Software Engineering Technical Leader

Cisco•San Jose, CA

About The Position

Cisco’s Splunk Enterprise Security team is seeking a Software Engineer Technical Leader who not only excels technically but is also an excellent leader. This role is ideal for a hands-on engineer who is passionate about delivering secure, scalable, high-performing solutions and is eager to develop leadership skills, mentor others, and take on greater responsibilities over time. You will design, develop, and deliver impactful end-to-end features that empower our customers with actionable security insights. Your work will span both the frontend and backend of the stack, including integrations with Splunk Enterprise Security. You will be grounded in Cisco’s Design Thinking Principles, focusing on simplification, outstanding user experience, secure coding, and privacy by design. You will collaborate with UX/UI designers, product managers, security architects, and customer support, and you’ll play an active role in shaping our engineering culture. Beyond technical excellence, you’ll be empowered to mentor other engineers, lead projects, and develop the skills needed for a smooth transition into management.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree + 12 years, Master’s + 8 years, or PhD + 5 years of relevant software engineering experience.
Demonstrated expertise in designing and delivering full stack solutions for enterprise-scale products, preferably in security, networking, or observability domains.
Deep hands-on experience with:
Backend: Python, Java, or Go; RESTful API design; microservices; and integration with SQL/NoSQL.
DevOps/CI-CD: Automated testing, Docker/Kubernetes, Git, CI/CD pipelines.
SaaS experience: Proven experience building and operating high-scale applications in a public cloud (AWS, Azure, or GCP) or hybrid environment.
Strong troubleshooting and debugging skills across the full technology stack.
Solid understanding of secure coding practices, privacy, and compliance in enterprise software.
Proven ability and motivation to mentor, coach, and inspire peers.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading or architecting large-scale, distributed systems, especially in security analytics or SIEM.
Advanced proficiency with cloud-native development (AWS, Azure, or GCP), infrastructure-as-code, and serverless architectures.
Experience with data pipeline development, stream processing (Kafka, Spark), or integration of third-party security data sources.
Familiarity with Splunk ES correlation searches, notable events, and custom visualizations.
Certified Splunk Architect or Splunk Enterprise Security Admin (preferred but not required).
Demonstrated thought leadership through whitepapers, conference presentations, or open-source contributions.
Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills

Responsibilities

Serve as a recognized engineering expert within Cisco’s Splunk Enterprise Security team.
Architect, develop, and maintain end-to-end features and enhancements leveraging Splunk ES, ensuring seamless frontend and backend integration.
Proactively identify, diagnose, and resolve complex technical challenges, including data ingestion, API design, security analysis, and large-scale data visualization.
Lead the technical design, implementation, and delivery of major business projects, spanning backend microservices, RESTful APIs, and Splunk app development.
Create and maintain comprehensive technical documentation, including architecture diagrams, API contracts, and user guides.
Partner with PM to deliver intuitive, user-friendly features while ensuring backend performance, data integrity, and security compliance.
Champion software development best practices, secure coding standards, and CI/CD pipelines.
Mentor and guide engineers at all levels, sharing expertise in full stack development, Splunk app architecture, and cloud-native patterns.
Take on increasing leadership in sprint planning, project execution, and cross-team collaboration.
Represent the team’s accomplishments in cross-functional meetings and, as appropriate, at industry events.
Measure and drive product adoption through metrics, dashboards, and customer feedback.
Continuously develop your own leadership skills with support from Cisco’s career development programs.

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.