Software Engineering Technical Leader

The application window is expected to close on: 05/18/2026 Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received . This is a hybrid role working onsite 3 days a week in Milpitas. MEET THE TEAM This team builds and supports networking products leveraging Cisco IOS-XR and open-source technologies, operating at the intersection of systems and silicon. The environment spans hyper-scale data centers, cloud infrastructure, and highly distributed systems where reliability, scalability, and customer outcomes are critical. The team combines deep platform and networking expertise with modern automation and data-driven approaches, including AI-assisted workflows, to accelerate issue resolution and improve product behavior in production. This role sits at the center of customer engagement, production support, and engineering collaboration, serving as a key bridge between customers and internal teams. YOUR IMPACT You will play a critical role in strengthening the team’s ability to design, deploy, and troubleshoot large-scale datacenter and cloud networking environments while scaling operational excellence through automation and intelligent tooling! Serve as a technical focal point for customer solutions, translating real-world constraints into scalable, supportable designs and operational models Partner closely 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, driving problems to root cause with 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, and leverage AI/ML or LLM-based approaches where appropriate for log analysis, triage, and summarization MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelors degree 7 years of related experience, or Masters 5 years of related experience, or PhD 2 years of related experience. Hands-on experience with routing and switching technologies in production environments or advanced lab settings Experience with Python programming skills, including building automation, parsing workflows, and troubleshooting tools (beyond basic scripting) Experience working with structured data and operational telemetry, including experience with time-series concepts, anomaly detection, or similar analytical approaches Experience with AI-assisted tools or workflows in engineering environments, including safe and effective use of GenAI or LLM-based APIs for operational support PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: 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 Experience building scalable automation solutions using APIs, CI/CD pipelines, and repeatable workflows for testing and troubleshooting Experience applying AI-assisted techniques to operational workflows such as classification, anomaly detection, or search across telemetry and support data Familiarity with open-source and network operating systems such as SONiC, IOS-XR, or FBOSS Solid understanding of networking fundamentals including L2/L3, VXLAN, and security services such as MACsec Experience with development and collaboration tools including Git, Jira, and CI/CD systems Proven ability to troubleshoot and perform root cause analysis in large-scale, multi-vendor environments Experience supporting high-priority or escalated customer issues, with the ability to lead technically during critical situations Experience with network testing and validation tools such as Ixia, Spirent, or similar platforms #LI-RN1 Why Cisco? At ... (truncated, view full listing at source)