Software Engineering Technical Leader - Wireless
About The Position
The Cisco Meraki Wireless team is responsible for developing and maintaining the world's leading cloud-managed WLAN Access Point ecosystem, serving millions of active devices globally. The MR firmware team is a collaborative group of experienced software engineers working on wireless protocols, architectural innovations, and customer-impacting optimizations. The role focuses on simplifying technology to allow customers to concentrate on their core business. As a Lead Firmware Engineer on the Wireless Performance team, the individual will drive the evaluation and optimization of performance on MR Access Point devices, impacting millions of customers. This includes solving functional and performance regressions, developing features for emerging 802.11 and networking standards, and designing/implementing data plane optimizations. The role also involves developing comprehensive tests, proactively triaging and resolving issues, and leading features from technical design to completion, advocating for customer-centric improvements.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field with 8+ years of total software engineering experience OR Master's with 6+ years of total software engineering experience
- 6+ years of professional software engineering experience in production environments using C or C++ programming
- Prior experience with Wi-Fi drivers and firmware, including direct collaboration with Wi-Fi vendors to triage, open, and resolve technical issues
- Experience working in Linux and/or embedded systems environments
- Knowledge of TCP/IP and UDP protocols
- Applied experience with 802.11 wireless standards and core network protocols (DNS, DHCP, VLANs)
- Experience analyzing Wireshark packet captures for debugging and root cause analysis
Nice To Haves
- Deep understanding of system performance optimizations including system/traffic profiling and performance-oriented data structure and algorithm development
- Hands-on experience with performance testing tools such as iperf, Ixia Traffic Generators (Ixia Chariot, iGen), and equivalent platforms
- Experience with hardware and software acceleration paradigms including DPDK, VPP, multi-threading, or similar technologies
- Proficiency with Yocto build systems and embedded Linux development
- AI-first development mindset with demonstrated experience using modern AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or Codex
Responsibilities
- Drive the evaluation and optimization of performance on MR Access Point devices.
- Solve functional and performance-related regressions in Access Point firmware.
- Develop features aligned with emerging 802.11 and networking standards.
- Design and implement next-level data plane optimizations.
- Evaluate existing components and identify performance bottlenecks.
- Collaborate across teams to deliver novel solutions.
- Develop comprehensive tests and processes to proactively triage and resolve performance and functional issues.
- Establish processes that elevate product quality.
- Lead small-to-medium features from technical design through completion.
- Advocate for customer-centric improvements.
- Articulate design choices grounded in market awareness and competitive positioning.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
- Paid parental leave
- Short-term disability coverage
- Long-term disability coverage
- Basic life insurance
- 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 (for non-exempt employees)
- Flexible vacation time off program (for exempt employees)
- 80 hours of sick time off
- Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer
- Annual bonuses (for non-sales roles)
- Performance-based incentive pay (for sales roles)
- Grants of Cisco restricted stock units
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
