Principal Engineer | AI and Security | 13+ years

**Principal Engineer – AI & Security Platforms** **Location:** Bangalore, India **Organization:** Infrastructure & Security CTO **Meet the Team** The Infrastructure & Security CTO organization is shaping the future of Cisco’s core products by driving **AI-driven, cloud-native, security-first architectures** across networking and security platforms. **Your Impact** As a Principal Engineer, you will define how **AI and security are embedded into Cisco’s core networking and security products** . You will work at the intersection of **LLMs, Zero Trust security, and cloud-native systems** , delivering innovations that improve threat detection, enable secure access, and automate operations at scale. **What You’ll Do** • Integrate **AI/ML and LLMs** into platforms for threat detection, anomaly analysis, and intelligent policy enforcement • Design **security-first architectures** , including firewall, **Zero Trust / secure access** , and runtime security (e.g., **Tetragon / eBPF** ) • Build **cloud-native platform capabilities** leveraging Kubernetes and multi-cloud environments • Develop **large-scale telemetry, data pipelines, and real-time inference systems** to power AI-driven insights • Design solutions across the **AI security lifecycle** , including model/data protection, access control, and runtime enforcement • Drive **end-to-end execution** from architecture through production, including hands-on design and critical-path development • Partner with product teams to deliver **customer-facing innovation and monetization opportunities** • Lead and mentor across teams spanning **security, AI, and platform engineering** **Minimum Qualifications** • 12+ years in **platform engineering, distributed systems, or security architecture** • Strong expertise in: **◦** **Network and cloud security** (firewalls, Zero Trust, secure access) **◦** **Cloud-native systems** (Kubernetes, microservices) • Experience with **cloud-native security** (e.g., Tetragon, eBPF, or similar) **•** **Hands-on production experience building LLM/AI applications for security use cases** , including deployment and scaling • Strong programming skills in **C/C++, Go, and/or Java** , with **Python** for AI integration and automation • Experience building **large-scale, telemetry/data-driven platforms** **Preferred Qualifications** • Experience applying **AI to security or networking platforms at scale** • Deep knowledge of **Zero Trust, SSE/SASE, and identity-driven architectures** • Experience with **multi-cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)** • Strong product mindset—connecting **platform innovation to business outcomes** • Proven ability to drive **cross-functional initiatives from concept to production** **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. Cisco is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.