• In this role, you will design, build, and optimize the data plane for Cisco Hypershield using C++, P4, and hardware offload technologies such as DPUs and NPUs
• You'll work hands-on with AMD DPU specifications, packet processing pipelines, and performance-critical components from day one
• Success in this role means operating in a fast-paced model-quickly absorbing the architecture, contributing to data-plane development immediately, and delivering reliable, high-performance code with minimal hand-holding
• Design and implement data-plane features using P4, microcode, and C++ across DPU/NPU architectures
• Bring up hardware platforms, integrate SDKs, and debug low-level packet-processing behavior
• Work from AMD technical specifications to define and build performant pipelines
• Collaborate closely with internal teams (control plane, management plane, platform) to deliver end-to-end datapath functionality
• Drive system-level architecture discussions and influence design choices for high-throughput and low-latency packet processing

Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field
• 7+ years of experience in packet processing (e.g., DPDK, TCP reassembly, high-throughput pipelines)
• Programming experience in C/C++ and experience with P4 or microcode/U-code development
• Experience bringing up platforms or ASICs in Linux-based environments

Hands-on experience building or leveraging hardware acceleration with DPUs or NPUs

• The starting salary range posted for this position is $183,800.00 to $263,600.00 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 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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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

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