Software Engineering Technical Leader

Job Description:

Meet the Team
Our team architects and builds high-performance cloud security data planes that power Cisco Secure Access and other next-generation security services, leveraging technologies such as VPP to deliver secure, scalable, and low-latency packet processing. We foster a culture of technical leadership, engineering excellence, rigorous testing, and open-source innovation to solve some of the most challenging problems in cloud networking and security.

Your Impact
Leads the design and evolution of cloud security data plane architecture built on VPP across Cisco. Drives performance, scalability, and reliability of distributed systems that enforce security policy at scale, while contributing to the VPP open-source ecosystem and advancing AI-driven engineering and operations practices.
* Architect and lead development of large-scale cloud security data plane systems using VPP
* Define and drive performance benchmarks (throughput, latency, scale, resiliency) for security workloads
* Design systems for secure traffic processing, inspection, and policy enforcement across distributed environments
* Lead cross-team initiatives spanning data plane, control plane, and cloud infrastructure
* Drive meaningful contributions to VPP open-source (features, optimizations, upstream alignment)
* Apply and promote AI/AIOps practices for observability, anomaly detection, and operational efficiency in security systems
* Mentor engineers and guide design and implementation best practices
* Lead root cause analysis for complex production issues and drive systemic improvements
* Influence technical roadmap and align internal architecture with upstream VPP direction

Minimum Qualifications
* BS/CS Degree
* Expertise in packet processing, networking, distributed systems, and cloud security data planes
* 6+yrs C/C++ Development experience
Preferred Qualifications
* Experience with VPP/DPDK and equivalent technologies
* Experience to design, code, and deliver complex systems and critical components in production environments

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