Isovalent, now part of Cisco, was founded by the creators of Cilium and eBPF, and builds open-source software and enterprise solutions for the networking, security, and observability needs of modern infrastructure.
The Customer Reliability Engineering team is the deep technical escalation tier for Cisco Hypershield on the Cisco Nexus N9300 Series Smart Switches. The team owns the hardest break/fix and reliability cases raised by Cisco TAC, applying Site Reliability Engineering practices across the full stack: the data-center fabric and the on-premises Kubernetes controller that manages the security policy enforced on it. The work demands methodical diagnosis, composure under incident pressure, and the ability to operate at the seam between customer environments and engineering.
The ideal candidate combines deep networking expertise with strong troubleshooting skills, customer-facing experience, and a passion for improving reliability across complex product environments.
Own Hypershield cases raised from Cisco TAC through to resolution, engaging customers directly as the incident requires
Diagnose complex production failures through the Hypershield surface: the N9300 Smart Switch fabric and the on-premises Kubernetes controller that manages its security policy
Localize faults across the layered architecture: switching and forwarding, security services and enforcement, and the control plane
Develop a deep understanding of each customer's architecture and configuration, and diagnose failures in unfamiliar production environments
Reproduce customer failures, partner with engineering to drive fixes, and own the fix back to the customer
Convert individual cases into systemic improvements: runbooks, diagnostics, knowledge-base content, and product feedback to engineering
Help build the team's comprehensive view of customer health, developing new monitoring, tooling, and reliability practices as the installed base grows
Bachelor's + 8 years of experience, Master's + 6 years, or equivalent industry experience
Experience supporting enterprise customers in a commercial capacity
Experience operating and troubleshooting Cisco Nexus / NX-OS in production; equivalent depth on another major vendor accepted
Prior experience to localize failures across a layered data-center architecture spanning switching/forwarding, services/enforcement, or control-plane domains
Linux operations or operations experience including working exposure to containers, Kubernetes, or Virtual Machines (VMs)
Experience supporting enterprise customers by diagnosing and resolving complex production incidents, with a demonstrated ability to clearly communicate status, root cause, and remediation to both technical and executive audiences, verbally and in writing
Direct experience using network troubleshooting tooling as a primary diagnostic method, including packet capture and flow-telemetry analysis (NetFlow/IPFIX)
Knowledge of enterprise virtualization, sufficient to troubleshoot a VM-based appliance deployment; vSphere is the current deployment target
Operational Kubernetes and Helm proficiency, including diagnosing failures beyond the workload level.
Working knowledge of VXLAN EVPN fabrics, including the Smart Switch's placement within them and the ability to isolate faults across the fabric
Experience with automation and APIs; familiarity with Cisco Nexus Dashboard a plus
CCNP Data Center, CCNP Enterprise, DevNet Professional, CCIE Data Center, CCIE Enterprise, or DevNet Expert (a plus)
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 $160,800.00 to $214,100.00 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 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:
$160,800.00 - $253,200.00Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$142,900.00 - $246,200.00* 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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree plus 8 years of experience, Master's degree plus 6 years, or equivalent industry experience
- Experience supporting enterprise customers in a commercial capacity
- Production experience operating and troubleshooting Cisco Nexus and NX-OS, or equivalent depth with another major vendor
- Experience localizing failures across layered data-center architectures involving switching and forwarding, services and enforcement, or control-plane domains
- Linux operations experience, including exposure to containers, Kubernetes, or virtual machines
- Experience diagnosing and resolving complex production incidents for enterprise customers
- Ability to communicate status, root cause, and remediation to technical and executive audiences verbally and in writing
- Experience with packet capture and flow-telemetry analysis using NetFlow or IPFIX
- Enterprise virtualization knowledge sufficient to troubleshoot VM-based appliance deployments, including vSphere
- Operational Kubernetes and Helm proficiency, including troubleshooting beyond the workload level
- Working knowledge of VXLAN EVPN fabrics and fault isolation across the fabric
- Experience with automation and APIs
- Familiarity with Cisco Nexus Dashboard
- CCNP Data Center, CCNP Enterprise, DevNet Professional, CCIE Data Center, CCIE Enterprise, or DevNet Expert certification
Cisco Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Cisco and has not been reviewed or approved by Cisco.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as broad, with medical options including PPOs, high-deductible plans, and regional HMOs. Feedback suggests robust wellness and mental-health resources, with some locations offering on-site support and second medical opinions.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off is highlighted through paid holidays, paid time off, and additional recharge days such as “Days for Me,” with generous volunteer time also mentioned. Feedback suggests these programs help support rest, volunteering, and critical life events.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental and family support appears extensive, including paid child-bonding leave, family medical leave, and caregiving resources. Observations also point to family-planning assistance and adoption or surrogacy support in some regions.
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