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Leader, Hardware Engineering Design (Onsite)

Cisco Systems, Inc.
$191,400.00 to $281,400.00
life insurance, vision insurance, parental leave, paid holidays, sick time, 401(k)
United States, California, Milpitas
Mar 04, 2026
The application window is expected to close on: 05/29/2026

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

This position requires that you live within commuting distance of our Milpitas, CA office and be onsite 5 days in a typical week.

MEET THE TEAM

The Hyperscaler Hardware Design team is responsible for the design of Cisco's best-in-class high-performance Cisco 8000 series routers and smart switches. Our designs and products utilize Cisco's revolutionary Silicon One ASICs that deliver unmatched performance and density with feature-rich functionality, enabling AI networks and core routing functions for hyperscalers webscale and service provider customers.

YOUR IMPACT

Lead a team of hardware board/systems engineers in R&D in full product lifecycles - from concept inception, to product requirements, to design, prototyping, design validation, certifications, production, and through post-production support. This position is hands-on and will require familiarity with design details, design flow, component selections and issues during design validation and certifications.

  • Drive architectural decisions, designs and design reviews

  • Ensure robust design practices and thorough design validation, for reliability

  • Contribute to technology and product roadmaps

  • Identify areas for improvement in the architecture and design processes

  • Execute large and/or complex projects in multi-disciplined team with collaboration

  • Own people management and team growth

  • Advise on business performance impacts of key variables for assigned products

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
  • BS degree in EE, CE or CS + 8+ years of relevant experience

  • 5+ years of supervisory experience

  • 5+ years of relevant experience in design of networking products with expertise in design tools and ecosystems such as PCB design, power management, logic design

  • Experience in design for manufacturing, capabilities and tradeoffs

  • Proven knowledge in high-speed network interfaces (25Gbps+), PCIe gen3+, DDR4+, CPU (x86 or ARM) subsystems

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • MS degree in EE, CE or CS + 5+ years of relevant experience

  • Prior experience leading teams and delivering complex hardware projects.

  • Industry experience in architecture, networking, design and methodology of cutting-edge board design development, e.g. multi-layer PCB designs, with high-speed interfaces (400G - 1.6T) and high-power ASICs

  • Breadth of knowledge in peer disciplines such as mechanical, thermal, signal integrity, power integrity, logic/FPGA designs, diagnostics, production software, manufacturing, BIOS/ROMMON

  • Proven experience in leading multi-disciplinary projects

  • Hands-on lab skills

  • Strong interpersonal and 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 $191,400.00 to $281,400.00 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:

$191,400.00 - $323,600.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$176,100.00 - $287,900.00

* 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.

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