Principal Engineer - SONiC data-plane engineering

The application window is expected to close on: 2/3/2025. Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Meet the Team

We are the Cisco Distributed System Engineering (DSE) group is at the forefront of developing products that power the largest networks in the world. The networking industry is going through a massive transformation to build the next generation infrastructure to meet the needs of AI/ML workloads and continuously increasing internet users and application. We are uniquely positioned to capture that market transition. This team builds products by harnessing the potential of open-source technologies while pushing the boundaries on Systems and Silicon Architecture.

Your Impact

As a Principal Engineer on our team, you are curious and a problem solver. You love to learn and grow and work in an environment that is constantly evolving. You will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the future of AI and ML networking infrastructure. You will be at the forefront of developing innovative solutions that enhance backend network capabilities, directly supporting cutting-edge AI and ML developments. You'll also join an agile team engaged in the design, development and testing of the Management Plane required for the Cisco 8000 platforms. You will have the opportunity to:

• Design, develop and validate:
• Manageability agents for Netconf, GNMI and Telemetry.
• Yang models for operational and configuration data on the embedded system.
• Design and develop High-scale statistics streaming infrastructure on the embedded system that feed onbox/offbox analytics engines.
• Develop test framework to validate embedded system manageability software modules.
• Contribute to the Open-Source SONiC community.
• Interact and communicate directly with our customers.
• Mentoring more junior team members.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's in computer science or a like technical field with 12 + years of relevant work experience, or a Masters with 10 + years of related experience.
• Programming experience is C, C++ or Python.
• Experience with Networking technologies such as data-plane, L2/L3, IPv4/IPv6, Overlay networks, etc.
• Software development experience with Linux based platforms or other like network operating systems.
• Experience working directly with stakeholders and customers to provide direct technical solutions.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Exposure to SONiC or experience working with the SONiC open-source community.
• Experience working with SDKs, preferred with SAI library development for switches, NPUs or DPUs.
• Exposure to ML and AI related technologies.
• Strong knowledge of networking technologies including:
• Layer 2: VLAN, Port Channel, MCLAG.
• Layer 3: IPv4, IPv6, VxLAN, Tunnels.
• QoS: Queuing, Policers, WRED, PFC, ECN.
• ACL: L2, L3, Ingress, Egress, ACL based forwarding.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional team environment across software and silicon teams.

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