Engineering Program Manager, Network Engineering

The application window is expected to close on: 11/29/2026 Meet the Team

The Network Engineering group is at the forefront of building the software platforms that power some of the largest networks in the world. The networking industry is undergoing a major transformation as next-generation infrastructure is developed to support rapidly growing AI/ML workloads and the ever-increasing number of internet users, applications, and services.

In this role, you'll be a part of the Network Engineering Quality + Security Ops team with impact and influence across Cisco. This team manages quality and security programs across Networking, defines quality and security metrics and goals for Cisco, develops tools to measure quality and security in partnership with IT & BI, and facilitates executive quality and security reviews.

You will work alongside engineers and operations professionals who are passionate about solving complex security and quality challenges as a team and driving progress on our most critical initiatives. In this role, you will:

Your Impact

• Program Manage complex security programs in Networking involving cross functional teams such as Software Engineering, Security & Trust, Compliance, Customer Listening, Sales, SBG, and CX
• Partner with Engineering to define security metrics and goals for Networking that also can be adopted by other product groups in the company such as SBG, Collab, and Splunk
• Drive security improvement plans for areas where we have gaps to CSDL, Build Environment Security, Secure by Design, and CRA
• Reduce vulnerabilities, improve component health, and improve security posture overall
• Partner with Engineering and BI to develop dashboards and tools which show security and compliance posture
• Improve CSAT for products that you support
• Use AI tools to streamline and automate work as well as derive insights based on data
• Analyze quality and security data to ensure accuracy, derive insights on what is driving trends, as well as focus areas in need of Engineering attention
• Develop complete and well thought out execution plans that incorporate sound contingency planning and risk assessments.
• Track multiple project tasks to proactively anticipate problems, while always maintaining a solution orientation and a well-balanced perspective around risks and escalations.
• Communicate effectively, using tools and processes to ensure transparency and collaboration across global teams.
• Maintain an up-to-date project plan that can be referenced at any time.
• Lead meetings to resolve conflicts, facilitate decision making, and drive timely execution.
• Collaboratively interface with external teams to obtain mutual wins.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree +8 years of related experience, or Masters +6 years of related experience or equivalent work experience.
• 5+ years of experience in Program Management, managing programs such as Network Security, Software Development, Testing, or Information Security.
• 3+ years of experience in managing software programs or releases.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PMP/Scrum master certification.
• Understanding and experience in Networking Security including knowledge of security requirements such as Fed Ramp, SOC2, Cyber Resiliency Act, etc.
• Proficiency in Atlassian tool set: Jira, Confluence, Xray.
• AI tool proficiency such as Codex, Cursor, Git Hub co-pilot.
• Experience in working with IT, BI, Security & Trust Organization, Sales, and Customer Experience.
• Excellent communication, teamwork, collaboration, and organizational skills.

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 $171,600.00 to $245,000.00 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 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: $171,600.00 - $281,800.00 Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $151,300.00 - $250,900.00 * 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.