The application window is expected to close on: 07/24/2026

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Preferred candidates will be based in Ann Arbor, MI or Austin, TX.

Meet the Team

In an era where identity is the new perimeter, the traditional boundaries of cybersecurity are being redefined. At Cisco Security, our Identity AI team is at the forefront of this transformation, building "identity-first" solutions that go beyond simple authentication. We are looking for a visionary Software Leader to help us bridge the critical gap between verifying who a user is and validating the intent behind their actions.

By joining our team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Cisco Identity Intelligence and Duo, architecting intelligent, adaptive systems that protect the digital fabric of the world’s most critical infrastructures. If you are passionate about building scalable, AI-driven security platforms and want to solve the industry’s most complex access challenges, this is your opportunity to lead innovation at the intersection of security and intelligence.

Your Impact

In this role, you will have the opportunity to serve as the architectural backbone of our data-driven security mission.   Key responsibilities include: 

• Architectural Leadership & Strategy: Own the end-to-end architecture and cross-product integration strategy for our Kafka-based data infrastructure. Serve as the primary technical authority for data ecosystems spanning Cisco Identity Intelligence, Duo, and our emerging agentic product lines, ensuring seamless interoperability across technical and organizational landscapes.

• Data Ecosystem Innovation: Drive the design and implementation of high-scale, event-driven data flows. Define the standards for schema management, data quality, and observability, ensuring that our analytics and agentic products have the reliable, high-fidelity data needed to make real-time, identity-first security decisions.

• Operational Excellence & Reliability: Influence production readiness and operational maturity. Use your deep expertise in large-scale Kafka deployments to build resilient, self-healing systems to ensure that our infrastructure is not only scalable but also highly observable, maintaining the rigorous uptime and performance standards required by our global customer base.

• Multi-functional Influence: Act as a central technical bridge between disparate engineering teams. You will influence decision makers across the organization to align on data standards and integration patterns, fostering a culture of collaboration that accelerates our ability to deliver next-generation security capabilities.
   

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 12+ years of industry experience, or Masters and 8+ years of industry experience, or PhD and 6+ years of industry experience 

• 4+ years of experience with Kafka, data infrastructure, and/or streaming architecture to include building and operating production systems 

• Experience in AI-driven development experience to include writing code, building systems, and developing strategies for using AI  to assist in work

• Experience building cloud services to include AWS, GCP or Azure

Preferred Qualifications  

• Experience in Identity and Security domains

• SRE/operations experience to run this infrastructure reliably in production to include a SRE mindset for observability, incident response, capacity planning, and reliability

• Ability to navigate ambiguity and identify technical solutions and paths forward

• Ability to influence without authority

• Ability to continuously iterate and make decisions with a bias of action

Why Cisco? 

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere. 

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you. 

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

The starting salary range posted for this position is $174,700.00 to $253,400.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks.  Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:

• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees

• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco

• Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees

• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)

• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to the next

• Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members

• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. 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 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

$210,600.00 - $350,800.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$189,300.00 - $312,200.00

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.