Director, Software Engineering (Security Business Group)

The application window is expected to close on: 09/14/2026 Meet the Team     Cisco’s Cloud Security organization is at the forefront of securing the modern workforce, protecting users, data, and applications wherever they reside. As the cornerstone of Cisco’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) strategy, we deliver cloud-native protection for users, data, and application no matter where they reside.

Cisco’s Cloud Security team is looking for a Director of Software Engineering to lead an engineering team working on our market-leading Security Service Edge (SSE) products. In this role, you will drive the strategy, execution, and delivery of multiple management/control plane services of Cisco secure Access including policy and access control, cloud control plane and service reliability, behavior analytics and security data platform, AI enabled assistant and intelligent automation, and similar services.

You will lead multiple engineering teams building scalable, high-performance systems that protect millions of users around the world as they access the internet and cloud applications. This is a pivotal leadership role that requires strong technical depth, cloud platform expertise, and the ability to implement at scale in a fast-paced environment. Your Impact     As the Director of Software Engineering, you will:  Lead and Inspire: Manage and mentor a high-performing engineering teams responsible for full development cycle of multiple management/ control plane services.

Strategic Direction: Set technical direction and vision for cloud security services, collaborating with Product Management, UX, and Security stakeholders to deliver innovative, scalable, and secure solutions. Execution Excellence: Drive end-to-end software development, from design through deployment, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery. Team Development: Attract, hire, and retain top engineering talent; foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and diversity.

Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with architecture, operations, and customer success teams to ensure seamless integration, high reliability, and outstanding user experience. Continuous Improvement: Champion process and technology improvements, leveraging metrics and customer feedback to optimize products and engineering practices. Minimum Qualifications   15+ years of software engineering experience, including significant experience leading managers and global teams.

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field. Experience with public cloud platforms (AWS, GCP or Azure), distributed systems, micro service architecture, multi-tenant services or similar data platforms, AI/ML systems, and observability, record delivering enterprise cloud software or SaaS platforms with demanding availability, scale, security, and data-consistency requirements.

Experience with modern software development practices, including CI/CD and DevOps, with experience building agentic systems and employing AI to improve productivity across the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Preferred Qualifications   Experience with security platforms, zero trust, SSE/SASE, ZTNA, SWG, CASB, DLP, FWaaS, DNS security, browser isolation, or digital experience monitoring. Experience with policy distribution, routing, identity-aware access, security telemetry, audit/event history, behavioral analytics, and event-driven data platforms.

Expertise in full stack development with experience in React, python, go, java. Familiarity with regulated enterprise or public-sector environments and security/compliance programs such as FedRAMP. 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, visib