Sr. Director, Software Engineering

About this role

The application window is expected to close on: 09/03/2026 Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received .

Meet the Team Cisco IQ is a unified, AI-powered business transformation platform designed to enhance Cisco Support and Professional Services by leveraging over 40 years of Cisco expertise combined with agentic AI. It serves as a central interface that provides complete landscape clarity, proactive resilience, rapid resolution, and contextualized professional services across the entire customer journey.

We are seeking a Senior Director of Software Engineering in our Cisco IQ Services engineering organization. This role is responsible for driving the technical strategy, operational excellence, and architectural integrity of our software services. The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of the full software development lifecycle (SDLC) and a proven track record of scaling teams while maintaining high security and quality standards. You will be instrumental in integrating AI-driven tools to enhance developer productivity and operational efficiency.

Your Impact • Engineering Leadership : Provide visionary leadership to multiple development and architecture teams, fostering a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous improvement. • Process Engineering & SDLC : Define and optimize end-to-end software development processes to ensure consistent delivery, scalability, and compliance with industry standards. • Security & Quality Rigor : Embed security and quality assurance into the core of the development lifecycle, ensuring all platforms are resilient, secure, and performant. • Platform Observability : Lead the design and implementation of comprehensive observability frameworks to proactively manage complex environments and minimize downtime. • AI-Driven Efficiency : Drive the adoption of AI-based tools and methodologies within development environments to accelerate release cycles, reduce technical debt, and optimize resource costs. • Multi-functional Collaboration : Partner with service organization leaders to align engineering outputs with business objectives, ensuring seamless service delivery and support. • Architecture Oversight : Lead all aspects of architectural strategy, ensuring that systems are modular, scalable, and aligned with long-term business goals.

Minimum Qualifications • Leadership Experience : 10+ years of experience in engineering management, with significant experience leading large, multi-functional teams at the Director level or above. • Technical Expertise : Deep knowledge of modern SDLC, distributed systems, and cloud-native architecture. • Operational Rigor : Proven experience running complex, mission-critical environments with a focus on high availability and performance. • Service Organization Experience : Demonstrated success working within or partnering with service-oriented organizations to deliver value to internal or external stakeholders. • Strategic Innovation : Experience implementing AI or automation strategies that have tangibly improved developer velocity or operational cost-efficiency. • Communication : Outstanding ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and influence organizational change.

Preferred Skills • Experience in high-scale enterprise environments. • Deep understanding of DevSecOps practices and regulatory compliance. • Track record of mentoring and developing engineering leadership talent.

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 $293,900.00 to $406,800.00 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 calenda

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