Key skills
KubernetesDistributed SystemsCloud-native InfrastructureAWSAzureGCPHybrid CloudNetworking Architectures for KubernetesCNI ImplementationsIngress and Egress Traffic ManagementService-to-Service CommunicationMulti-Cluster ConnectivityNetwork ObservabilityInfrastructure-as-CodeGitOpsTerraformArgoCDSRE PracticesSLOsIncident ManagementProduction Readiness ReviewsOperational Excellence ProgramsGoPythonMicroservices ArchitectureNetworking SwitchingNetworking RoutingNetworking WiFiNetworking IoTAILeadershipCommunication
About this role
Cisco is a leading technology company revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect in the AI era. They are seeking a Principal Engineer to architect and evolve their Kubernetes platform strategy, lead design and implementation of platform capabilities, and provide technical leadership across various engineering teams.
Responsibilities:
- Architect and drive the evolution of Kubernetes platform strategy across cloud and on-premises environments supporting mission-critical workloads at scale
- Lead the design and implementation of platform capabilities that improve reliability, security, scalability, and developer productivity for hundreds of engineering teams
- Partner with engineering, security, and product leaders to define multi-year platform roadmaps and drive execution of company-critical initiatives
- Provide technical leadership during major incidents, architecture reviews, platform transformations, and strategic infrastructure investments
- Mentor senior engineers and help raise the engineering bar through technical leadership, design reviews, operational excellence, and architectural guidance
Requirements:
- 15+ years of experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems in production environments
- 7+ years of hands-on experience operating Kubernetes platforms in production, including multi-cluster environments
- Experience architecting and operating cloud-native infrastructure across AWS, Azure, GCP, or hybrid cloud environments
- Experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting networking architectures for large-scale Kubernetes platforms, including CNI implementations, ingress and egress traffic management, service-to-service communication, multi-cluster connectivity, and network observability
- Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code and GitOps technologies, including Terraform and ArgoCD or equivalent platforms
- Strong communication and leadership skills with the ability to effectively influence engineers, architects, senior leaders, and executive stakeholders
- Proven track record leading cross-organizational platform initiatives and influencing technical strategy across multiple engineering teams
- Experience implementing SRE practices, including SLOs, incident management, production readiness reviews, and operational excellence programs
- Strong software engineering experience with Go, Python, or similar programming languages used for automation and platform development
- Experience with migrating monolithic applications to a microservices architecture
- Knowledge of networking (i.e. switching, routing, wifi, IoT)