Technical Leader, Software Engineer (AI Canvas)

The application window is expected to close on: Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received . About the Role We’re building the next generation of AI-powered experiences at Cisco—and we’d love your help! As a Technical Leader on our AI Software and Platform team, you will play a key role in shaping how our products use AI at scale. You will work with us to design and evolve the backend platform that powers AI Canvas, AI Assistant, and AI capabilities across Cisco Cloud Control, Thousand Eyes, Hypershield, Duo, Meraki, Splunk, and Security Cloud Control. Together, we are creating systems that make complex technology easier to use through AI. You will help us build reliable, scalable distributed systems and guide how we bring LLM-powered features from idea to production. What You’ll Do In this role, you will lead architecture and design while working closely with teams across engineering, product, and SRE. You will help us design backend services for our unified platform, including orchestration, skill execution, and intelligent routing. You will also help us scale systems that support millions of users and ensure they remain reliable and performant. We will rely on you to guide how we build asynchronous processing pipelines using tools like Temporal and modern streaming systems. You will help us integrate with LLM platforms such as Azure OpenAI and AWS Bedrock in a way that balances performance, reliability, and cost. You will partner with teams to improve observability, strengthen system reliability, and solve complex production challenges. You will also mentor engineers, lead design discussions, and help us continuously improve how we build software. What You’ll Bring Required Qualifications We are looking for someone who enjoys solving complex problems and building systems that scale. You have 10 years of experience in backend software engineering, including technical leadership. You are comfortable working in Python and understand asynchronous programming and concurrency. You have built and operated large-scale distributed systems and have direct experience scaling systems to multi-million monthly active users (MAU) . This requirement is essential for success in this role. You have experience building AI or LLM-powered applications, such as orchestration layers or retrieval-augmented systems. You are also familiar with workflow orchestration tools like Temporal or Airflow. You understand how to operate systems in production, including observability practices such as metrics, tracing, and logging. You have worked with cloud-native technologies like Kubernetes and are familiar with modern CI/CD practices. You communicate clearly, collaborate effectively, and are comfortable leading technical discussions across teams. Modern AI-Native SDLC (Required) We are evolving how we build software with AI, and you will help us lead that shift. You have experience using AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor, Codex, or Claude Code. You are comfortable working in structured, spec-driven development environments and understand how to move from idea to implementation through clear stages. You have experience with modern development workflows that include planning, execution, and review. You are familiar with parallel development approaches and understand how to maintain quality when working with AI-generated code. Preferred Qualifications If you bring experience in these areas, that’s great—but it’s not required! Experience with agentic AI systems or frameworks is helpful. Familiarity with LLM APIs such as Azure OpenAI or AWS Bedrock, real-time systems, authentication models, or feature flagging tools will also help you ramp quickly. What We Offer We know that great work happens when people feel supported and included. We offer competitive pay, strong health benefits, and flexible work options. You will have opportunities to grow your ca ... (truncated, view full listing at source)