Software Engineer

Cisco•Milpitas, CA

36d•$165,000 - $241,400•Hybrid

About The Position

The Cisco Distributed System Engineering (DSE) group is at the forefront of developing products that power the largest networks in the world. As the networking industry undergoes a massive transformation to build next-generation infrastructure for AI/ML workloads, this team is uniquely positioned to capture that market transition. You will work among a team of passionate engineers building large-scale distributed systems by harnessing open-source technologies while pushing the boundaries of Systems and Silicon Architecture. You will be part of a team of engineers involved in the development of software for our next-generation data center switching, which is critical for AI Infrastructure for Hyperscalers and the Cisco Hyperfabric project. Your role involves: Define, architect, design, test, and deliver new features and solutions on Cisco switches using open-source SONiC. Provide constant feedback to hardware and software teams for improvements and write functional and design specs independently. Collaborate with cross-functional teams including ASIC SDK, Product Management, CX, and Open Source community groups. Interact and Innovate through close collaboration with Distinguished and Principal engineers with a focus on Scale, Performance, and Reliability. Drive end-to-end product development and production support in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Requirements

Bachelors + 7 years of related experience OR Masters + 4 years of related experience OR PhD + 1 year of related experience.
5+ years' experience developing routing/switching features, with test automation
3+ years' experience configuring, debugging networking systems and solutions
3+ years' experience using scripting languages including Python
Knowledge of control & data plane technologies including L2, L3, BGP, EVPN, VXLAN

Nice To Haves

Exposure to open source NoS SONiC
Familiarity with RDMA, RoCE and HPC networks
Knowledge of QoS and congestion control mechanism in data center network
GIT, Jira, Jenkins and CI/CD pipeline tools.
Familiarity with AI Assisted development tools like co-pilot, cursor, windsurf

Responsibilities

Define, architect, design, test, and deliver new features and solutions on Cisco switches using open-source SONiC.
Provide constant feedback to hardware and software teams for improvements and write functional and design specs independently.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams including ASIC SDK, Product Management, CX, and Open Source community groups.
Interact and Innovate through close collaboration with Distinguished and Principal engineers with a focus on Scale, Performance, and Reliability.
Drive end-to-end product development and production support in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Benefits

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 Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance.
Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.
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
Non-exempt employees receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees
Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s 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)
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
For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.