If you are applying for a full-time position, you typically get 4-5 interviews conducted via WebEx, Cisco's favorite tool. Be prepared to be asked to turn on your camera (which may or may not happen). It's likely that your interviews will be spread out over several weeks and may include one or two interviewers at the same time.
The process is slow, and you get little to no feedback, which does not mean things didn't go well. During your interview, be prepared to share your screen via WebEx and demonstrate skills relevant to the position you are applying for, e.g., write some code or demonstrate knowledge of some software tool.
One of your interviewers is likely to be the department head or a director.
If you are applying for a contract position, you typically get a maximum of 2 interviews. The process is a lot less rigorous, and you get feedback very quickly. Still, be prepared to be on camera via WebEx and to share your screen to demonstrate your skills.
Write some code in the language of your choice demonstrating sorting and recursion.
The following metrics were computed from 125 interview experiences for the Cisco Software Engineer role in San Jose, California.
Cisco's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Jose, California is on the easier side as most engineers get an offer after going through it.
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Cisco's Software Engineer interview process in San Jose, California.