Software Engineering Technical Leader at Cisco in North Carolina

Software Engineering Technical Leader Location: RTP, North Carolina, US The application window is expected to close on: 06/01/2026 Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received. Meet the Team Cisco Silicon One is the center of Cisco’s ASIC design and is driving the development of next-generation network devices for the 5G and AI era. Our outstanding team works in a startup atmosphere within a stable and leading corporate environment, and our design center hosts all silicon Hardware and Software development fields under one roof. Our devices are crafted for universal adaptability, delivering high speed without sacrificing programmability, buffering, power efficiency, scale, or feature flexibility. We develop breakthrough silicon products. We enable the use of these innovative products in the fast-paced world of Open Standards, Open Networking, and massively Scalable Cloud Data Centers. If you want to work with amazing people and innovative customers developing the next generation of world-class products, join us! Your Impact In this role, you will lead the design and development of software features for Cisco’s Silicon One NPU. You will be responsible for creating software that will be used to build highly scalable, low power, low latency, dense systems for the ever-demanding AI/ML workloads, internet users and applications. You will use modern C++, Network processing language of Silicon One and Python to develop software on the NPU. As a technical leader, you will be part of requirement discussions with the customer and will work on scoping the feature post-closing the requirements. You will take complete ownership of delivering the software in a timely manner and with outstanding quality. You will lead a team of engineers and guide/unblock the team with any design/implementation related issues. You will be the gatekeeper of the code base in the domains you own. You will gain intimate knowledge of the Silicon One hardware architecture, software programming models and work with the architecture and hardware teams to define the next generation of ASIC products being developed. Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering or STEM degree and 8+ years of experience in an Engineering role; or Master's degree with 6+ years of experience in an Engineering role. 8+ years of experience in C/C++. Minimum of 5+ years of experience designing, implementing, troubleshooting, or analyzing Layer-2 or Multicast protocols and forwarding mechanisms in a professional networking environment. Preferred Qualifications Experience with writing and testing software for high performing and scalable networking products. Experience in analytical reasoning and debugging, with practical experience in using tools such as GDB, PDB, etc. Experience with cloud, data center, or edge networking products Experience in debugging customer related issues. 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 $149,100.00 to $218,900.00 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 of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to 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: $183,800.00 - $303,100.00 Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $163,600.00 - $269,800.00 * 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.