Principal Software Engineer

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

The application window is expected to close on: 4/13/2026. The job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.
 

Join Cisco's distinguished Solution Architecture team within our Common Hardware organization, where innovation and collaboration drive everything we do. As part of this highly skilled group, you'll work alongside industry experts focused on bridging hardware and software-delivering seamless, high-performance networking solutions.

Our team plays a pivotal role in coordinating across multiple engineering and business units, ensuring technical operations run smoothly and product strategies remain closely aligned with customer needs. We actively engage with customers to brainstorm new features, shape product direction, and prioritize development efforts. Collaboration is at the heart of our work, as we work hand-in-hand with ASIC development, project management, and marketing teams to drive the success of our hardware and software solutions.

We value deep networking knowledge and technical expertise, especially from candidates with backgrounds in hardware and software integration. Our environment fosters continuous learning and cross-functional partnership, providing you with the opportunity to shape the next generation of networking technologies-including ASIC, SDK, and P4 development in the US.

If you are passionate about innovative networking architectures and eager to make a significant impact at scale, you'll thrive as part of our forward-thinking team.

In this role, you will serve as a key technical interface between our customers and internal teams. You will engage directly with customers to deeply understand their requirements, effectively communicate our ASIC and software capabilities, and articulate solutions with clarity and confidence. Collaborating closely with our development team, you will ensure that customer needs and expectations are accurately conveyed and addressed.

Your impact will be recognized through the following:

• Strengthening Customer Relationships: You will foster ongoing, close partnerships with customers through transparent communication and a deep understanding of their technical requirements and perspectives.
• Driving Customer Success: By accurately capturing customer needs and collaborating with the development team, you will help deliver features and solutions that meet or exceed expectations, resulting in high customer satisfaction.
• Shaping Product Strategy: Your insights from direct customer and industry engagement will influence the evolution of our ASIC and software roadmap, ensuring our offerings remain at the forefront of industry needs.
• Industry Leadership: You will proudly represent the Silicon One product portfolio to customers and industry experts, showcasing our innovation and technical excellence.

• Bachelor’s degree in CS/EE, or a related technical field and 12+ years of software development experience, OR Master’s degree and 8+ years of related experience. (example)
•  10+ years of experience in Networking field, either in software development or ASIC development or Network System architecture.
• Clear understanding of the data-path implementation of Networking function.
• Good communication skills including ability to cleary articulate technical challenges and solutions. 

•  15+ years of experience in Networking field, either in software development or ASIC development or Network System architecture.
•  Defined Network architecture, either for Networking ASIC or Software.
•  Experience in working directly with customers and delivering features to customer.

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. 

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:

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

* 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.