Hardware Design Engineer System Lead / SI/ System Architecture

The application window is expected to close on: 12/22/2026 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

Cisco Silicon One (#CiscoSiliconOne) is a business organization with a long track record of building complex and high-performance Silicon ASICs. Our silicon devices drive the world’s most complex networks and carry over 90% of IP traffic. 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 all the way through web scale data centers and across service provider, enterprise networks, and data centers with a fully unified routing and switching portfolio.

We are a highly specialized ASIC team with experts in all aspects of advanced IC package design and heterogeneous system integration. Our substrates use the latest 2.5D fanout technologies for large-scale integration, using the latest signaling and data transfer technologies. 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. You will collaborate with board design, ASIC, signal integrity, power, software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, systems, and supplier teams to define, design, validate, and release high-performance networking products.

Your Impact

• As a Senior Technical Lead Hardware Board Design Engineer, you will be a recognized expert who shapes multi-year hardware architecture, design standards, and technical strategy for major networking products. You will lead high-impact, cross-functional initiatives, resolve the most complex technical problems, and influence senior leaders through clear engineering judgment and compelling technical decisions. This is an individual contributor role with enterprise-level influence; it does not require people management.
• Define long-term hardware architecture, power-delivery strategy, design standards, and technology roadmaps for high-performance networking systems.
• Lead major, multi-disciplinary hardware initiatives from early concept through product release and customer delivery.
• Act as a senior escalation point for novel or high-risk architectural, signal integrity, power integrity, reliability, field, and manufacturing issues.
• Develop and communicate technical strategies that align multiple business units and engineering disciplines.
• Establish reusable methods, constraints, verification practices, and quality standards for board design.
• Guide senior engineers and technical leaders through architecture reviews, design tradeoffs, and complex investigations.
• Represent hardware engineering in executive reviews, strategic supplier discussions, standards activities, and selected external technical engagements.
• Anticipate industry and technology shifts and recommend investments in future hardware capabilities.
• Drive decisions using simulations, laboratory evidence, product data, and a clear understanding of business impact.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 11+ years of experience, or Master’s in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 7+ years of related experience, or PhD in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and 4+ years of related experience.
• End-to-End System Design: Experience in hardware board design and system architecture—taking products from concept through production—for high-performance systems, including PCIe, Ethernet, DDR, SerDes, and advanced thermal/EMI management.
• Technical Validation & Tools: Experience with high-speed digital design, signal and power integrity, power distribution, and reliability testing, supported by hands-on use of Cadence design tools and advanced lab instrumentation (oscilloscopes, logic/spectrum analyzers).
• Strategic Leadership & Delivery: Experience leading complex, multi-site, and cross-functional engineering initiatives, partnering with silicon vendors and contract manufacturers to solve high-impact, ambiguous technical challenges at scale.

Preferred Qualifications

• Systems Architecture: Experience with advanced networking systems, ASICs, FPGAs, high-speed memory, multi-gigabit SerDes, and advanced packaging.
• Specialized Technologies: Experience in co-packaged/near-packaged optics, signal/power integrity budget analysis, ultra-high-speed signaling, and next-generation power delivery.
• Technical Proficiency: Hands-on experience with Cadence (Concept/Allegro), HyperLynx, ANSYS, Keysight ADS, and advanced lab equipment (VNA, TDR, high-bandwidth oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers).
• Automation: Experience with creating test scripts using Python to streamline validation and design tasks.
• Problem-Solving: Analytical, methodical approach to decomposing complex issues, evaluating empirical evidence, and documenting clear, actionable conclusions.
• Collaboration: History of working effectively within cross-functional teams to drive initiatives forward.
• Leadership & Influence: History of influencing senior technical and business leaders across organizational boundaries, underpinned by exceptional written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills. Dedicated to driving excellence through the mentorship of senior engineering talent.
• Innovation & Industry Impact: A record of delivering large-scale products and technical innovations, evidenced by a history of patents, influential publications, and active standards participation. Committed to advancing the field through strategic thought leadership.
• Education: Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.

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.

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