[Hiring] Customer Delivery Architect @Cisco

Role Description

Cisco is seeking a Customer Delivery Architect (CDA) to support one of the world’s largest hyperscale web customers in the Seattle area. This role is focused on next-generation data center networking built on SONiC and Cisco Silicon One, powering large-scale AI/ML and high-performance computing infrastructure.

As part of Cisco’s Customer Experience (CX) organization, you will operate at the intersection of open networking software, programmable switching silicon, and hyperscale infrastructure operations. You will work directly with customer network platform teams and Cisco engineering to design, troubleshoot, and optimize SONiC-based data center fabrics running on Cisco hardware platforms.

This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy going deep across the stack — from Linux kernel networking and containerized SONiC services to ASIC forwarding pipelines and AI cluster network design.

What You'll Do

• Act as the technical authority for SONiC deployments running on Cisco Silicon One platforms in large-scale production environments.
• Provide architectural guidance and operational support for hyperscale data center fabrics supporting AI/ML workloads.
• Troubleshoot complex issues across the stack including SONiC containers, Linux networking, routing protocols, and ASIC forwarding behavior.
• Perform deep debugging and analysis using Silicon One SDK tools and ASIC telemetry to identify hardware and software interactions.
• Support both production and pre-production validation environments running SONiC and Cisco platforms including NCS5500, Catalyst 8000, Nexus 3000/9000, and NCS1K.
• Collaborate directly with Cisco silicon architects, SONiC development teams, and software engineering groups to resolve defects and improve platform capabilities.
• Optimize network fabrics designed for AI/ML clusters using RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) and other high-performance transport mechanisms.
• Guide the customer in adopting DevOps-driven operational models, including CI/CD pipelines for SONiC software validation and infrastructure automation.
• Help implement observability, telemetry, and automated validation frameworks to improve reliability at hyperscale.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor, building strong relationships with customer network engineering and infrastructure teams.

Technologies You Will Work With

• Open Network Operating Systems
  • SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud)
  • Linux-based network operating systems and distributed network services
  • Containerized network services and orchestration
• Programmable Silicon
  • Cisco Silicon One architecture
  • ASIC-level packet forwarding pipelines
  • Hardware telemetry and deep packet path debugging
  • Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI)
• AI / ML Data Center Networking
  • High-performance AI cluster fabrics
  • RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) networking
  • Lossless Ethernet and congestion control
  • Large-scale leaf-spine architectures optimized for GPU workloads
• Automation & DevOps
  • CI/CD pipelines for network validation and software lifecycle management
  • Infrastructure-as-code and automated testing frameworks
  • Python-based automation and Linux tooling
  • Git-based development and open-source collaboration workflows

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 10+ years of experience in networking, distributed systems, or hyperscale infrastructure
• Deep knowledge of data center networking architectures and large-scale routing environments
• Strong troubleshooting skills across software, hardware, and network protocols
• Experience working in large production environments with minimal supervision

Core Technical Expertise

• SONiC and Open Networking
  • Deep hands-on experience with SONiC architecture and operations
  • Understanding of SAI, Redis DB model, containerized services, and control-plane architecture
• Linux Systems
  • Strong knowledge of Linux networking stack and kernel internals
  • Experience debugging network behavior using Linux tools and system-level diagnostics
  • Familiarity with Docker or Kubernetes-based service orchestration
• Programmable Silicon & Hardware Debugging
  • Experience working with merchant silicon or programmable ASIC platforms
  • Exposure to Cisco Silicon One architecture or similar programmable switching silicon
  • Ability to analyze packet forwarding pipelines and hardware counters
• AI / ML Networking
  • Experience supporting AI cluster networking or HPC fabrics
  • Knowledge of RoCE networking, congestion management, and performance optimization
• DevOps & Automation
  • Strong automation experience with Python and Linux tooling
  • Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated infrastructure validation
  • Familiarity with open-source development workflows and Git-based collaboration

Networking Protocol Expertise

• Strong working knowledge of:
  • BGP
  • ISIS
  • MPLS and Segment Routing
  • VXLAN / EVPN
  • IPv6
  • Data center leaf-spine fabrics
• Platforms may include NCS5500 (Fretta), Catalyst 8000 / Spitfire, Nexus 3000/9000, and NCS1K.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience operating hyperscale cloud or web-scale infrastructure
• Hands-on experience with Cisco Silicon One-based systems
• Contributions to SONiC or other open networking projects
• CCIE (Service Provider, Data Center, or Routing & Switching) or equivalent experience
• Experience integrating network telemetry, streaming analytics, and observability platforms

Impact of the Role

This role directly supports a strategic hyperscale customer deployment leveraging SONiC and Cisco Silicon One to power next-generation AI infrastructure. The position plays a critical role in ensuring the reliability, scalability, and performance of networking systems that underpin some of the largest compute environments in the world.

You will work closely with both Cisco engineering and customer platform teams, helping shape the evolution of open networking and AI-driven data center architectures.

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.