Leader, Hardware Engineering

Cisco; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 195,000 - 286,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Leader, Hardware Engineer based in San Jose, CA to drive development of next‑gen hyperscaler switch hardware built on Silicon One and merchant ASIC.

You will lead system and board bring‑up, collaborate across ASIC, DFT, signal integrity, software and manufacturing teams, and guide complex projects end to end. The role requires strong leadership, extensive hardware design experience, and a track record of delivering large hardware programs.

Qualifications

• Experience with complex high-speed board design and bring-up.
• Experience with schematics/layout, hardware bring-up, troubleshooting, system level testing.
• Experience in managing teams and leading technical projects.

Responsibilities

• Define and design the next generation Hyperscaler Switch hardware based on Silicon One and/or merchant ASIC.
• Lead a team of engineers for system and board specification, schematic capture, FPGA design, ASIC/system bring-up and troubleshooting.
• Leads large and/or complex projects from requirements to execution to completion.
• Develops action plans for optimal resource utilization and management of financial/material resources, including supporting Cisco net zero standards.
• Act as technical liaison with major component suppliers for the product.

Skills

Board design

FPGA design

Schematic capture

Project leadership

System bring-up

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

PhD

Tools

Verilog HDL

PCB design tools

Python scripting

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 12/01/2026

This is an onsite position and the employee is required to work out of the San Jose, CA location.

Meet the Team

The Network Hardware Engineering 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.

Your Impact

The Leader, Hardware Engineer is a key member of the Cisco Purpose Built Switch hardware team. The team is expected to bring up the system to work with multiple groups including ASIC, DFT, Signal Integrity, software, Diagnostics and Manufacturing team to resolve any design issues.

• Define and design the next generation Hyperscaler Switch hardware based on Silicon One and/or merchant ASIC.
• Leading a team of dedicated engineers for system and board level specification, schematic capture, FPGA design, ASIC/System level bring up and troubleshooting.
• Leads large and/or complex projects from requirements to execution to completion
• Develops action plans for optimal resource utilization and management of financial/material resource usage, including supporting Cisco net zero standards
• Act as technical liaison with major component Suppliers for the product

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors + 15 years of related experience, or Masters + 12 years of related experience, or PhD + 8 years of related experience Also requires 4+ years of supervisory experience.
• Experience with complex high-speed board design and board bring-up.
• Experience with schematics/layout, Hardware bring-up, trouble-shooting, system level testing.
• Experience in managing teams and leading technical projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with working with Software team on system bring-up and porting, devices configuration
• Prior experience with common HW technology, including power, clock, memory, CPU, and variety of system interfaces.
• Experience with schematics, PCB and Verilog HDL/VHDL design
• Experience on the scripts (Python, Tcl, etc.)
• Experience with lab bring up and design validation of products
• Knowledge on the Ethernet protocol is a plus
• Experience with access switch Ethernet interfaces: gigabit, multi gigabit, 10 gigabit.
• Experience with high-speed Ethernet interfaces: 25G, 100G, 400G, 800G.
• Experience with DRAM, CPU subcomplex and control interfaces such as PCIe, I2C, SPI, MDC/MDIO

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 $194,600.00 to $285,700.00 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 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:

$194,600.00 - $328,600.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$179,000.00 - $294,000.00

* 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.