Platform Engineering Lead Jobs in California

The application window is expected to close on: 04/13/2026. Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Meet the Team

The Cygnus team is at the heart of Cisco’s innovation, building the next-generation Board Support Package (BSP) platform for high-performance routing products powered by Silicon One. We function as a critical engineering hub, bridging the gap between hardware and software to enable rapid platform onboarding and production-quality delivery. Our team is a collaborative, engineering-driven group that values craftsmanship and continuous learning, working across NPI, BIOS, and application development. We are particularly excited about our mission to modernize engineering through AI-powered automation, fundamentally changing how routing platforms are brought to market. By joining us, you contribute to a high-visibility, high-impact environment that spans multiple product lines and hardware generations.

Your Impact

Lead three critical functions—Spitfire NPI, Common BIOS, and Cygnus Applications—to ensure the rapid, high-quality delivery of Silicon One-based routing platforms. Manage the engineering team, processes, and infrastructure to optimize the developer experience and accelerate platform bring-up cycles. Drive the adoption of AI-powered workflows and automation to transform manual, repetitive tasks into intelligent, self-healing pipelines that improve quality and time-to-market. Champion a high-performing culture by mentoring engineers and setting rigorous standards for quality, security, and performance across all workstreams. Deliver complex, multi-functional projects that directly influence Cisco's Silicon One platform strategy and maintain our competitive edge in the routing industry.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree + 15 years of related experience, or Master's + 12 years of related experience, or PhD + 8 years of related experience.
• 4+ years of supervisory/management experience leading software engineering teams.
• Experience delivering software projects spanning multiple teams and functions.
• Programming experience with C and Python.
• Experience with CI/CD and build systems such as Jenkins or GitHub Actions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with network operating systems or embedded platforms (e.g., IOS-XR, NX-OS, SONiC).
• Familiarity with Board Support Package (BSP) development and hardware abstraction layers.
• Experience leading New Platform Introduction (NPI) programs in networking or hardware-adjacent domains.
• Strong communication skills for cross-team collaboration, stakeholder management, and executive-level reporting.
• Ability to balance near-term delivery pressure with long-term engineering investment.

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 $210,600.00 to $305,100.00 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.