Software Engineering Lead / AI & Agentic AI Architect
Meet the Team
Our team builds the cloud-native platforms and AI capabilities that Cisco engineers, customers, and the wider developer community rely on every day. We take emerging AI and agentic technology and turn it into production systems rather than demonstrations, which is where most organizations still stall. The team is a small and senior group of architects and engineers who work shoulder to shoulder with product, security, and platform teams, and who own their work from architecture through live operations. Debate here is direct and technical, and the person with the better argument wins regardless of title. Agentic AI is moving faster than any technology this team has worked with, and the decisions made here shape how Cisco adopts it safely.
Your Impact
Architect and build AI and agentic AI solutions, including agent orchestration, tool integration, retrieval augmented generation, and autonomous workflows, so that emerging capability reaches customers as dependable product rather than experiment. Design and operate secure microservice applications on AWS and Kubernetes, applying a security-first approach across application, API, container, identity, and data layers to protect enterprise data as system autonomy increases. Establish architectural patterns and engineering practices that other teams adopt, raising the quality and speed of AI delivery well beyond this group. Lead design and code reviews and mentor engineers, so that sound technical judgment scales further than any one person can reach. Success in this role looks like agentic systems running in production with clear guardrails, measurable reliability, and engineers across the organization building on the patterns you set.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelors + 12 years of related experience, or Masters + 8 years of related of related experience, or equivalent related work experience.
- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience delivering production applications in one or more of Python, Java, Go, or JavaScript/TypeScript.
- 5+ years of experience designing, deploying, and operating microservice-based applications on a public cloud platform such as AWS.
- 3+ years of experience running containerized workloads in Kubernetes in a production environment.
- 2+ years of hands-on experience building applications with generative AI or large language models, including at least one production system using retrieval augmented generation, embeddings, or tool and function calling.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
- Experience building enterprise-scale agentic AI platforms, including agent orchestration and multi-agent workflows.
- Hands-on experience with agent frameworks and protocols such as LangGraph, LangChain, Model Context Protocol, or Semantic Kernel.
- Experience with AI security, guardrails, policy enforcement, evaluation, and observability for AI systems in production.
- Proven ability to mentor engineers and influence architecture decisions across organizational boundaries without direct authority, evidenced through patents, publications, open-source contributions, or major engineering initiatives.
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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree plus 12 years of related experience, or Master’s degree plus 8 years of related experience, or equivalent related work experience
- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience delivering production applications
- Professional experience with one or more of Python, Java, Go, or JavaScript/TypeScript
- 5+ years of experience designing, deploying, and operating microservice-based applications on a public cloud platform such as AWS
- 3+ years of experience running containerized workloads in Kubernetes in a production environment
- 2+ years of hands-on experience building applications with generative AI or large language models
- Production experience using retrieval augmented generation, embeddings, or tool and function calling
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Experience building enterprise-scale agentic AI platforms, agent orchestration, and multi-agent workflows
- Experience with LangGraph, LangChain, Model Context Protocol, or Semantic Kernel
- Experience with AI security, guardrails, policy enforcement, evaluation, and observability for production AI systems
- Ability to mentor engineers and influence architecture decisions across organizational boundaries
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.
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.
