Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.
Note: This is a remote U.S. based role, requiring work within the Pacific Time Zone.
Join Cisco’s Cisco Hypershield team, where we are building the next generation of distributed security infrastructure for modern networking environments. Within Hypershield, the Smart Switch team develops foundational security capabilities that extend across multiple Cisco platforms, including switching, routing, and firewall systems.
This team is responsible for core control plane software that enables policy configuration, deployment workflows, logging, visibility, and feature orchestration across a shared security architecture used by products spanning Cisco systems networking portfolios, including Nexus, Catalyst, and emerging smart switch platforms.
The work here is highly foundational: features built by this team influence security behavior across multiple Cisco networking products and future infrastructure platforms.
In this role, you will design and develop control plane software for security features used in smart switching platforms and distributed firewall systems. You will contribute to core feature development from design through implementation, with a focus on APIs, policy orchestration, and secure service integration.
You will work closely with engineers across control plane, data plane, and platform teams to deliver scalable capabilities that support deployment, observability, and policy enforcement across distributed environments.
What you’ll do
Design and develop control plane features for network security products using Go in Linux-based environments
Build and maintain APIs used for policy configuration, deployment workflows, logging, and operational visibility
Integrate third-party components and internal services into Cisco security platforms
Collaborate with data plane and platform engineering teams to deliver end-to-end feature functionality
Contribute to architecture discussions, feature design, and technical execution for new security capabilities
Ability to collaborate effectively with peers across a geographically distributed team, with regular overlap during Pacific Time (PST/ PDT) business hours.
Bachelor's degree + 8 years of related software engineering experience, or Master's + 6 years of related experience, or PhD + 3 years of related experience.
5+ years of development experience in languages such as Go, C, or C++
Experience developing software in Linux environments
Experience building or maintaining software for security, networking, or infrastructure products or distributed systems
Experience developing software for cloud-native applications or services deployed on Kubernetes or similar distributed platforms
5+ years of professional Go development experience
Experience designing and developing APIs using REST, gRPC, or Protocol Buffers
Experience working with Kubernetes-based applications, including developing, deploying, debugging, or operating software running in Kubernetes environments
Familiarity with Kubernetes concepts such as CRDs, Kubernetes APIs, controllers, RBAC, or secrets management
Working knowledge of networking fundamentals, including network flows, policy enforcement, load balancing, or network configuration concepts
Experience working with distributed systems or network infrastructure platforms
Familiarity with network configuration technologies such as YANG, NETCONF, telemetry, or similar infrastructure configuration frameworks
Experience working effectively in a remote or distributed team environment
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 - $303,100.00Non-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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree + 8 years related software engineering experience, or Master's + 6 years, or PhD + 3 years
- 5+ years development experience in languages such as Go, C, or C++
- Experience developing software in Linux environments
- Experience building or maintaining software for security, networking, infrastructure products, or distributed systems
- Experience developing cloud-native applications or services deployed on Kubernetes or similar distributed platforms
- Ability to collaborate effectively across a geographically distributed team with regular overlap during Pacific Time business hours
- Experience with APIs, policy orchestration, logging, deployment workflows, and operational visibility
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 — Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, mental health support via an EAP, and access to on-site or virtual health centers indicate robust healthcare offerings. Wellness programs, fitness resources, and specialized services further reinforce coverage depth.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO, a global minimum for paid parental leave, and unique programs like company-wide recharge days and paid volunteer time expand time-away options. Additional offerings such as Critical Time Off and adoption assistance add flexibility for life events.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Restricted stock units and a discounted employee stock purchase plan are meaningful elements of total compensation. The prominence of equity can materially augment overall pay packages alongside salary and bonuses.
Cisco Insights
What We Do
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) enables people to make powerful connections--whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible--providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time. Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Today, with more than 71,000 employees worldwide, this tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading products and solutions in the company's core development areas of routing and switching, as well as in advanced technologies such as home networking, IP telephony, optical networking, security, storage area networking, and wireless technology. In addition to its products, Cisco provides a broad range of service offerings, including technical support and advanced services. Cisco sells its products and services, both directly through its own sales force as well as through its channel partners, to large enterprises, commercial businesses, service providers, and consumers.
