System Hardware Board Design Engineering Lead (PCB) (Onsite)

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 172,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. in Milpitas, CA seeks a Lead Hardware Board Design Engineer to define architecture, drive complex hardware initiatives, and guide cross-functional teams across the product lifecycle.

You will own board-level architecture, power-delivery strategy, SI/PI, and collaborate with silicon vendors, fabricators, and contract manufacturers, shaping Cisco Silicon One-based routers and high-performance networking gear.

Qualifications

• Experience in hardware board design and system-level development including high-speed digital design, SI/PI, and hardware validation.
• Experience taking board designs from concept through production: schematics, layouts, troubleshooting, and hands-on use of design tools.
• Experience with networking/server/high-performance embedded systems; familiarity with PCIe, DDR, SerDes, thermal management, EMI/EMC.

Responsibilities

• Define board-level architecture, technology choices, power-delivery strategy, and design direction for complex networking products.
• Lead major hardware initiatives from requirements and architecture through validation, qualification, and manufacturing release.
• Address signal integrity, power integrity, reliability, thermal, and manufacturing challenges.
• Participate in design reviews and cross-functional investigations; mentor engineers and improve hardware delivery processes.

Skills

High-speed digital design

Signal integrity

Power integrity

Board-level architecture

Schematics & layouts

Cadence Concept

Allegro

Testing with lab equipment

Networking hardware

Multi-site leadership (Tiger teams)

Education

BSEE/BCE or higher

Tools

Oscilloscope

Logic Analyzer

Spectrum Analyzer

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

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.

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.

We design a new class of high-performance routers for the Internet of the future: Cisco 8000 Series routers. These cloud-enhanced systems are powered by Cisco Silicon One ASICs and deliver the scale, performance, and efficiency required by critical infrastructure.

Your Impact

As a Lead Hardware Board Design Engineer, you will be a recognized technical leader for a product. You will apply deep hardware expertise to define architecture, lead complex product initiatives, resolve difficult technical issues, and guide engineers across disciplines. This is an individual contributor role with broad technical influence; it does not require people management but demands technical independence, sound judgment, visible ownership, and leadership across teams.

• Defining board-level architecture, technology choices, power-delivery strategy, and design direction for complex networking products.
• Leading major hardware initiatives from requirements and architecture through validation, qualification, and manufacturing release.
• Solving novel or high-risk signal integrity, power integrity, reliability, thermal, and manufacturing challenges.
• Actively participating in design reviews, architecture discussions, cross-functional technical investigations, and laboratory work.
• Guiding teams to clear, data-driven decisions.
• Mentoring engineers and improving hardware delivery processes.
• Establishing practical design methods, constraints, verification strategies, and quality improvements.
• Partnering with silicon vendors, PCB fabricators, contract manufacturers, and other suppliers on technical tradeoffs and product execution.
• Communicating technical risks, alternatives, and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Contributing to product-line technology roadmaps.
• Owning the design and validation of a sub-system.
• Ensuring designs meet functional specifications.
• Participating as a valuable team member in cross-functional meetings, specification creation, and technical documentation.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 7+ years of experience, or Master's in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 5+ years of related experience, or PhD in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 2+ years of related experience.

• Experience with hardware board design and system-level development, including high-speed digital design, signal integrity, power integrity, and hardware validation using lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and spectrum analyzers.
• Experience with taking board designs from concept through production, including schematics generation, layouts, troubleshooting, and hands-on use of design tools such as Cadence Concept and Allegro.
• Experience with networking, server, computer, or high-performance embedded systems, including technologies such as high-speed Ethernet, PCIe, DDR, SerDes, advanced packaging, multi-phase power conversion, thermal management, EMI/EMC.
• Experience with leading technical projects or programs, partnering with silicon vendors, fabricators, contract manufacturers, or technology suppliers, and leading multi-site engineering teams or cross-functional tiger teams.

Preferred Qualifications

Methodical, analytical approach to problem solving, experience with breaking down complex issues, evaluating evidence, and documenting clear conclusions and next steps.

• Experience with networking products design.
• Experience with co-packaged optics, near-packaged optics, or optical and signal-integrity budget analysis.
• 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 $171,600.00 to $245,000.00 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
• 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: 0.75% 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: $171,600.00 - $281,800.00
• Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $151,300.00 - $250,900.00

Cisconians power the future.

We make impact as a team, innovating fast and fearlessly to create meaningful solutions on a large scale. The depth and breadth of our technology doesn't just benefit our customers – it also means limitless opportunities for us to experiment and learn. We understand the power each of our unique backgrounds bring when we work together. Because of that, we have a global network of thinkers, doers, experts, and curious creators who help one another do their life’s best work.