Principal Tetragon Software Engineer

About this role

The application window is expected to close on: 08/31/2026 Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received .

Meet the Team  

Isovalent , now part of Cisco, is the company founded by the creators of Cilium and   eBPF . Cisco   Isovalent   builds open-source software and enterprise solutions solving networking, security, and observability needs for modern cloud native infrastructure. The flagship technologies, Cilium and Tetragon, are the choice of   numerous , industry- leading,   global organizations.  

We believe in fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where every team member feels valued, respected, and empowered. We believe that every employee contributes to our success, and we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone can thrive. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply and join us in our mission to deliver exceptional products and services.  

Your Impact  

Tetragon is a flexible, Kubernetes-aware observability and security tool that delivers real-time insights and enforcement. Leveraging the power of   eBPF , Tetragon provides low-overhead, in-kernel visibility and intelligence across diverse   environments.   

As   a   Principal Engine er, you will be at the forefront of advancing Tetragon’s capabilities. You will guide architectural direction while staying deeply engaged in building the systems that power our platform. Your impact will span designing high-performance data pipelines,   optimizing   database and distributed system performance, and ensuring massive streams of system events can be ingested, aggregated, and distilled into meaningful intelligence.   

You will collaborate closely with teams across Cisco, including   Hypershield   and Splunk, to create the integration points that transform raw data into actionable insights for enterprise security. In this role,   you’ll   solve some of the most complex system-level challenges in observability and infrastructure, helping Tetragon evolve to meet the needs of modern cloud-native environments.  

  What   you’ll   do:  

• Develop high-quality Go (and   eBPF ) code for the Tetragon project.  

• Extend   Tetragon capabilities to   mitigate security vulnerabilities. Examples include:  

• Enhance   Tetragon to better understand and control the execution flow   of native   (e.g., written in C/C++) or   runtime- based ( Java, Python, Go, etc.)   applications  

• Enhance Tetragon capabilities to filter malicious network packets that can trigger   vulnerabilities   in   applications / systems  

• Enhance Tetragon, and potentially the kernel   and the   eBPF   sub-system , to mitigate against kernel-level   vulnerabilities .  

• Design and   optimize   systems to deploy and manage Tetragon across large fleets, in K8s or other environments (VMs).  

• Architect infrastructure that converts raw event data into intelligence streams with minimal performance overhead.  

• Partner across teams to align requirements, define integration points, and deliver production-ready solutions.  

• Contribute to open-source projects and represent Cisco   Isovalent   in community discussions.  

• Participate in architecture reviews, code reviews, and documentation .  

Minimum Qualifications  

• Bachelors + 15 years of related experience, or Masters + 12 years of related experience, or PhD + 8 years of related experience or   equivalent   experience  

• 1 0 + years of experience in systems programming (C, C++, Go, Rust, or similar; Tetragon is primarily written in Go).  

• Proven experience leading technical direction or architecture for   runtime   security   systems, observability, or   sim ila r.  

• Experience   in   OS -level development, distributed systems, or database systems.  

• Experience in debugging and   performance   optimization wit h   a track reco rd   of delivering scalable systems.  

Preferred Qualifications  

• Experience building   e BPF -based systems   for observability or security use cases.  

• Solid background in Linux systems and kernel-level concepts.  

• Familiarity with Kubernetes and cloud-native environments.  

• Familiarity with CVE workflows, vulnerability data pipelines, or security event modeling.  

• Familiarity   with how vulnerable software is exploited at all levels  

• Strong experience in networking protocol analysis or experience in developing networking switches (e.g., L2/L3 protocols like ARP, DHCP, SNMP)  

• Contributions to open-source projects in networking, observability, or distributed systems.  

• Experience working across diverse, distributed teams  

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 $250,600.00 to $362,600.00 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 f

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