Senior SAO Orchestration Architect Cisco NSO

We are looking for a Senior SAO Orchestration Architect with 10+ years of experience in network automation, service orchestration, and telecom/network software engineering. The candidate should have strong hands-on expertise in Cisco NSO, YANG, Python, NETCONF/RESTCONF, APIs, and cloud-native technologies.

The role involves architecting and implementing scalable Service Activation and Orchestration solutions, integrating NSO with OSS/BSS, inventory, assurance, SDN controllers, and ITSM platforms, while providing technical leadership to engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and lead Cisco NSO-based Service Activation and Orchestration solutions.


• Develop scalable YANG models, NSO service packages, templates, and reusable workflows.


• Lead Python-based network automation and orchestration initiatives.


• Design and implement integrations using REST APIs, NETCONF, RESTCONF, XML, and JSON.


• Integrate Cisco NSO with OSS/BSS, inventory, assurance, SDN controllers, and ITSM systems.


• Define orchestration architecture, standards, governance, and best practices.


• Design and manage microservices and API-based architectures.


• Deploy and manage containerized orchestration workloads using Kubernetes, OpenShift, and Docker.


• Collaborate with customers and stakeholders on solution architecture and technical design.


• Conduct architecture reviews, estimation, solution planning, and technical discussions.


• Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership across development and automation teams.


• Support CI/CD and DevOps practices for network automation solutions.

Mandatory Skills

• 10+ years of experience in Network Automation, Service Orchestration, or Telecom Software Engineering.


• Strong hands-on Cisco NSO architecture and development experience.


• Expertise in YANG, NETCONF, RESTCONF, XML, and JSON.


• Advanced Python programming for network automation.


• Strong knowledge of REST APIs, Microservices, and API Gateway integration.


• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, OpenShift, and Docker.


• Strong networking fundamentals: MPLS, BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, VPN, Routing & Switching.


• Good experience with Linux, Git, CI/CD, Jenkins, and DevOps.


• Experience in integrating orchestration platforms with enterprise/network systems.


• Strong architecture, troubleshooting, communication, and stakeholder-management skills.

Good to Have

• EVPN-VXLAN, Segment Routing, SDN, and NFV.


• Kafka, Helm, ArgoCD, gRPC, Prometheus, and Grafana.


• AWS, Azure, or GCP networking and automation.


• Experience with Telecom OSS/BSS transformation programs.


• Experience with cloud-native network orchestration platforms.

Leadership Expectations

• Own end-to-end solution architecture and technical delivery.


• Lead architecture and design discussions with customers.


• Drive technical decisions, standards, and best practices.


• Mentor and guide engineering teams.


• Participate in estimation, solutioning, architecture reviews, and technical governance.


• Act as a senior technical point of contact for orchestration and network automation solutions.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.


• Preferred certifications: CCIE, Cisco NSO Certification, CKA/CKAD, or Red Hat OpenShift Certification.