Principal Software Engineer (Security & Policy Platform)

Role Description

This is a fully remote opportunity open to candidates located anywhere in the United States.

You will join Cisco’s Security and Policy Platform Group, a foundational organization responsible for transforming Cisco’s Security products from single point products to comprehensive security outcomes, as a Principal Engineer. The team delivers secure, scalable capabilities enabling customers to control and security policies across Cisco and third-party products. This work spans cloud and client infrastructure, security, policy and networking, with a strong emphasis on reliability, interoperability, and long-term scalability!

Your Impact

• Innovate, develop, and drive unique software and technology solutions with global impact across Cisco’s broader product portfolio and multiple technology and business groups.
• Act as an internal, external, and industry expert, applying deep technical expertise to provide mentorship and consultation on sophisticated challenges.
• Serve as a domain expert or cross-domain integrator, leveraging breadth of knowledge to connect emerging technology trends and assess their impact on Cisco products.
• Guide and set standards for the technical direction of Cisco’s software and technology solutions, influencing industry trends, business leaders, and Cisco’s technical community.
• Ensure the development, execution, and enablement of technology strategies that deliver long-term business impact.
• Stay ahead of evolving technology and industry trends, shaping innovation and enabling Cisco to maintain a strong competitive advantage.
• Partner across engineering, product, and business teams to translate strategic vision into scalable, high-impact solutions.
• Mentor and influence senior technical leaders, driving architectural consistency and engineering excellence across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field with 12+ years of experience designing and developing large-scale software, platform, or distributed systems.
• Experience building and scaling highly available, secure, and distributed systems in cloud or hybrid environments.
• Experience writing high-quality, production-grade code using modern programming languages (e.g., Go, Rust, or C++).
• 5+ years of experience with security, privacy, and data protection principles as applied to policy and platform systems.

Requirements

• Advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Recognized technical leadership as a domain expert or cross-domain integrator influencing architecture across multiple product lines or business units.
• Experience driving platform strategy in large-scale enterprise or cloud environments.
• Experience integrating systems with broader platform services such as observability, data platforms, or AI/ML-driven systems.
• Track record of influencing technical direction and aligning stakeholders across a large, matrixed organization.
• Experience defining technical architecture and driving end-to-end system design across multiple teams or organizations.
• Contributions to industry standards, open-source projects, patents, or publications.
• Ability to translate emerging technology trends into long-term strategic direction and business impact.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision insurance.
• 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution.
• Paid parental leave.
• Short and long-term disability coverage.
• Basic life insurance.
• Paid time away including holidays, personal wellness days, and vacation time.
• Optional paid days for volunteering.
• Eligibility for annual bonuses and performance-based incentive pay for sales roles.