Cisco
Hardware Systems Engineering Technical Leader
$151K–$282K
Milpitas, California, US · Onsite Only · Full-time · Posted Oct 1, 2026
- Experience
- 8+ years with a bachelor’s degree; 6+ years with a master’s degree; or 3+ years in hardware system-level development with a PhD.
- Education
- Bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering.
About the job
Designs and develops hardware for Cisco 8000 series routers, from architecture and board design through validation, manufacturing release, and product support.
What you'll do
- Lead hardware product development, including architecture, design, bring-up, qualification, manufacturing release, and sustaining and field-failure support.
- Develop schematics with Cadence/Allegro, guide board layout and routing, and write hardware specifications and test plans.
- Bring up and debug hardware with lab equipment and ASIC teams, collaborating across engineering and manufacturing groups.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 8+ years of experience; or a master’s degree in either field and 6+ years; or a PhD in either field and 3+ years in hardware system-level development.
- Experience with high-speed Ethernet or PCIe design.
- Experience collaborating with peer teams such as Manufacturing, Software, Mechanical, or Signal Integrity.
- Board design experience using Concept, Allegro, or equivalent tools, plus lab bring-up and hardware design validation experience.
Nice to have
- Experience with high-speed network interfaces (10G/25G/100G), control interfaces, DDR4/DDR5 DIMMs, signal integrity, board-mounted power design, or programmable devices.
- Experience writing hardware functional specifications or shipping products.
Pay
$171,600.00 to $245,000.00 USD base salary; $171,600.00 - $281,800.00 USD base salary; $151,300.00 - $250,900.00 USD base salary
Tools
Cadence/Allegro, Concept, Allegro, Ethernet, PCIe, MDIO, SPI, I2C
AI focus
Designs hardware platforms and routers supporting Cisco’s products for the AI era; the role itself does not specify AI development work.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative