Meet the Team
Isovalent, now part of Cisco, is the company founded by the creators of Cilium and eBPF. Cisco Isovalent builds open-source software and enterprise solutions solving networking, security, and observability needs for modern cloud native infrastructure. The flagship technologies, Cilium and Tetragon, are the choice of numerous, industry-leading, global organizations.
We believe in fostering an inclusive workplace where every team member feels valued, respected, and empowered. We believe that every employee contributes to our success, and we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone can thrive. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply and join us in our mission to deliver exceptional products and services.
Your Impact
Tetragon is a flexible, Kubernetes-aware observability and security tool that delivers real-time insights and enforcement. Leveraging the power of eBPF, Tetragon provides low-overhead, in-kernel visibility and intelligence across diverse environments.
As a Technical Leader, you will be at the forefront of advancing Tetragon’s capabilities. You will guide architectural direction while staying deeply engaged in building the systems that power our platform. Your impact will span designing high-performance data pipelines, optimizing database and distributed system performance, and ensuring massive streams of system events can be ingested, aggregated, and distilled into meaningful intelligence.
You will collaborate closely with teams across Cisco, including Hypershield and Splunk, to create the integration points that transform raw data into actionable insights for enterprise security. In this role, you’ll solve some of the most complex system-level challenges in observability and infrastructure, helping Tetragon evolve to meet the needs of modern cloud-native environments.
What you’ll do:
Develop high-quality Go (and eBPF) code for the Tetragon project.
Design and implement new Tetragon features to enhance its capabilities for Runtime security detection and enforcement
Design and optimize systems for large-scale Tetragon deployment and operation in K8s or VM platforms
Architect infrastructure that converts raw event data into intelligence streams with minimal performance overhead.
Contribute to open-source projects and represent Cisco Isovalent in community discussions.
Participate in architecture reviews, code reviews, and documentation.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelors + 8 years of related experience, or Masters + 6 years of related experience, or PhD + 3 years of related experience
10+ years of experience in systems programming (Go, C, or similar; Tetragon is primarily written in Go).
Experience in building system software in Go (or similar) and/or eBPF
Experience in system-level development, Linux kernel development, distributed systems, or run-time security systems
Preferred Qualifications
Knowledge of eBPF for observability or security use cases.
Experience in debugging and optimization with a track record of delivering scalable systems.
Solid background in Linux systems and kernel-level concepts.
Familiarity with Kubernetes and cloud-native environments.
Experience integrating with observability platforms (e.g., Splunk) or SaaS security/analytics systems.
Familiarity with CVE workflows, vulnerability data pipelines, or security event modeling.
Exposure to real-time streaming/aggregation systems and database performance optimization.
Contributions to open-source projects in networking, observability, or distributed systems.
Experience working across diverse, distributed teams
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 8 years of related experience, or Master’s degree plus 6 years, or PhD plus 3 years
- 10+ years of experience in systems programming using Go, C, or similar languages
- Experience building system software in Go or similar languages and/or eBPF
- Experience in system-level development, Linux kernel development, distributed systems, or runtime security systems
- Knowledge of eBPF for observability or security use cases
- Experience debugging and optimizing scalable systems
- Strong Linux systems and kernel-level knowledge
- Familiarity with Kubernetes and cloud-native environments
- Experience integrating with observability platforms such as Splunk or SaaS security and analytics systems
- Familiarity with CVE workflows, vulnerability data pipelines, or security event modeling
- Experience with real-time streaming or aggregation systems and database performance optimization
- Open-source contributions in networking, observability, or distributed systems
- Experience working across diverse, distributed teams
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 robust with multiple plan options and access to onsite/virtual LifeConnections Health Centers on major campuses. Company materials also highlight mental-health resources and comprehensive preventive care, supporting strong core medical benefits.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time away includes company‑wide recharge days, a paid birthday, a year‑end shutdown, and paid Critical Time Off for emergencies. Paid volunteer days further expand opportunities to step away and recharge.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies include a global minimum for paid parental leave for primary caregivers, caregiving concierge services, and on‑site children’s learning centers in select locations. In the U.S., family‑building support is consolidated under Carrot with a defined lifetime maximum, indicating structured assistance across fertility, preservation, adoption, and surrogacy.
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.
