Senior Software Engineer

Cisco•Milpitas, MI

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Cisco Distributed System Engineering (DSE) group is at the forefront of building next-generation networking systems that power the largest and most demanding infrastructures in the world. As the industry evolves to support AI/ML workloads and ever-increasing bandwidth demands, innovations such as Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) are becoming critical to scaling performance, efficiency, and power optimization. The SONiC Optics team is passionate about enabling and productizing optics solutions—including CPO—within Cisco’s network operating systems. We work at the intersection of hardware, optics, and software, integrating innovative optical technologies into SONiC-based platforms. You will join a team of engineers passionate about distributed systems, open-source networking, and next-generation optical architectures. This is a fast-paced environment where you will contribute to product development and help bring CPO-based solutions to production.

Requirements

Bachelors + 7 years of related experience OR Masters + 4 years of related experience OR PhD + 1 year of related experience.
5 years of experience in software development
Minimum 3 years of experience with Linux-based systems and system-level programming (C/C++/Python)
3+ years of experience with debugging tools and development in distributed or embedded systems environments

Nice To Haves

Experience with networking protocols (L2/L3, switching, routing)
Exposure to network operating systems such as SONiC or similar platforms
Understanding of optics technologies (e.g., QSFP, OSFP, or CPO concepts)
Experience with hardware-software interfaces (drivers, SDKs, or platform abstraction layers)
Familiarity with containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes)
Knowledge of telemetry, monitoring systems, or data plane/control plane interactions
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing

Responsibilities

Develop and improve software modules within SONiC to support optical subsystems, including pluggable optics and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO).
Contribute to platform adaptation layers that interface SONiC with hardware components such as ASICs, optical engines, and BMCs.
Implement and maintain drivers, APIs, and services for optics monitoring, configuration, and lifecycle management.
Participate in debugging and resolving system-level issues across software and hardware boundaries.
Support integration of CPO technologies into SONiC-based platforms, including telemetry, diagnostics, and control-plane interactions.
Work closely with hardware and optics teams to understand device capabilities and expose them through software interfaces.
Assist in validating performance, reliability, and thermal/power characteristics of optics solutions.
Contribute to the design of scalable and maintainable software components for optics management.
Help implement telemetry and monitoring solutions for optical modules and CPO subsystems.
Participate in unit testing, system testing, and automation efforts to ensure high-quality work.
Collaborate with multi-functional teams including hardware, QA, and system integration.
Engage with the SONiC open-source community, contributing to optics-related features and improvements where applicable.
Support CI/CD workflows and participate in improving development and test processes.

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
grants of Cisco 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 employees)
flexible vacation time off program (exempt employees)
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 from one calendar year to the next
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 (for non-sales roles)
performance-based incentive pay (for sales roles)