Senior Backend Engineer

Cisco

. Design, develop, and scale backend services and APIs supporting Agent Resilience products .

Posted 9/18/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • United StatesSenior💰 $167,700 - $282,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in designing and developing scalable backend services and APIs, with a strong focus on Python and Go programming. Proficient in improving system performance and reliability while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Python DevelopmentGo DevelopmentBackend Services and APIsAutomated Testing with PytestKafka or Streaming Technologies

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Hard Skills

Backend Application DevelopmentHigh-Throughput Application DesignSystem Scalability ImprovementData ProcessingDatabase Management

Soft Skills

CollaborationProblem-Solving

Tools & Technologies

KafkaPytestClickHouse

Industry Keywords

AI/ML DevelopmentObservabilityMonitoringData-Intensive Systems

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

KafkaPythonGo

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design, develop, and scale backend services and APIs supporting Agent Resilience products
Build high-throughput applications handling large volumes of users, requests, and data
Improve system scalability, reliability, and performance
Develop primarily in Python, with additional development in Go
Write automated tests using pytest or similar frameworks
Work with databases, Kafka or similar streaming systems, and data platforms to consume and process data
Collaborate with front-end engineers, AI researchers, product managers, and engineering teams
Translate complex AI and observability capabilities into scalable enterprise products
Deliver reliable, scalable backend functionality and improve application performance as usage grows

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree with 7+ years of related experience, or Master’s degree with 4+ years of related experience, or equivalent practical experience
5+ years of experience developing production backend applications and services using Python and/or Go, with strong proficiency in Python
Experience designing, building, and scaling applications or services supporting high traffic, high throughput, large data volumes, or significant numbers of users
Experience building backend services and APIs
Experience working with databases, distributed application components, or data-intensive systems
Experience writing automated tests for backend applications using pytest or comparable testing tools
Preferred: experience developing AI/ML, generative AI, large language model, AI agent, or agentic applications
Preferred: experience with Kafka or similar streaming technologies and event-driven systems
Preferred: experience with analytical or high-scale databases such as ClickHouse
Preferred: experience in observability, monitoring, analytics, or other data-intensive application domains
Preferred: experience improving scalability, reliability, and performance at significant production scale

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical, dental and vision insurance
401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
Paid parental leave
Short and long-term disability coverage
Basic life insurance
Grants of Cisco restricted stock units, subject to eligibility and continued employment
10 paid holidays per full calendar year
1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
1 paid day off for employee’s birthday
Paid year-end holiday shutdown
4 paid days off for personal wellness
16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year for non-exempt employees
Flexible vacation time off program with no defined limit for eligible exempt employees
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter
Up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward
Additional paid time away for critical or emergency family issues
Optional 10 paid volunteer days per full calendar year
Annual bonuses for non-sales roles, subject to Cisco’s policies
Performance-based incentive pay for sales-plan employees