Full-Time
Principal Engineer
AI Defense
Posted on 9/25/2025
Cisco
10,001+ employees
Networking hardware, security software, collaboration services
No salary listed
Roseville, CA, USA
In Person
 Software Engineering (2) |
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- 15+ years designing large-scale, distributed cloud platforms, with emphasis on secure, event-driven, high-throughput systems.
- Proficient in Go, Python, AWS (EKS, EC2, IAM, etc.), and cloud-native development with microservices, APIs, and real-time pipelines.
- Built and hardened security features, implemented zero-trust, and architected multi-account AWS solutions.
- Designed data architectures for high-volume telemetry and analytics using both streaming and batch patterns.
- Drove reliability, autoscaling, observability, and incident response in SaaS environments.
- Mentored engineers, led reviews, and collaborated across teams to drive integration and compliance.
- Design, implement, and own a secure, scalable, multi-tenant cloud-native AI SPM platform, driving development, data architecture, and system hardening.
- Ensure platform reliability, performance, and operational quality through best practices in resiliency, observability, and incident response.
- Mentor engineering teams, set high technical standards, and collaborate across Cisco to integrate with key platforms and drive business alignment.
- Experience with agentic AI and model security (guardrails, model evaluation/observability, prompt/tool abuse prevention, policy enforcement for MCP/A2A).
- Familiarity with policy-as-code (OPA/Rego), graph-based security models, and risk scoring frameworks.
- Prior experience leading platform migrations or greenfield 0→1 initiatives at scale.
- Experience with observability stacks, performance tuning, and SRE practices.
- Knowledge of Kubernetes (EKS), service meshes, API gateways, and Envoy-based architectures.
Cisco designs and sells networking hardware, software, and services that help organizations connect, protect, and manage data. Its products include networking gear, security solutions, cloud services, and collaboration tools like Webex to support hybrid work. Cisco differentiates itself with a broad, integrated stack—routing and switching, security, cloud, and collaboration—that works together at scale. Its goal is to help customers securely connect people, devices, and applications, enabling reliable communication and digital transformation across enterprises of all sizes.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
San Jose, California
Founded
1984
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Networking revenues surged 21% YoY to $8.29 billion in Q2 FY2026 from AI infrastructure demand.
- Six consecutive quarters of 20%+ networking orders driven by Wi-Fi 7 and campus upgrades.
- JPMorgan raised price target to $96 citing AI growth in servers, switches, and optics.
What critics are saying
- Arista erodes Cisco's share in high-performance Ethernet switches for AI data centers within 12 months.
- HPE's Juniper acquisition undercuts Cisco's SASE offerings, accelerating defections in 6 months.
- BWG Global downgrade reveals weakening demand for Cisco's legacy campus gear in 3 months.
What makes Cisco unique
- Cisco's $28 billion Splunk acquisition integrates data analytics with ThousandEyes for $31.4 billion ARR.
- Cisco open-sourced AI-BOM tool tracking 150 models to combat shadow AI security risks.
- Cisco's Universal Quantum Switch connects incompatible quantum systems at room temperature with <4% degradation.
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Benefits
Paid Vacation
Hybrid Work Options
Flexible Work Hours
Professional Development Budget
Company News
Cisco is acquiring Galileo, an AI observability specialist, to strengthen Splunk's position in the AI monitoring market. The deal is expected to close in July 2026. Galileo provides tools to evaluate AI output quality, detect errors before they reach users, and improve AI agent behaviour in production. The platform monitors hallucinations, bias, security risks and cost metrics across the entire agent development lifecycle, offering real-time observability for multi-agent systems. The acquisition will integrate Galileo into Splunk Observability Cloud, expanding existing AI agent monitoring capabilities. Galileo offers over 20 evaluation metrics including hallucination detection and supports major AI platforms like OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI and AWS Bedrock. Cisco and Galileo previously collaborated on Cisco's AGNTCY initiative. Both companies will operate independently until the deal closes.
Cisco buys Galileo to strengthen Splunk's agentic monitoring capabilities - SiliconANGLE
Cisco Systems has joined Project Glasswing alongside Anthropic, Amazon and other tech companies to detect software vulnerabilities using advanced AI models. The collaboration includes early access to Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview and has already identified security flaws missed by existing tools. The initiative aligns with Cisco's strategy of integrating AI-driven security capabilities into its networking and collaboration products. For investors, the partnership positions Cisco to address software risks for large enterprise and government customers as AI reshapes cybersecurity. Cisco shares currently trade at $83.17, approximately 7% below the analyst target of $89.04. The company has raised $295 million to date, with recent 30-day returns of roughly 7%. Success depends on real-world effectiveness and maintaining customer trust in AI-based defences.
Cisco has appointed Pete Shimer to its board of directors, effective immediately. Shimer will serve on the board's Audit Committee. Shimer brings 40 years of executive leadership experience from Deloitte, where he held C-suite positions including chief operating officer, chief financial officer and interim chief executive officer. His expertise spans enterprise transformation, strategic planning and digital innovation. He currently serves on the boards of Alaska Airlines, Korn Ferry and Synopsys, and is executive chair of the Cancer Artificial Intelligence Alliance. Shimer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from the University of Washington. Cisco chair and CEO Chuck Robbins said Shimer's experience leading global organisations and guiding digital transformation brings valuable insight as Cisco delivers infrastructure for AI innovation.
Applied Digital topped Q4 IT services and tech stocks, while the sector overall saw revenues beat analyst estimates by 5.3%. The 20 tracked companies reported strong results, though share prices averaged a 10.4% decline following earnings announcements. Cisco reported revenues of $15.35 billion, up 9.7% year on year, exceeding analyst expectations by 1.5%. The networking equipment maker delivered a strong quarter with revenue guidance surpassing forecasts. CEO Chuck Robbins highlighted the company's portfolio strength and its role in connecting and protecting customers. Despite positive results, Cisco's stock fell 7.6% post-earnings to $79.08. The IT services sector faces growth opportunities from cloud adoption and AI-driven automation, whilst navigating challenges including competition from cloud-native providers and supply chain constraints for networking hardware.