At Cisco Meraki, we know that technology can connect, empower, and drive us. Our mission is to simplify technology so our customers can focus on what's most meaningful to them: their students, patients, customers, and businesses. We’re making networking easier, faster, and smarter with technology that simply works. Meraki enables connectivity everywhere from neighborhood cafes and schools to global hotel chains operating thousands of sites!
As a Principal Engineer on the Core Product team, you will take on a leadership role in designing and guiding the architecture of large, complex projects that improve the reliability, simplicity, and debuggability of our software. You will collaborate with teams across the organization to implement features that span Meraki product lines and operate on 17 million customer devices in the field. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of designing and implementing scalable software solutions and will be responsible for guiding the technical direction of critical projects.
About the team
The Core Product Engineering Team is responsible for developing foundational software features that are used across all Meraki product lines. We work closely with hardware engineers, security, and other engineering teams to create robust, efficient software solutions that power Meraki’s innovative networking products. You’ll have the opportunity to work on high-visibility projects that require cross-functional coordination and influence the direction of Meraki’s technology stack.
In this role, you will:
- Lead by example as an architect building scalable and efficient systems as part of a team
- Working with collaborators to set an architectural vision, and define and deliver on technical roadmaps for product engineering
- Providing guidance to engineers fostering a collaborative team environment
- Advocate for software engineering best practices, including code reviews, unit testing, and performance monitoring
- Lead technical initiatives across multiple teams and ensure their adoption by influencing and aligning teams with the broader organizational goals
You are ideal for this role if you have:
- 15+ years of related experience and are recognized as a strategic problem solver, with extensive technical, market and business expertise.
- Expertise with modern C++ and Linux including more advanced features and idioms
- Expertise with Linux primitives such as IPC, Memory Management, and cgroups
- Expertise in debugging embedded systems, using tools such as GDB and Valgrind
- The ability to lead technical teams, drive architectural decisions, and mentor engineers
- The ability to clearly communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
Bonus points for:
- Experience in networking protocols
- Experience with embedded systems development with tools such as Yocto and buildroot
- Experience developing Linux kernel space code
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Gerrit, GitLab, and Jenkins
- Experience using agile methodologies such as Scrum and/or Kanban
We encourage you to drop us a line even if you don’t have all the points above. That’s a lot of different areas of responsibility! We will help you pick them up because we believe that great teams come from a diverse set of backgrounds.
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.
At Cisco Meraki, we’re challenging the status quo with the power of diversity, inclusion, and collaboration. When we connect different perspectives, we can imagine new possibilities, inspire innovation, and release the full potential of our people. We’re building an employee experience that includes appreciation, belonging, growth, and purpose for everyone.
#LI-Hybrid #LI-Remote
Compensation Range:
$219,700—$314,000 USD
Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:
When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.
U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.
Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter. Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.
Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.
Top Skills
What We Do
Meraki is a Greek word meaning “something done with soul, creativity, or love.” With this name as our mantra, we’re building a welcoming workplace that attracts eclectic, curious, purposeful people who unite to ignite our customers’ passions. Together, we create powerful, simple technology with the potential to change everything.
Why Work With Us
We believe that when passionate people are able to spend less time struggling with technology, they can spend more time on what matters—like teaching kids, running businesses, keeping airports safe, and connecting disaster victims with relief. That’s the real power of simplicity.
Gallery










Cisco Meraki Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.