Leader, Software Engineering (Data Plane, Hypershield)

Cisco is a leading technology company revolutionizing data and infrastructure connectivity. They are seeking a Leader for their Hypershield Data Plane team to manage and coordinate a senior engineering team responsible for delivering core Data Plane capabilities with a focus on high-speed firewalling and packet processing.

Responsibilities:

• Lead a distributed team of senior engineers and technical leaders delivering Data Plane features in sprint-based development cycles
• Manage and coordinate engineering execution across a primarily U.S.-based team, ensuring alignment during West Coast business hours (PST/PDT)
• Drive technical discussions, architecture alignment, and resolution of complex engineering roadblocks across packet processing and networking workflows
• Partner with cross-functional teams including hardware, platform software, test, and product engineering to align on milestones, schedules, and deliverables
• Oversee development quality including unit testing strategy, CI/CD readiness, defect triage, release planning, and branch management

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field with 15 years of related experience, or Master's degree with 12 years of related experience, or PhD with 8 years of related experience
• 4+ years of supervisory experience leading software engineering teams
• Experience with C programming, embedded software development, or switch software development kits (SSDKs)
• Experience working with networking technologies such as VXLAN, VRF, VRRP, HSRP, SD-WAN, or related Layer 2 / Layer 3 protocols
• Experience leading software development in sprint-based delivery environments, including defect triage, release planning, and software delivery management
• Experience with programmable networking technologies such as P4, DPUs, NPUs, or smart switch architectures
• Experience leading teams delivering networking, security, or packet processing software in distributed systems environments
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and software quality processes from unit testing through end-to-end validation
• Experience participating in architecture discussions across software and hardware boundaries
• Experience leading remote or globally distributed engineering teams across multiple time zones