Software Engineering Technical Leader

The application window is expected to close on: 10/20/2026 Meet the Team Our team sits at the center of Cisco Data Center Engineering and the real-world networks our most strategic customers depend on. We work on the designs, deployments, escalations, and product feedback loops that shape how modern data centers are built and operated. The work is deeply technical, highly visible, and grounded in trust: customers bring us their hardest problems, and we help them reduce risk, move faster, and turn complex infrastructure into a competitive advantage. Your Impact As a Technical Leader, you'll be at the center of the data center moments that matter most: guiding complex Nexus deployments, resolving business-critical customer challenges, influencing architectural decisions, and redefining field insights into the next generation of Cisco innovation. You will combine deep networking expertise, automation, AI-driven workflows, and sound engineering judgment to help customers build modern, scalable, and resilient data center environments with confidence. This role is ideal for someone who wants to remain close to the technology, influence product direction, and elevate the technical quality of teams across Cisco. Own the technical strategy and execution of Cisco's most sophisticated Nexus data center deployments, guiding customers from architectural planning through production readiness. Serve as a trusted authority on sophisticated data center technologies, including Nexus switching, Nexus Dashboard, EVPN/VXLAN, BGP, RoCEv2, PFC, multicast, PTP, automation, and large-scale operational environments. Drive resolution of the highest-severity customer challenges spanning software, hardware, design, automation, and operations, while translating lessons learned into product improvements and standard processes. Influence the future of Cisco's Nexus portfolio by converting customer feedback, adoption barriers, and competitive insights into actionable engineering and product priorities. Champion automation and AI-enabled operational workflows that improve efficiency, accelerate problem resolution, and increase deployment consistency at scale. Evaluate and guide critical trade-off decisions across performance, scalability, resiliency, security, supportability, customer experience, and time-to-market. Lead multi-functional initiatives involving Engineering, Product Management, Customer Experience, Sales, Partners, and Customers to deliver successful outcomes from technical discovery through implementation. Communicate complex technical strategies, risks, and recommendations with transparency and confidence to engineering leaders, customers, and executive stakeholders. Mentor senior engineers, raise the quality bar for architecture and design reviews, and cultivate a culture of technical excellence across the organization. Develop scalable feedback mechanisms, proactive tooling, and continuous improvement programs that reduce customer impact and accelerate adoption of Cisco technologies. Use strong analytical and problem-solving skills to solve original technical problems. Minimum Qualifications: Bachelors + 8 years of related experience, or Masters + 6 years of related experience, or PhD + 3 years of related experience, or 10+ years of related experience. 10+ years of data center networking experience across design, deployment, troubleshooting, and operations. Experience with Cisco Nexus or comparable large-scale data center switching platforms. Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or equivalent experience. Preferred Qualifications Experience delivering industry standard methodologies within customers’ data center infrastructure, including RoCEv2, PFC, BGP, EVPN, VXLAN, multicast, and PTP. Experience with Cisco Data Center networking offerings, including Nexus stand-alone, Nexus Dashboard, software, and automation development. Experience serving as a technical leader across Cisco, customer, and partner organizations. 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 $214,100.00 to $309,800.00 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