# Lead Hardware Board Design Engineer

**Company**: Cisco
**Location**: Milpitas, California
**Experience**: senior
**Job type**: full-time
**Salary**: $171,600.00 to $245,000.00
**Category**: Engineering
**Industry**: Technology

**Apply**: https://cisco.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Cisco_Careers/job/Milpitas-California-US/Hardware-Engineering-Technical-Leader_2026363?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply
**Canonical**: https://yubhub.co/jobs/job_af911592-66e

## Description

The Common Hardware Group (CHG) at Cisco creates innovative hardware platforms central to the AI era, powering Cisco’s core switching, routing, and wireless products for organizations globally.

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.

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.

- Solve novel or high-risk signal integrity, power integrity, reliability, thermal, and manufacturing challenges.

- Participate in design reviews, architecture discussions, cross-functional technical investigations, and laboratory work.

- Guide teams to clear, data-driven decisions.

- Mentor engineers and improve hardware delivery processes.

- Establish practical design methods, constraints, verification strategies, and quality improvements.

- Partner with silicon vendors, PCB fabricators, contract manufacturers, and other suppliers on technical tradeoffs and product execution.

- Communicate technical risks, alternatives, and recommendations to senior stakeholders.

- Contribute to product-line technology roadmaps.

- Own the design and validation of a sub-system.

- Ensure designs meet functional specifications.

- Participate 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 product 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.

Benefits:

- Medical, dental, and vision insurance

- 401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution

- Paid parental leave

- Short and long-term disability coverage

- Basic life insurance

- Paid time away (vacation, holidays, sick time)

- Optional 10 paid days per year to volunteer

## Skills

### Required
- hardware board design
- system-level development
- high-speed digital design
- signal integrity
- power integrity
- hardware validation
- Cadence Concept
- Allegro
- networking
- server
- computer
- high-performance embedded systems

### Nice to have
- Python
- co-packaged optics
- near-packaged optics
- optical and signal-integrity budget analysis
- cross-functional teams

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Source: [Apply at cisco.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com](https://cisco.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Cisco_Careers/job/Milpitas-California-US/Hardware-Engineering-Technical-Leader_2026363?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply)