ASIC Design Verification Engineer, Technical Leader

Cisco Systems; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 187,000 - 268,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems is seeking an ASIC design verification engineer in San Jose, CA to verify ASICs using SystemVerilog and UVM. You will build and maintain complex DV environments, develop test benches, and drive verification closure across simulation, emulation, and bring-up.

The role emphasizes coverage, creative problem solving, and collaboration with cross-functional teams. You will work onsite in San Jose, collaborating with verification engineers, designers, and hardware teams to ensure

Qualifications

• Bachelor's with 8+ years or Master's with 6+ years of relevant experience.
• Experience with SystemVerilog and UVM methodology.
• Experience verifying complex ASIC/SoC blocks, clusters, or top level.
• Experience building test benches from scratch, SystemVerilog constraints, structures and classes.
• Experience with functional coverage and constrained-random DV environments.
• Scripting skills: Perl and/or Python.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and enhance existing DV environments.
• Construct test benches including scoreboard, agents, sequencers, and monitors for new blocks.
• Write test plans, develop test cases, debug regression failures, drive module verification closure.
• Ensure complete verification coverage through code and functional coverage reviews.
• Use AI tools to develop methods to improve verification quality.

Skills

SystemVerilog

UVM

Test benches

Constrained random DV

Perl

Python

Education

Bachelor's degree + 8+ years experience

Master's degree + 6+ years experience

Tools

Veloce/HAPS

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 11/18/2026

This role will work onsite out of our San Jose, CA office.

Meet The Team:

The Common Hardware Group (CHG) creates innovative hardware platforms central to the AI era, powering Cisco’s core Switching, Routing, and Wireless products for organizations globally. Our innovations in silicon, optics, and hardware platforms—like Silicon One—are shaping the technology industry. We're a global team of creative experts, bringing our unique backgrounds and bold ideas to push boundaries and help each other grow. Because full product development—from design to qualification to production is within our team, we’re able to think differently, experiment more, and work quickly. Join us to power the future of the digital world.

You will be in the Silicon One development organization as an ASIC design verification engineer in San Jose, CA. You collaborate closely with verification engineers, designers, hardware and cross‑functional teams to verify the ASIC in simulation, in emulation, and during ASIC bring‑up.

Your Impact:

• Maintaining existing DV environments and enhancing them

• Construct test bench including scoreboard, agents, sequencers, and monitors for new blocks

• Write test plan, develop test cases, debug regression failures and drive to module verification closure

• Ensuring complete verification coverage through implementation and review of code and functional coverage

• Use AI tools to develop innovative methods and processes to improve quality of design verification.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's with 8+ years or Master's degree with 6+ of relevant experience required; prior experience with System Verilog and UVM methodology

• Prior experience in verifying complex blocks, cluster, and/or top level for ASIC/SoC

• Prior experience building test benches from scratch, hands on experience with System Verilog constraints, structures and classes.

• Prior experience with functional coverage and constrained random DV environments.

• Scripting skills: Perl and/or Python scripting

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong domain experience in one or more protocols is a plus – PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, AHB/AXI, DDR, MMU.

• Experience with Veloce/HAPS is a plus

• Formal verification (iev/vc formal) knowledge is a plus

Why Cisco?

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

The starting salary range posted for this position is $186,900.00 to $267,700.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long‑term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks. Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:

• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees

• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco

• Non‑exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full‑time employees

• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)

• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to the next

• Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members

• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance‑based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non‑quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. 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 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

$186,900.00 - $307,800.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$166,300.00 - $274,100.00

• For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non‑exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.

Cisco is an Aff…

Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.