Distinguished Software Engineer (Identity Engineering)

Role Description

You will join Cisco’s Identity Engineering Group, a foundational organization responsible for transforming Cisco’s Identity products into a unified Identity experience as a Distinguished Engineer. The team delivers secure, scalable Identity capabilities that enables customers to control and enforce access across humans, agents, and non-human identities.

This work spans cloud and client infrastructure, security, and the Identity domain, with a strong emphasis on reliability, interoperability, and long-term scalability!

Your Impact

• Innovate, develop, and drive industry-leading software, hardware, and technology solutions with global impact across Cisco’s product portfolio.
• Serve as a recognized internal and external thought leader, influencing industry direction through technical expertise, innovation, and execution.
• Act as a cross-domain technology leader, translating emerging technology trends into strategic advantage for Cisco.
• Define and drive the long-term technical vision and architecture for platform and identity systems while influencing senior leadership and technical communities.
• Establish and uphold engineering and architectural standards that guide multiple organizations and product lines.
• Drive company-wide technology strategy aligned to long-term business outcomes and market leadership.
• Anticipate and develop industry trends, positioning Cisco at the forefront of identity and security innovation.
• Translate sophisticated technologies into scalable platform strategies and business opportunities across Cisco’s portfolio.
• Lead highly complex, cross-functional initiatives spanning multiple business units from concept through delivery.
• Mentor and influence senior and principal engineers, elevating technical leadership and architectural consistency across teams.
• Represent Cisco externally through industry forums, standards bodies, patents, publications, and strategic partnerships.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 15+ years of related experience, Master’s degree with 12+ years of related experience, or PhD with 10+ years of related experience designing and developing large-scale software, platform, or distributed systems.
• Experience defining and influencing architecture and technical strategy across multiple teams, organizations, or product lines.
• 10+ years of experience in platform, identity, or security systems, or demonstrated success operating as a cross-domain technology leader.
• 8+ years of experience building and scaling highly available, secure, and distributed systems in cloud or hybrid environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven track record of driving company-wide or industry-level technical impact across large, complex organizations.
• Recognized industry leadership through patents, publications, conference speaking, or contributions to standards bodies.
• Experience defining and driving platform or identity strategy at enterprise or industry scale.
• Deep understanding of security, identity, privacy, and data protection principles within large-scale platform systems.
• Experience integrating across platform services such as observability, data platforms, AI/ML systems, and security infrastructure.
• Track record of leading highly complex, cross-functional initiatives with significant business impact.
• Experience influencing senior leadership, including executives, on technical direction and business strategy.
• Strong ability to align diverse stakeholders and drive consensus across large, matrixed organizations.
• Proven ability to translate emerging technology trends into long-term strategic direction and measurable business outcomes.

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 grants of Cisco restricted stock units.
• Annual bonuses for non-sales roles, and performance-based incentive pay for sales roles.