System Administrator

Job Description

System Engineer – Lab Management & System Administration

Cisco Silicon One Labs are growing rapidly, requiring an experienced System Engineer to manage lab operations, hardware infrastructure, and automation. You will oversee large-scale evaluation boards, switches, servers, and storage systems, working across multiple Linux-based operating systems, BSPs (Board Support Packages), and boot mechanisms. Your role involves consolidating lab environments, improving automation, ensuring system stability, and driving technological innovation.

Meet the Team

Join the Cisco Silicon One team in developing a unified silicon architecture for web-scale and service provider networks. Our environment combines the best aspects of a startup culture within a multi-geography silicon organization, providing an innovative, growth-driven career path for engineers working on ASICs, hardware boards, and software infrastructure.

Your Impact

• Oversee administration of large-scale lab environments, ensuring efficiency, reliability, and operational continuity.
• Consolidate operating systems, BSPs, boot mechanisms, and implement automation to streamline workflows.
• Manage PXE servers and boot mechanisms, optimizing performance and robustness across lab hardware.
• Collaborate with internal/external vendors and developers to move lab equipment to modern operating systems.
• Implement containerization on evaluation boards to enhance testing and deployment techniques.
• Optimize lab storage solutions for long-term sustainability, scalability, and performance.
• Implement security best practices across lab operations, boot mechanisms, network infrastructure, and configurations.
• Troubleshoot hardware/software failures, maintain documentation, and ensure lab infrastructure is fully operational.

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong Linux OS fundamentals and filesystem structure knowledge.
• Hands-on expertise in networking and storage management.
• Scripting proficiency in Bash, Python, or similar languages for automation.
• Experience working with virtualization platforms (VMware, Nutanix).
• Ability to work across multiple hardware configurations, including evaluation boards, traffic generators, and lab setups.
• Proactive problem-solving mindset with excellent troubleshooting abilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing and implementing on-premise infrastructure, with a strong focus on automation, scalability, and using tools like Puppet, Chef, and Ansible.
• Proficiency in monitoring tools (Zabbix, Prometheus, Grafana) to ensure system reliability and optimize performance.
• Knowledge of containerization platforms (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes) for efficient deployment and management.
• Expertise in CI/CD practices and implementing infrastructure using IaC (Infrastructure as Code) principles.
• Strong debugging and optimization skills for hardware/software interactions, improving overall system efficiency.
• Experience managing large-scale storage environments, developing data retention strategies, and troubleshooting IT issues in cross-functional teams.

#WeAreCisco

#WeAreCisco where every individual brings their unique skills and perspectives together to pursue our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all.

Our passion is connection—we celebrate our employees’ diverse set of backgrounds and focus on unlocking potential. Cisconians often experience one company, many careers where learning and development are encouraged and supported at every stage. Our technology, tools, and culture pioneered hybrid work trends, allowing all to not only give their best, but be their best.

We understand our outstanding opportunity to bring communities together and at the heart of that is our people. One-third of Cisconians collaborate in our 30 employee resource organizations, called Inclusive Communities, to connect, foster belonging, learn to be informed allies, and make a difference. Dedicated paid time off to volunteer—80 hours each year—allows us to give back to causes we are passionate about, and nearly 86% do!

Our purpose, driven by our people, is what makes us the worldwide leader in technology that powers the internet. Helping our customers reimagine their applications, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals is what we do best. We ensure that every step we take is a step towards a more inclusive future for all.