Senior Software Engineer

The application window is expected to close on: 07/20/2026

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received .

***We are looking for candidates local to Milpitas as this is a hybrid role requiring at least 3 days in the office each week***

Meet the Team

Develop software consistent with Cisco 'Design Thinking Principles' with a focus on simplification and customer experience at its core, using secure coding practices following software development best practices. Partners with cross-functional teams to create the right solution for our customers. Creates technical design documentation for the team as well as contributing to user documentation for end users. Debugs and addresses software issues during development and in production systems to support customers. Brings new ideas for product innovation and helps improve software development processes.

You will join our next-generation networking and AI infrastructure team, contributing to the design and development of scalable software systems for high-speed networking platforms, coherent optical transceivers, PHY devices, and next-generation NPU-based systems. You will work at the intersection of optics and its standards, silicon photonics, ASIC/NPU datapath, Linux embedded software and distributed network operating systems.

Your Impact

• Experienced professional using best practices and knowledge of internal or external business issues to improve products or services. Works independently with minimal guidance

• Implement CMIS / SFF compliant management frameworks for pluggable optics

• Develop datapath and control-plane integration software for NPUs and ASICs, and contribute to software for co-packaged optics, silicon photonics, coherent DSP-based optics, and 800G / 1.6T systems

• Develop Linux-based embedded software and integrate optics / PHY functionality with distributed network operating systems

• Build telemetry, diagnostics, and fault-management infrastructure, develop automation and validation infrastructure in Python

• Lead medium-scope features from technical design through completion

• Contribute to a defined software engineering roadmap, identify and recommendimprovements to the software development lifecycle and agile engineering best practices

• Write functional clean code and unit tests with no guidance. Maintain and enhance solutions by fixing complicated errors, raising risks, and escalating issues where necessary

• Shares knowledge across teams, both informally and formally (e.g., ad-hoc basis, internal presentations, blogs, newsletters)

• Coordinates across teams to estimate times and complete projects according to specification and user requirements

• Tracks milestones, progress and provides ongoing updates and remediation plans to cross-functional partners

• Mentors and assists other team members through code reviews, documentation and technical guidance

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and 6+ years, Master's degree and 4+ years, or PhD and 1+ years of experience with a degree in CS, EE, or related field

• Experience in C/C++/Python, Data Structures and Algorithms

• Experience with embedded systems development and Linux OS programming experience

• Experience with Platform Infrastructure or Optics software Development

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience of coherent optics (ZR/ZR+), PHY / SerDes, FEC, ASIC / NPU, and DSP-based systems

• Familiarity with CMIS and / or SFF standards

• Experience with IOS-XR, SONiC, FBOSS, or similar NOS platforms

• Experience with AI networking infrastructure

• Knowledge of optical line systems and coherent transport technologies

Why Cisco?

At Cisco, we're revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era - and beyond. We've been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you'll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada: The starting salary range posted for this position is $165,000.00 to $241,400.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

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. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks. Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco's policies:

• 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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

• .75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;

• 1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;

• 1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and

• Once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

$165,000.00 - $277,600.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$146,700.00 - $247,000.00

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco's sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.