Technical Lead Senior Software Engineer jobs at Cisco in United States, Cary

In this dual-capacity role, you will not only define and drive the product vision but also manage programs and execution at scale — coordinating across multiple teams, vendors, and stakeholders to ensure successful enterprise adoption. This position requires a balance of technical expertise, leadership, product ownership, and program management skills.

Product Ownership

· Own and communicate the product vision and roadmap for AI Assistant tools, ensuring alignment with organizational and business goals.

· Define and prioritize the product backlog to maximize developer productivity and business outcomes.

· Collaborate with engineering teams to translate product features into technical requirements and ensure feasibility.

· Drive integrations of AI assistants with enterprise development environments, CI/CD pipelines, and security frameworks.

· Continuously assess tool performance, adoption, and ROI; iterate on features and workflows.

· Responsible for Leadership readouts across the enterprise.

Program Management

· Manage program-level execution across multiple teams, ensuring timely delivery of features and adoption milestones.

· Coordinate across engineering, operations, business units, and executive stakeholders to align priorities and dependencies.

· Partner with vendors (e.g., OpenAI, GitHub, Cursor, Windsurf) to manage licensing, contracts, escalations, and roadmap alignment.

· Track KPIs and success metrics; provide regular status reports and executive-level updates on adoption, usage, and outcomes.

· Identify risks, dependencies, and organizational blockers; implement mitigation strategies.

· Drive change management and communication plans to ensure smooth adoption across global teams.

· Ensure compliance with security, privacy, and governance requirements during AI adoption.

Required Skills & Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

· 7–10 years of experience in technical product or program management, with at least 3 years as a product owner in a technical environment.

· Strong understanding of Agile/Scrum methodologies and experience in backlog management.

· Proven track record in program management — managing cross-functional initiatives, vendors, and large-scale rollouts.

· Experience with AI/ML-based developer productivity tools (e.g., Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf) or similar intelligent assistants.

· Familiarity with software development lifecycles (SDLC), CI/CD pipelines, APIs, and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).

· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.

· Strong organizational skills with experience managing multiple priorities and projects in a fast-paced environment.

Desired Skills & Qualifications

· Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), SAFe Product Owner/Manager (POPM), PMP, or equivalent certifications.

· Experience with developer workflow tools (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, VS Code, JetBrains IDEs).

· Familiarity with LLMs, prompt engineering, and AI-assisted development paradigms.

· Knowledge of compliance, governance, and privacy requirements for enterprise AI adoption.

· Experience leading distributed, global teams and managing large-scale vendor engagements.

Key Competencies

· Strategic Thinking – Ability to evaluate long-term enterprise adoption strategies while balancing near-term delivery.

· Leadership & Influence – Inspire, align, and guide cross-functional teams and stakeholders toward shared outcomes.

· Execution Excellence – Skilled at delivering large-scale initiatives on time, within scope, and with measurable impact.

· Problem Solving – Adept at resolving technical, operational, and organizational challenges effectively.

· Customer-Centric Mindset – Passion for enabling developers to be more productive and innovative through AI tools.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 5+ years’ experience as a Data Analyst/Engineer in an application engineering or software development environment.
• Proficient in the use of business analysis tools and methodologies.
• Experience with managing GCP, AWS based cloud data architecture
• Experience with Prism Analytics solution along with experience with data modeling and datawarehouse concepts.
• Experience with Agile and/or Scrum methodologies.

• Experience with HR Domain
• Proficiency in Workday ecosystem
• GCP/AWS Certified professional
• Experience with GenAI augmented data analysis
• Understanding of software development life cycle (SDLC).
• Knowledge of project management tools.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Superb communication and interpersonal skills.

You will be part of the Spitfire Interface and Bundles Software Development Team, which is responsible for delivering high-quality solutions on Cisco 8000 routers through multi-threaded code in C. Your team is tasked with developing the software that operates these routers, covering a variety of Layer 2 and Layer 3 routing protocols, multicast, and more. You won’t be directly customer facing but you will work on solutions that are used by companies such as Google, Facebook, and Comcast. You will gather software requirements and collaborate with other software and hardware teams to design, architect, and complete the vital work. Your contributions will be essential in ensuring the delivery of innovative and outstanding solutions in the networking domain for large companies who are building out their network infrastructure to handle innovations in AI.

• Develop and enhance multi-threaded applications in C, effectively assisting in managing millions of lines of code to design and implement critical features with minimal supervision.
• Ensure code health and reliability by designing and automating robust testing frameworks using Python, improving quality and efficiency.
• Leveraging technical expertise and collaborating across a multi-functional organization to identify and resolve complex issues, driving successful project outcomes.

You will be part of a diverse team responsible for delivering innovative outstanding high-quality solutions on Cisco8000 involving cutting edge newer generation Silicon One ASICS. You will be part of the team developing SDK and/or Control plane for networking protocols.

This position is focused on embedded SW with significant SW/HW interactions. The solutions will involve Device Drivers and Network Processors’ knowledge. Experience with memory architecture and access optimization will be useful.

• Bachelors + 5 years of related experience, or Masters + 3 years of related experience, or PhD + 0 years of related experience.
• 3+ years software development experience
• 3+ years of C programming experience
• L2/L3 understanding

• Python experience
• GBD experience or similar debugging tools
• Linux experience
• Experience crafting and implementing solutions within complex software systems
• Strong interpersonal skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent analytical and decision-making skills
• Independent and proactive with an ability to influence others

• Bachelors + 8 years of related experience, or Masters + 6 years of experience in Engineering, or related field.
• 4+ years experience in Python programming .
• Experience with web services development using Django Framework .
• Hands-on experience with Linux-based systems .

• Knowledge of security compliance standards , such as FedRAMP , SOC2 , or PCI (added advantage).
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills .

• Familiarity with AWS and Azure cloud development
  Excellent communication and documentation skills .
• Experience in working with agile methodologies and fast-paced environments.

As Senior Leader, Strategic Customer Engagement, you will lead Cisco’s most influential executive customer engagement programs. You’ll be responsible for enhancing and scaling both the Global Customer Advisory Board (GCAB) and the Executive Sponsorship Program—initiatives critical to Cisco’s CEO and Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The Executive Sponsorship Program, in particular, is positioned for significant growth as a key enabler of customer loyalty and relationship development, and you will manage it in tandem with the GCAB to increase impact. While establishing credibility with the CEO and ELT is essential, your primary collaboration will be with Sales, Product, Marketing, and Communications leaders. This is an ideal role for someone with a strong sales background who understands the Cisco sales organization, appreciates the challenges facing account teams, and can quickly grasp high-level technology and product roadmap concepts. You’ll manage a direct report for programmatic support, drive new strategies for customer engagement, and ensure Cisco remains the partner of choice for our most strategic customers.

• Manage and continuously improve both the Global Customer Advisory Board (GCAB) and the Executive Sponsorship Program, ensuring world-class engagement for Cisco’s top customers and executive sponsors.
• Scale and grow the Executive Sponsorship Program as a strategic driver of customer loyalty and relationship development, growing its reach and effectiveness across the business.
• Establish and maintain credibility with Cisco’s CEO and ELT through effective program leadership and by delivering clear business value.
• Collaborate intensively with Sales, Product, Marketing, and Communications leaders to align engagement strategies, share insights, and drive joint business outcomes.
• Lead the planning and flawless execution of the annual in-person GCAB event, developing an agenda that showcases Cisco’s strategy and innovations.
• Guide and mentor a programmatic support resource to ensure seamless delivery and continuous improvement across all initiatives.
• Develop and execute a unified strategy for strategic customer engagement, integrating and optimizing existing initiatives and identifying new opportunities for impact.

• 10+ years of experience in program management, executive relationship management, customer engagement, or sales roles.
• 5+ years of leadership experience coordinating global teams or high-impact programs.
• Proven track record managing executive sponsorship programs, customer advisory boards, or similar high-touch initiatives.
• Experience planning and driving high-profile executive events.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.

• Sales experience and a strong understanding of Cisco Sales processes and account team challenges.
• Ability to quickly grasp high-level technology and product roadmap concepts; knowledge of Cisco’s product portfolio preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility and effectively engage with C-level executives and senior leadership teams.
• Experience influencing and collaborating with cross-functional teams, including Sales, Product, Marketing, and Communications leaders.
• Outstanding communication, facilitation, and executive presence.
• MBA or advanced degree preferred.

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science or equivalent work experience
• 5+ years of work experience on Cisco collaboration technology architecture and operations
• Experience in following Cisco technologies: ICM (UCCE), CVP, Finesse, CUIC, Cloud Connect, LiveData, IdS, VVB
• Ability to communicate effectively with senior leaders, customers, and developers
• Strong problem analysis, fix methodologies, and crisis management skills

• Demonstrable experience in customer incident and critical issue management.
• Knowledgeable in Windows and Linux, network programming concepts, and protocols.
• Proficient in project management and familiar with modern toolsets (e.g., Jira, PagerDuty).
• System Administration: Experience with OS/application patching, upgrades, and backups in voice environments.
• Oracle SBC Experience, ITIL Foundation, CCNP Collaboration, CCNP DevNet Collaboration Automation