Software Engineering Technical Leader

Cisco • Milpitas, CA

3d

About The Position

The Common Hardware Group (CHG) at Cisco is seeking skilled software engineers to join our Diagnostic/BSP team, responsible for ensuring the reliability and performance of our world-class hardware. Our team develops software for Cisco’s network switches and routers, which feature advanced application awareness to build a flexible and agile network infrastructure. These capabilities support multi-layered responses to the diverse workload demands of AI and ML. This is a unique opportunity to grow your technical skill set and gain visibility and recognition across cross-functional teams within Cisco. We value motivated individuals who enjoy solving complex challenges and thrive in a collaborative, innovative environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field and a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience, or Master's degree and a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.
• Proficiency in programming with C, C++, and Python for embedded systems.
• Experience in hardware and device driver development, including Linux hardware bring-up, multi-threading, event handling, and state machine implementation.
• Experience working with Sonic, ONIE, BMC, IPMI, and/or Redfish technologies.
• Experience developing, debugging, and validating embedded systems using protocols such as I2C, SPI, UART, PCIe, and/or GPIO.

Nice To Haves

• Proficient in kernel debugging tools such as GDB and KGDB.
• Experience developing software from concept through delivery for large-scale, high-bandwidth systems.
• Ability to troubleshoot software defects from kernel modules to applications.
• Experience with collaborative system design, specification writing, and requirements review.
• Commitment to quality, mentoring, and continuous learning in networking, optics, and embedded systems.
• Experience with AI/ML.
• Knowledge of Layer 2/3 network protocols.
• Strong troubleshooting and debugging skills.
• Experience with network processors and optical networking.
• Familiarity with secure-boot, open-source tools, CMIS, and SFF standards (SFP, QSFP).
• Strong communication skills and knowledge of software quality processes.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and develop BIOS, BSP, and Diagnostics for Cisco Core and Edge routing products.
• Design, develop, and test kernel and user space device drivers for FPGA and networking peripherals.
• Develop and execute software test plans.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to debug prototypes and validate software.
• Lead technical reviews and discussions across teams.

Benefits

• 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.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level