Hardware System Board Design Engineer (Onsite)

Cisco Systems, Inc.; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 138,000 - 197,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. Milpitas, CA is seeking a hardware engineer to own the design and validation of a server sub-system. You will ensure the design meets specifications and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality hardware on schedule.

The role requires high-speed board design experience, lab validation skills, and hands-on use of Cadence tools. You will contribute to documentation and work with external vendors as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's in EE/CE or higher with multiple years of hardware design experience.
• Experience taking board designs from concept to production and debugging.
• Proficiency with lab hardware such as oscilloscopes and analyzers.
• Hands-on knowledge of Cadence Concept and Allegro for schematics/layouts.
• Ability to work in cross-functional teams and communicate clearly.

Responsibilities

• Own design and validation of a server sub-system.
• Ensure design meets functional specs.
• Participate in cross-functional meetings to drive quality and schedule.
• Create functional specifications and technical documentation.
• Work with and manage JDMs for server product development.
• Contribute to test methodologies and verification plans.

Skills

High-speed hardware design

Board design

Schematic generation

Troubleshooting

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering

Master's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering

PhD in Electrical/Computer Engineering

Tools

Cadence Concept

Cadence Allegro

Oscilloscopes

Logic Analyzers

Spectrum Analyzers

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 12/30/2026

This position requires that you live within commuting distance of our Milpitas, CA office and commute to the lab 5 days per week.

Meet the Team

Cisco Silicon One is the only unifying silicon architecture in the market that enables customers to deploy the best-of-breed silicon from Top of Rack (TOR) switches through web-scale data centers and across service providers, enterprise networks, and data centers with a fully unified routing and switching portfolio. Come join us and take part in shaping Cisco's ground-breaking solutions by designing, developing, and testing some of the most complex ASICs being developed in the industry.

The Cisco Service Provider Routing Hardware Engineering team develops next-generation hardware by adhering to IEEE standards and industry best practices. Our engineers drive innovation across the full product lifecycle, serving as IP architects, creators, and solution integrators who manage products from concept to production.

The team specializes in key technical domains, including system and board design, PCB layout, hardware automation, validation, signal integrity, and power design. By partnering cross-functionally with system designers, diagnostics and customer escalation engineers, and external vendors, the team ensures robust test methodologies, timely issue mitigation, and high product quality. Ultimately, they advance the state of the art through IP development and research, consistently challenging industry norms to optimize cost, performance, and reliability for next-generation solutions.

Your Impact

• Own design and validation of a server sub-system.
• Ensure design meets functional specs.
• Participate as a valuable team member to deliver quality products on time.
• Participate in cross-functional meetings and teams.
• Participate in creating functional specifications and technical documentation.
• Work with and manage JDMs for server product development.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 4+ years of experience, or Master's in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 2+ years of related experience, or PhD in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 0+ years of related experience.
• Experience with highspeed hardware board designs and validation.
• Experience with taking board designs from concept through production including schematics generation, layouts and troubleshooting.
• Experience in hardware validation using lab equipment such as Oscilloscopes, Logic Analyzers, and Spectrum Analyzers.
• Hands on board design knowledge, including design tools such as Cadence Concept and Allegro.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with networking products design.
• Experience creating test scripts in Python.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.

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 $138,100.00 to $196,500.00 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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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:

$138,100.00 - $226,000.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$124,000.00 - $201,000.00

* 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.