Software Engineering Manager - ASIC Simulation - San Jose, CA

Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 210,600 - 305,100; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Competitive compensation

Bonus program

Job summary

Cisco Silicon One seeks a technical leader to deliver a state-of-the-art functional simulator for its routing and switching devices. You will lead and mentor a team of 4-10 engineers, driving the design and delivery of a high-performance behavioral model and coordinating with ASIC Architecture, Software, and Hardware.

You will champion engineering excellence, guide professional development, and ensure robust, scalable simulator solutions that shorten time-to-market while collaborating across

Qualifications

• 12+ years of related experience with Bachelor's degree or 8+ years with Master's or 5+ years with PhD.
• 5+ years of hands-on Software and/or ASIC development.
• 2+ years of leading engineering teams with responsibility for developing engineers.
• Proficiency in C/C++ or SystemVerilog/Design Verification.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor and scale the team to 4-10 engineers, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment
• Oversee the design and delivery of a high-performance, reliable, and user-friendly behavioral model for Cisco SiliconOne devices
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including ASIC Architecture, Software, and Hardware to align goals and ensure seamless execution
• Champion engineering excellence by modeling hands-on problem solving and debugging best practices
• Guide team members in their professional development with tailored growth plans and regular feedback

Skills

C/C++

SystemVerilog

Design Verification

Leadership

ASIC development

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

PhD

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 08/31/2026

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Meet the Team

Join the Cisco Silicon One team in developing a unified silicon architecture for web-scale, service provider, and enterprise networks. Cisco's silicon team provides an outstanding, unique experience for Software and ASIC engineers by combining the resources offered by a sizable multi-geography silicon organization and a large campus with the startup culture and breadth of growth opportunities that working in a smaller ASIC team can provide.

Your Impact

As the leader of the team, you will be responsible for delivering a state-of-the-art functional simulator for the Cisco SiliconOne family of routing and switching devices. This simulator is a critical product that streamlines the development process and significantly reduces time-to-market.

In this role, you will:

• Lead and mentor and scale the team to 4-10 engineers, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment
• Oversee the design and delivery of a high-performance, reliable, and user-friendly behavioral model for Cisco SiliconOne devices
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including ASIC Architecture, Software, and Hardware to align goals and ensure seamless execution
• Champion engineering excellence by modeling hands-on problem solving and debugging best practices
• Guide team members in their professional development with tailored growth plans and regular feedback

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of related experience, or Master's degree with 8+ years of related experience or PhD with 5+ years of related experience
• 5+ years of hands-on Software and/or ASIC development
• 2+ years of experience leading engineering teams, or technical domains in a software and/or ASIC development environment, with responsibility for leading and developing engineers
• Programming experience with C or C++, or System Verilog or Design Verification

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience designing and implementing ASIC functional simulators
• Experience with data networking technologies
• Experience across both Software development and ASIC development
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative partnerships and communicate effectively across teams.

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 $210,600.00 to $305,100.00 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:

$210,600.00 - $350,800.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$189,300.00 - $312,200.00

* 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.