Software Engineer Embedded Systems II (Full Time) - United States

Please note this posting is to advertise potential job opportunities. This exact role may not be open today but could open in the near future. When you apply, a Cisco representative may contact you directly if a relevant position opens.

Applications are accepted until further notice.

Meet the Team

Join a vibrant community of passionate professionals from around the world, working together in Engineering, IT, Supply Chain, Customer Experience, Security & Trust, and more. Our team brings diverse perspectives, skills, and backgrounds—united by a shared commitment to innovation and making technology accessible for everyone. Here, you’ll collaborate with dedicated colleagues on exciting projects in cloud, mobile, desktop, and security. No matter your role, you’ll have the chance to learn, grow, and make an impact—building solutions that help people connect, learn, and thrive in new ways. Together, we’re shaping the future—one idea at a time.

Your Impact

As a Software Engineer Embedded Systems II, you will take ownership of designing, developing, and optimizing high-performance embedded software, firmware, and low-level platform features. Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to build resilient device drivers, kernel components, and hardware-software interfaces that power mission-critical platforms and intelligent connected systems. Architect and implement robust system-level test automation and diagnostic tools using Python and modern CI/CD pipelines to validate complex platform interactions and ensure product reliability. Apply systems programming expertise to diagnose intricate platform-level issues, optimize memory and CPU performance, and support production triage. Success in this full-time role means independently delivering resilient, scalable embedded software and driving technical excellence across the entire software development lifecycle.

Minimum Qualifications

• Meet one of the following (completed within the past 3 years or expected to be completed within the next 12 months): -A Master's degree with 0 years of work experience; -Bachelor's degree with 2 years of work experience; -An educational or workforce development program (e.g., Associate’s, Apprenticeship, Boot camp, or Certification) with 3 years of work experience; -High school diploma (or equivalent) with 4 years of work experience. Qualifying education and work experience should be in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.

• Strong proficiency in C or C++ systems programming, with practical experience developing software in embedded Linux, RTOS, or POSIX-compliant operating system environments.

• Deep understanding of operating systems concepts, multithreading, concurrency, memory management, and low-level hardware-software interfaces.

• Familiarity with standard software development workflows in Linux environments, debugging tools (e.g., GDB, Valgrind), and Git version control.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience developing low-level device drivers, kernel modules, Board Support Packages (BSPs), or bootloaders (U-Boot, UEFI).

• Demonstrated knowledge of networking principles, layered communication architectures (TCP/IP, OSI model), or routing and switching protocols (e.g., Ethernet, BGP, OSPF).

• Experience writing automation tooling or test frameworks in Python or Bash, integrated with modern CI/CD automation pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions).

• Familiarity with hardware bring-up, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) validation, or lab instrumentation (logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, JTAG debuggers).

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:

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:

$125,700.00 - $203,100.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$111,700.00 - $180,800.00

* 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.