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Leader, Software Engineering

Cisco Systems, Inc.
$210,600.00 to $305,100.00
life insurance, vision insurance, parental leave, paid holidays, sick time, 401(k)
United States, California, San Jose
170 W Tasman Dr (Show on map)
Feb 06, 2026
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.

We are looking for an experienced leader able to work with Product Management, the UX/UI Design Team, and a collaborative set of engineering teams to envision and deliver a premier product to our customers. They take ownership of their domain, are driven to solve problems at multiple levels and effortlessly adapt to evolving business and customer needs. Collaboration and partnerships are paramount in our company culture and want leaders who can communicate at a high level but can also talk in low level details to achieve the greater goal.

  • Enables the engineering team to improve and optimize the engineering processes and infrastructure to deliver a great experience to the engineering organization for building products.

  • Directs the activities of a software systems development function, software applications development function, and a software quality assurance function for software enhancements and new products including cloud-based or internet-related tools.

What You'll Do:

  • Recruit, mentor, and grow and inspire a set of extraordinary engineers

  • Lead a team of software engineers in the design, development and implementation of products or foundational technology

  • Drive large and/or complex projects from technical design through completion

  • Collaborate multi-functionally to ensure technical standards (e.g., potentially with external technology providers, and any internal technology dependencies)

  • Contribute to and maintain processes and standards (e.g., for design reviews, security, and testing)

  • Provide feedback and insight into standards and practices while identifying areas for improvement in process, architecture, design, and security

  • Consider all aspects of security from secure development practices to proper security architecture functionality

  • Manage product and/or system level tradeoffs and design decisions to drive quality and consistency; updates team priorities as appropriate

  • Accountable for quality of product within area of responsibility; make recommendations to products and services with respect to issues, opportunities and improvements, focusing on quality and performance

  • Contribute to product roadmap discussions and provide schedules and resource estimates, drives successful project and/or product development * May lead discussions with customers and/or stakeholders to explain solutions, gather feedback, and work with cross functional teams to ensure feedback is reflected in design decisions and deployment

  • Work multi-functionally to define, drive, and deliver key projects in timely manner (e.g., Product Management, Operations, QA Firmware, Software, Mechanical, Vendors)

Minimum Qualifications:

  • Typically: Bachelors + 15 years of related experience, or Masters + 12 years of related experience, or PhD + 8 years of related experience

  • Also requires 4+ years of supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Prior experience developing security products such as Security Information and Event Management solutions.

  • Familiarity with secure software development practices and compliance requirements in security-focused environments.

  • Passion for building innovative tools that empower security teams and make a significant impact on global cybersecurity.

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 $210,600.00 to $305,100.00 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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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:

$210,600.00 - $350,800.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$189,300.00 - $312,200.00

* 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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