisco?*
* At Cisco, we're revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect…