Software Engineer Technical Leader – Network Data Plane – Hypershield

Cisco is a leading technology company focused on networking and security solutions. The Software Engineer Technical Leader will design and optimize data plane software for Cisco Hypershield Smart Switches, collaborating with various teams to solve complex networking challenges.

Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and optimize high-performance data plane software using modern C/C++ on Linux-based systems
• Develop networking software for DPU-based Smart Switch platforms, enabling scalable packet processing and advanced security capabilities
• Troubleshoot complex software defects, networking issues, and customer-reported problems while improving performance, scalability, and reliability
• Lead technical design discussions, participate in architecture and code reviews, and provide technical mentorship across the engineering organization
• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to deliver innovative networking and security capabilities for Cisco Hypershield Smart Switches

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field and 12+ years of related experience, or Master's degree with 10+ years, or PhD with 7+ years of related experience
• 10+ years of professional software development experience using C or C++ in Linux environments
• Experience developing networking or data plane software with strong knowledge of Layer 2, Layer 3, and common networking protocols
• Experience developing or optimizing high-performance packet processing applications using DPDK, networking stacks, or similar technologies
• Experience designing, implementing, debugging, reviewing, and delivering production-quality systems software
• Experience developing software for Data Processing Units (DPUs), SmartNICs, network processors, or networking appliances
• Experience with P4 or other programmable data plane technologies
• Experience contributing to networking architecture, systems software design, or large-scale distributed networking solutions
• Experience working across cross-functional or geographically distributed engineering teams