Principal Software Engineer (Security & Policy Platform) (Remote)

Cisco is seeking a Principal Engineer for its Security and Policy Platform Group. The role drives technical strategy and develops scalable software and platform solutions across Cisco products, while providing technical leadership, mentorship, and cross-team alignment.

Responsibilities:

• Innovate, develop, and drive unique software and technology solutions with global impact across Cisco’s broader product portfolio and multiple technology and business groups
• Act as an internal, external, and industry expert, applying deep technical expertise to provide mentorship and consultation on sophisticated challenges
• Serve as a domain expert or cross-domain integrator, leveraging breadth of knowledge to connect emerging technology trends and assess their impact on Cisco products
• Guide and set standards for the technical direction of Cisco’s software and technology solutions, influencing industry trends, business leaders, and Cisco’s technical community
• Ensure the development, execution, and enablement of technology strategies that deliver long-term business impact
• Stay ahead of evolving technology and industry trends, shaping innovation and enabling Cisco to maintain a strong competitive advantage
• Partner across engineering, product, and business teams to translate strategic vision into scalable, high-impact solutions
• Mentor and influence senior technical leaders, driving architectural consistency and engineering excellence across the organization

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field with 12+ years of experience designing and developing large-scale software, platform, or distributed systems
• Experience building and scaling highly available, secure, and distributed systems in cloud or hybrid environments
• Experience writing high-quality, production-grade code using modern programming languages (e.g., Go, Rust, or C++)
• 5+ years of experience with security, privacy, and data protection principles as applied to policy and platform systems
• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
• Recognized technical leadership as a domain expert or cross-domain integrator influencing architecture across multiple product lines or business units
• Experience driving platform strategy in large-scale enterprise or cloud environments
• Experience integrating systems with broader platform services such as observability, data platforms, or AI/ML-driven systems
• Track record of influencing technical direction and aligning stakeholders across a large, matrixed organization
• Experience defining technical architecture and driving end-to-end system design across multiple teams or organizations
• Contributions to industry standards, open-source projects, patents, or publications
• Ability to translate emerging technology trends into long-term strategic direction and business impact