CPT Backend Engineer Jobs
Backend Engineer CPT jobs let F-1 students apply server-side development skills in a real work environment while earning academic credit. Your DSO must authorize CPT before your start date, and your offer letter must align with your degree program. Part-time CPT (under 20 hours per week) keeps your full-time OPT eligibility intact after graduation.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Please note this posting is to advertise potential job opportunities. This exact role may not be open today but could open in the near future. When you apply, a Cisco representative may contact you directly if a relevant position opens.
Applications accepted until further notice.
Meet the Team
The Cisco Product Organization is the engine behind the platforms, technologies, and solutions defining the next generation of connectivity. Spanning AI Software & Platforms, Core Product Engineering, Collaboration, Security, Networking, Silicon, and Observability, we build the critical infrastructure that powers the digital world. Millions of people rely on our platforms every day, and our teams work together to build, refine, and scale products that drive meaningful impact. We are a team of passionate innovators, united by our curiosity, collaboration, and dedication to helping one another do our best work. Ready to help us build what's next?
The Cisco Product Internship Program offers a 12-week summer experience designed to welcome early-career talent into this mission. We embed interns within high-impact teams, where they collaborate directly on the products, platforms, and architectures shaping Cisco's future and powering the AI era. Throughout the program, interns have the opportunity to participate in targeted learning sessions, multi-functional networking, and direct engagement with leaders across the organization. By immersing interns in real-world challenges, we help them build the technical skills, confidence, and collaborative approach needed to envision a long-term, impactful career at Cisco.
Your Impact
You'll solve real problems from day one by designing, building, and shipping the APIs and applications that power our platforms. You'll write clean, maintainable back-end code, designing RESTful services and distributed architectures alongside your team, with opportunities to contribute to front-end systems as projects demand. When challenges arise, you'll troubleshoot together to sharpen your engineering instincts. By developing and maintaining scalable software, you enable our business groups to leverage reliable services, ensuring we deliver high-impact technology solutions that connect the world.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program (Associate's or Bachelor's).
- Qualifying education should be in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.
- Expected to continue enrollment in degree program following completion of the internship.
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, or Go.
- Experience building or supporting software applications or services, including APIs.
- Familiarity with core software engineering workflows, tools, and development environments such as Git and Linux.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Proficiency in two or more of: JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, or React, with UI/UX principles awareness.
- Experience applying Object-Oriented Programming principles, with exposure to C/C++ or JavaScript.
- Hands-on experience with RESTful services, distributed systems, or microservices.
- Exposure to a cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP) and/or deployment or automation tooling (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Docker, Kubernetes).
- Exposure to networking fundamentals (L2/L3, TCP/IP), cloud security, or DevOps/DevSecOps practices.
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:
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:
$44,000.00 - $185,000.00
Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$44,000.00 - $185,000.00
- 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.
INTRODUCTION
Please note this posting is to advertise potential job opportunities. This exact role may not be open today but could open in the near future. When you apply, a Cisco representative may contact you directly if a relevant position opens.
Applications accepted until further notice.
Meet the Team
The Cisco Product Organization is the engine behind the platforms, technologies, and solutions defining the next generation of connectivity. Spanning AI Software & Platforms, Core Product Engineering, Collaboration, Security, Networking, Silicon, and Observability, we build the critical infrastructure that powers the digital world. Millions of people rely on our platforms every day, and our teams work together to build, refine, and scale products that drive meaningful impact. We are a team of passionate innovators, united by our curiosity, collaboration, and dedication to helping one another do our best work. Ready to help us build what's next?
The Cisco Product Internship Program offers a 12-week summer experience designed to welcome early-career talent into this mission. We embed interns within high-impact teams, where they collaborate directly on the products, platforms, and architectures shaping Cisco's future and powering the AI era. Throughout the program, interns have the opportunity to participate in targeted learning sessions, multi-functional networking, and direct engagement with leaders across the organization. By immersing interns in real-world challenges, we help them build the technical skills, confidence, and collaborative approach needed to envision a long-term, impactful career at Cisco.
Your Impact
You'll solve real problems from day one by designing, building, and shipping the APIs and applications that power our platforms. You'll write clean, maintainable back-end code, designing RESTful services and distributed architectures alongside your team, with opportunities to contribute to front-end systems as projects demand. When challenges arise, you'll troubleshoot together to sharpen your engineering instincts. By developing and maintaining scalable software, you enable our business groups to leverage reliable services, ensuring we deliver high-impact technology solutions that connect the world.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program (Associate's or Bachelor's).
- Qualifying education should be in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.
- Expected to continue enrollment in degree program following completion of the internship.
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, or Go.
- Experience building or supporting software applications or services, including APIs.
- Familiarity with core software engineering workflows, tools, and development environments such as Git and Linux.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Proficiency in two or more of: JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, or React, with UI/UX principles awareness.
- Experience applying Object-Oriented Programming principles, with exposure to C/C++ or JavaScript.
- Hands-on experience with RESTful services, distributed systems, or microservices.
- Exposure to a cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP) and/or deployment or automation tooling (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Docker, Kubernetes).
- Exposure to networking fundamentals (L2/L3, TCP/IP), cloud security, or DevOps/DevSecOps practices.
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:
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:
$44,000.00 - $185,000.00
Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$44,000.00 - $185,000.00
- 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.
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Get Access To All JobsBackend Engineer CPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a backend engineering internship always qualify for CPT?
Not automatically. CPT approval depends on whether the role is an integral part of your enrolled program, not just whether the job title sounds technical. A backend engineering role qualifies if your DSO can connect the day-to-day responsibilities, such as API design, server-side logic, or database management, to specific courses or program requirements in your degree plan.
Can I do CPT at a startup that doesn't have a formal immigration policy?
Yes. CPT authorization comes from your school, not your employer. The employer only needs to provide a compliant offer letter and complete Form I-9. Startups without dedicated HR can still hire CPT students as long as they meet those requirements. If the startup is also enrolled in E-Verify, that opens the path to STEM OPT later.
How do I find backend engineering roles where employers understand CPT?
Use Migrate Mate to search for backend engineering positions from employers with a track record of hiring international students. Many employers are unfamiliar with CPT mechanics, so targeting those who have done it before reduces the risk of an offer falling through over authorization questions.
What happens if my backend CPT role changes scope mid-employment?
If your responsibilities shift significantly, for example from backend API work to a primarily DevOps or data engineering role, your DSO may need to re-evaluate whether the new scope still aligns with your curriculum. Notify your DSO before the change takes effect, not after, to avoid an unauthorized employment situation.
Does CPT authorization cover remote backend engineering work?
CPT can cover remote positions, but your employer's address on the authorization must match where you're actually performing work. If you're working remotely from a state different from your employer's listed location, confirm with your DSO how to list the work location correctly. USCIS expects the authorized employer and worksite to reflect reality.