Technical Lead, Network Engineering

Cisco•San Jose, CA

About The Position

This role builds and supports networking products that leverage Cisco IOS-XR and open-source technologies, operating across systems and silicon in hyper-scale data centers, cloud infrastructure, and highly distributed systems. It is a central point of contact among customers, production support, and engineering teams, helping strengthen the ability to build, deploy, and troubleshoot large-scale datacenter and cloud networking environments. The role also scales operational excellence through automation and intelligent tooling. The position serves as a technical focal point for customer solutions, translating real-world constraints into scalable, supportable designs and operational models. It partners with engineering teams on complex issues across datacenter and cloud networking stacks, supports high-priority customers through root-cause analysis, and uses data-backed analysis to communicate technical findings. It applies operational practices such as telemetry, alerting, and workflow automation to improve issue detection and resolution, and develops Python-based tools to parse, correlate, and visualize operational data. AI/ML or LLM-based approaches may be used where appropriate for log analysis, triage, and summarization.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree plus 8 years of related experience, or master's degree plus 6 years, or Ph.D. plus 3 years, or equivalent related work experience.
Experience with routing and switching technologies in production environments or advanced lab settings.
Experience working with structured data and operational telemetry, including time-series concepts, anomaly detection, or similar analytical approaches.
Experience with Python or another programming language, including building automation, parsing workflows, and troubleshooting tools beyond basic scripting.
Experience with AI-assisted tools or workflows in engineering environments, including safe and effective use of GenAI or LLM-based APIs for operational support.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with OpenConfig (OC) paths for network configuration, state retrieval, and telemetry.
Experience working with YANG data models and understanding the hierarchy and structure of OpenConfig paths.
Experience implementing and troubleshooting configuration and telemetry workflows using protocols such as gNMI.
Strong Linux experience supporting lab, tooling, or production-adjacent environments.
Background in system architecture, deployment engineering, or field engineering within Tier-1 enterprise or hyperscale environments.
Familiarity with open-source and network operating systems such as SONiC, IOS-XR, or FBOSS.
Experience with network testing and validation tools such as Ixia, Spirent, or similar platforms.
Solid understanding of networking fundamentals, including L2/L3, VXLAN, and security services such as MACsec.
Proven ability to troubleshoot and perform root-cause analysis in large-scale, multi-vendor environments.
Experience supporting high-priority or escalated customer issues and the ability to lead technically during critical situations.

Responsibilities

Serve as a technical focal point for customer solutions, translating real-world constraints into scalable, supportable designs and operational models.
Partner with engineering teams to troubleshoot and resolve complex issues across datacenter and cloud networking stacks, establishing repeatable diagnostics and clear escalation paths.
Support high-priority customers on deep, cross-layer issues and drive problems to root cause using data-backed analysis and clear technical narratives.
Apply hyper-scale operational best practices, including telemetry, alerting, and workflow automation, to improve mean time to detect and resolve issues.
Develop and maintain Python-based tools to parse, correlate, and visualize operational data.
Leverage AI/ML or LLM-based approaches where appropriate for log analysis, triage, and summarization.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance, subject to plan eligibility rules.
401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution.
Paid parental leave.
Short- and long-term disability coverage.
Basic life insurance.
Potential eligibility for Cisco restricted stock unit grants, subject to continued employment and vesting terms.
Paid holidays and a floating holiday for non-exempt employees.
Paid day off for employee's birthday, year-end holiday shutdown, and paid personal wellness days.
Paid vacation or flexible vacation time off, depending on employee classification and subject to applicable policies and limitations.
Sick time off, including carryover of unused sick time subject to stated limits.
Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family issues.
Optional paid volunteer days.
For non-sales roles, eligibility to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco policies.
Sales-plan incentive compensation for employees on sales plans, subject to the applicable Cisco plan.