Senior Software Engineer- Embedded Systems

The application window is expected to close on: 04/27/2026
Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

The Cisco Distributed System Engineering (DSE) group owns the development of products that power the world’s largest networks, driving the industry’s transformation to support the growing demands of AI/ML workloads and increasing internet usage. By using open-source technologies and advancing Systems and Silicon Architecture, the team builds large-scale distributed systems and delivers end-to-end product development and production support in a fast-paced environment.

As a passionate software engineer, you bring expertise in developing scalable systems, designing robust platforms, and building infrastructure to support modern cloud and distributed computing initiatives. Your strong background in programming, distributed systems, and cloud platforms enables you to solve complex challenges with innovation and precision. You will be involved in working on the Cisco 8000 series of routers and delivering multiple software features for the Silicon One ASIC in the area of NPU management and health monitoring, Fabric data path and security protocols.

Your contributions ensure high-quality, reliable platforms that support Cisco’s leadership in intelligent, scalable technology solutions.

• Develop and improve software modules within IOS-XR to support NPU or fabric sub-systems
• Contribute to XR platform software that interfaces with the ASICs for platform enablement, interrupt management, health monitoring of the fabric subsystem including performance qualification and resolving issues on the fabric datapath
• Contribute to platform software for security protocols such as MACSec
• Participate in debugging and resolving system-level issues across software and hardware boundaries.
• Contribute to the design of scalable and maintainable software components for NPU management
• Participate in unit testing, system testing, and automation efforts to ensure high-quality work.
• Conduct code reviews and mentor junior engineers

• Bachelors + 6 years of related experience OR Masters + 4 years of related experience OR PhD + 1 year of related experience.
• Programming experience in C/C++.
• Experience using Python to build automated test suites for kernel module validation, including experience with frameworks like Pytest.
• Experience with Linux Operating Systems and debugging tools.
• Experience with core networking technologies, including TCP/IP, routers, switches, and Network Processing Units (NPUs).

• Understanding of Linux operating systems, development/debugging tools, and memory management.
• Experience designing and implementing multi-threaded applications and architectures.
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex, system-level issues across multiple integrated components.
• Experience with industry-standard debugging tools such as GDB and memory analysis tools such as Valgrind.
• Experience leveraging AI-powered tools to enhance coding, code reviews, and testing workflows.
• Experience developing and maintaining unit test (UT) automation frameworks.
• Knowledge of MACsec, PCIe, or DMA is considered a plus.
• Understanding of tools such as GIT, Bitbake, Jira, Jenkins and CI/CD pipeline tools.

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 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…