senior software engineering Technical Lead tech_leadership 3+ yrs Hybrid · Posted Jun 10, 2026
$183,800 – $263,600
USD per year

About this role

Cisco is hiring a senior-level Technical Lead in the software engineering function based in Milpitas, CA (hybrid). The posting calls out experience with Bash, gRPC, REST APIs, Ansible and roughly 3+ years of relevant work. Compensation is listed at $183,800–$263,600 per year.

Role
Technical Lead
Function
software engineering
Level
senior
Track
Tech leadership
Employment
Full-time
Location
Milpitas, CA
Work mode
Hybrid
Experience
3+ years
Department
Product and Engineering
Posted
Jun 10, 2026
AI Summary
Lead Customer Validation Testing for Cisco's largest network deployments. Design and automate test frameworks for IOS-XR platforms, develop web-based GUIs with ML analytics, and validate solutions for Web and Service Provider customers. Collaborate globally with development and account teams.

Job description

from Cisco careers
The application window is expected to close on: 07/29/2026

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, located in Milpitas, CA and requires being in the office 3 days a week.
Meet the Team
The Customer Validation Testing (CVT) team is at the forefront of developing solutions that power the largest networks in the world. Engineers on this team will collaborate with dedicated, dynamic, hardworking team members to work on the qualification and automation of influential technologies, XR platforms, and solutions for deployment in high-end Cisco Web and Service Provider customers, impacting an endless number of users worldwide. The team is comprised of talented engineers with diverse experience levels, ranging from 3 to over 20 years, bringing significant expertise to the table. With a global presence, the team operates from centers in the US, Canada, and India.
Your Impact
As a CVT Solution Test Technical Leader, you will play a critical role in ensuring the seamless deployment of networking solutions for high-end Cisco Web and Service Provider customers. This role includes bringing up customer solutions in cisco lab, developing innovative test frameworks and web-based GUIs that leverage analytics and machine learning, as well as driving automated and manual test cases on validating the solution.
You will collaborate globally with internal development teams and account management teams to ensure alignment and understanding of the work. You will also…
  • Design, automate, configure, and qualify customer use cases based on IOS-XR for various platforms
  • Develop innovative test frameworks and tools to support the test execution environment
  • Drive test cases manually and through automation, managing defects and fixes
  • Seek continuous improvements in test coverage, execution, and automation
  • Reproduce customer issues in internal test labs and generate technical reports and whitepapers
Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelors in STEM with 8+ years of relevant experience or Masters in STEM with 6+ years of relevant experience or PhD in STEM with 3+ years of relevant experience.
  • Experience testing or configuring the following L2/L3 networking protocols; BGP, MPLS and IGP (OSPF or ISIS)
  • Experience in networking automation or software quality assurance

Preferred Qualifications
  • Certificate in CCIE (Routing & Switching / Service Provider / Data Center).
  • Experience on platforms such as ASR9K, NCS5500, NCS5000, NCS540/NCS560, NCS6K, CRS, 8000.
  • Demonstrated experience with RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) technologies and related protocols such as InfiniBand, RoCE, or iWARP.
  • Experience in OpenFlow, Netconf & REST API.
  • Background in network automation tools like pyATS, Ansible, Jenkins, Robot framework, and Cisco NSO.
  • Expertise in UNIX/Linux environments and Bash/Unix Shell Scripting, with experience in configuring/fixing protocols such as L2/L3 VPN, EVPN, Segment Routing, IPv6, MPLS-LDP/RSVP-TE, Multicast, SNMP, Telemetry, gNMI, gRPC, Netconf & OpenConfig Yang Models

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 $183,800.00 to $263,600.00 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.

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