Technical Leader, Software Engineer - SDK/SAI Engineer

  • Location:
    San Jose, California, US
  • Area of Interest
    Engineer - Software
  • Compensation Range
    165700 USD - 232900 USD
  • Job Type
    Professional
  • Technology Interest
    Software Development
  • Job Id
    1432026
The application window is expected to close on: 1/20/2025. Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received. 

Meet the Team

We are the Cisco Distributed System Engineering (DSE) group is at the forefront of developing products that power the largest networks in the world. The networking industry is going through a massive transformation to build the next generation infrastructure to meet the needs of AI/ML workloads and continuously increasing internet users and application. We are uniquely positioned to capture that market transition. This team builds products by harnessing the potential of open-source technologies while pushing the boundaries on Systems and Silicon Architecture.

Your Impact

As a Software Engineer, SDK/SAI Engineer on our team, you are curious and a problem solver. You love to learn and grow and work in an environment that is constantly evolving. You will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the future of AI and ML networking infrastructure. You are a technologist at heart and a leader in practice that is passionate about building and delivering data plane and control plane software. You are experienced spotting performance bottlenecks and tuning systems to achieve roofline performance. You will focus on quality with an automation first mindset to help drive test frameworks. You will have the opportunity to:
  • Join an agile team engaged in the design, development and testing of the Data Center feature set for the Cisco 8000 platforms.
  • Collaborate with internal Cisco teams and the open-source community on:
    • Layer 2: VLAN, Port Channel, MCLAG.
    • Layer 3: IPv4, IPv6, VxLAN, Tunnels.
    • QoS: Queuing, Policers, WRED, PFC, ECN.
    • ACL: L2, L3, Ingress, Egress, ACL based forwarding.
  • Contribute to open-source networking projects, particularly SONiC/SAI.
Minimum Qualifications:
  • Bachelor’s in computer science or a like technical field with 7 + years of relevant work experience, or a Masters with 5 + years of related experience.
  • Programming experience in C, C++ or Python.
  • Experience with SDK’s such as SAI (switch abstraction interface) library development for Switches, NPUs or DPUs.
  • Software development experience with Linux based platforms or other like network operating systems.
  • Experience with Network related technologies such as data-plane forwarding technologies such as L2/ L3, IPv4/IPv6, Overlay networks.
Preferred Qualifications:
  • Exposure to SONiC or experience working with the SONiC open-source community.
  • Experience in data-plane services including ACL and Queuing/Scheduling/Buffering implementations in networking equipment Strong knowledge of networking. technologies including:
    • Layer 2: VLAN, Port Channel, MCLAG.
    • Layer 3: IPv4, IPv6, VxLAN, Tunnels.
    • QoS: Queuing, Policers, WRED, PFC, ECN.
    • ACL: L2, L3, Ingress, Egress, ACL based forwarding.
  • Experience working directly with end customers and providing direct technical solutions to customers.
  • Ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional team environment across software and silicon teams.
#WeAreCisco 

#WeAreCisco where every individual brings their unique skills and perspectives together to pursue our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all. 

Our passion is connection—we celebrate our employees’ diverse set of backgrounds and focus on unlocking potential. Cisconians often experience one company, many careers where learning and development are encouraged and supported at every stage. Our technology, tools, and culture pioneered hybrid work trends, allowing all to not only give their best, but be their best. 

We understand our outstanding opportunity to bring communities together and at the heart of that is our people. One-third of Cisconians collaborate in our 30 employee resource organizations, called Inclusive Communities, to connect, foster belonging, learn to be informed allies, and make a difference. Dedicated paid time off to volunteer—80 hours each year—allows us to give back to causes we are passionate about, and nearly 86% do! 

Our purpose, driven by our people, is what makes us the worldwide leader in technology that powers the internet. Helping our customers reimagine their applications, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals is what we do best. We ensure that every step we take is a step towards a more inclusive future for all. Take your next step and be you, with us! 


Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.

Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter.  Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

Share