Principal Software Engineer

Cisco•San Jose, CA

3d•$250,600 - $362,600

About The Position

Splunk’s Platform Engineering team is evolving the core platform to run reliably on Kubernetes across cloud and customer-managed environments. The team builds the runtime foundations, orchestration patterns, lifecycle capabilities, and platform services that enable Splunk products to move faster on a common cloud-native substrate. We are a senior, systems-oriented group working across core engineering, product, security, operations, and customer-facing teams. Our work is complex, high-impact, and central to Splunk’s FY27 priorities around Kubernetes adoption, cloud growth, customer-managed platform parity, and future innovation. This is an opportunity to help shape how a large-scale enterprise platform modernizes while preserving the reliability and compatibility customers depend on.

Requirements

Bachelors in related field with 15 years experience.
10+ years of professional software engineering experience building backend, platform, infrastructure, or distributed systems.
5+ years of experience designing, building, or operating production distributed systems.
2+ years of hands-on Kubernetes experience, including workload orchestration, operators/controllers, or cloud-native deployment patterns.
Experience designing production APIs, lifecycle orchestration, configuration systems, upgrade systems, or platform services.
Professional experience with at least one backend/platform programming language such as Go, C++, Java, Python

Nice To Haves

Experience with Kubernetes operators, control planes, developer platforms, infrastructure automation, or large-scale platform services.
Experience modernizing legacy or monolithic enterprise systems toward cloud-native operating models.
Experience with enterprise customer commitments, regulated environments, cloud/on-prem deployment variance, and long-lived compatibility expectations.
Ability to synthesize ambiguous cross-team requirements into clear technical direction, tradeoffs, and execution plans.
Interest in using AI-assisted engineering tools responsibly for code comprehension, review preparation, test planning, incident triage, documentation, or migration analysis.

Responsibilities

Lead technical direction for Kubernetes-based platform architecture that makes Splunk easier to deploy, operate, upgrade, diagnose, and evolve.
Translate complex product, customer, and feature-team requirements into practical designs, engineering contracts, and implementation plans.
Partner across core runtime, Kubernetes operator, configuration, application platform, search, security, cloud, and product teams to align execution around reusable architecture.
Identify cross-component dependencies, failure modes, lifecycle gaps, and migration risks before they become release or customer-impacting issues.
Drive incremental modernization of a mature enterprise platform while preserving customer trust, compatibility, and operational quality.

Benefits

medical, dental and vision insurance
a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
paid parental leave
short and long-term disability coverage
basic life insurance
restricted stock units
10 paid holidays per full calendar year
1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
1 paid day off for employee’s birthday
paid year-end holiday shutdown
4 paid days off for personal wellness
16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year (non-exempt)
flexible vacation time off program (exempt)
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter
up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward
Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members
Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer
annual bonuses (non-sales roles)
performance-based incentive pay (sales roles)