Software Engineer, Test Automation

Cisco•San Jose, CA

About The Position

The application window is expected to close on: 09/17/2026. Meet the Team: Are you ready to shape the future of AI-powered quality? We are seeking a software engineer to build test infrastructure for our AI-agentic Security Operations Center (SOC)! Together, we define the strategic direction that secures the absolute reliability and performance of our most complex systems. We work to mentor world-class engineering talent, drive the adoption of groundbreaking benchmarking, and catalyze the evolution of our quality ecosystems. Join us as we work to transform high-level challenges into scalable, high-impact solutions. Your Impact: This role is designed for an engineer who translates quality challenges into technical solutions, driving engineering efficiency through evaluation strategies and implementation. In this role, you will collaborate with team members and implement benchmarking protocols that support our technical performance goals.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree plus 8+ years of experience in software development and test automation, including experience building large-scale testing ecosystems.
Demonstrated experience in programming, specifically Python and Go, with a proven ability to design scalable, maintainable, and high-performance testing infrastructure.
Demonstrated experience with security compliance frameworks.
Demonstrated experience with modern performance testing methodologies.
Demonstrated experience using AI to build automation (writing AI skills to build test automation).

Nice To Haves

Capacity to translate quality challenges into structured and actionable technical implementations.
Ability to innovate within the AI/ML landscape, applying modern tooling to drive detection efficacy and system reliability.
Go, Python, Contract testing frameworks, Playwright.
Open Cybersecurity Schema Framework (OCSF) validation libraries, vacuum linter, Caldera, tenant isolation probes, and audit log validation.
Expertise in LLM APIs (Claude, Codex), prompt engineering, and the design of agentic workflows.
Proficiency in LangChain and LangSmith to ensure model reliability, AI behavioral regression, and LLM-as-judge frameworks.
K6, Terra Virtual Machine (Security Suite), and JMeter.

Responsibilities

Contribute to the development of PQ foundations and evaluation frameworks, ensuring assessment capabilities for AI agents, workflows, and system processes.
Find opportunities in testing methodologies and develop AI-based solutions or agents to mitigate risk and enhance system integrity.
Support the team by collaborating with members, participating in code and design reviews, and assisting in the validation of technical hypotheses.
Implement the lifecycle of proof-of-concepts (POCs), adhering to standards for experimentation and the validation of testing paradigms.
Ensure that testing processes deliver reliable, high-quality outcomes, maintaining alignment with team quality goals.
Implement validation techniques, including LLM-as-judge methodologies, tenant isolation probes, and behavioral regression suites.
Partner with engineering teams to implement contract testing, audit log validation, and security compliance, ensuring integration of quality across the development lifecycle.

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
10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees (non-exempt employees)
flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations) (exempt employees)
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and 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 subject to Cisco’s policies (for non-sales roles)
performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary (for sales roles)
grants of Cisco restricted stock units