Director, Hardware Engineering | Photonics IC, SERDES, EIC, PIC, High Speed Wireline | 15+ years, Bangalore
Director of Engineering – India Site Lead
Meet the Team
The Director of Engineering will lead the India Team in Bengaluru & Pune within Cisco’s Client Optics Group (COG) Silicon Engineering Org. This role is responsible for setting the high-performance silicon engineering team in Bengaluru & Pune and driving the end-to-end execution of optical transceiver development for COG’s silicon-photonics–based transceiver chipsets and modules. Key responsibilities include planning, architecture, development, simulation, diagnostics, bring-up, and validation of electronics and silicon photonics ICs (EICs & PICs). A significant new focus for this role is the deployment of AI tools, when possible, to enhance productivity, quality, and development cycle times.
Your Impact
Product Planning
- Evaluating Marketing Requirements Documents (MRDs) and providing timely responses as to the approach, timeline, and feasibility for new product concepts.
- Significant participation in Cisco’s product lifecycle (PLC) process including Concept Commits (CCs), Engineering Commits (ECs) and other important PLC milestones.
- Working with the COG Program Management Team to develop and maintain accurate, detailed, and comprehensive program schedules and resource plans.
- Drive adoption of AI tools to enhance productivity, quality, and development speed.
Silicon Development
- Oversee the design, development, delivery, and documentation of electronics ICs, and chipsets by working closely with the team in the US, various team leaders to guarantee execution with predictability, velocity and quality.
- Ensure India Silicon team is following best engineering practices in the development, physical design, custom layout, simulation, validation/characterization, SI/PI & documentation of the optical transceiver designs being developed.
- Apply analytics and AI/ML to stimulate edge cases, optimize test strategies, and improve test coverage, usability, debug capabilities, and fault isolation.
Collaboration & Team Development
- Partner with the Silicon Engineering team in the US, Platform Engineering, Product Management, and Operations teams to ensure multi-functional alignment and successful program delivery.
- Foster a collaborative, innovative, accountable, and inclusive culture, promoting guidelines and knowledge sharing across global teams.
- Mentor and develop high-performing teams, emphasizing continuous learning in silicon development and effective use of AI-assisted development tools.
Minimum Qualifications
- 15+ years high-speed electronics and photonics development leadership experience including management of global teams.
- Mixed signal/analog electronics: Drivers, TIAs, ADCs, TX/RX Equalizers, CDRs, etc.
- Digital signal processors (DSP) and Optical / Photonic ICs: Modulators, Photo Detectors, Grating Couplers, Waveguides, etc.
- High-speed SERDES – 112Gbps, 224Gbps PAM4/PAM6, and Signal & power integrity, channel modeling.
- Advanced packaging including fine-pitch and low-parasitic chip-chip interconnect, PLL / clock domains and distribution, and Power distribution.
- Silicon diagnostics, test coverage, and DFT, Electrical, optical, and co-simulation applications and tools, and Silicon validation and test equipment.
- Advanced degree (Master’s/PhD) in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field with a focus on semiconductor and/or optics development.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced understanding of silicon manufacturing processes, and automation
- Optical transceiver silicon and module architecture definition at 200Gbps/lane, 400Gbps/lane
- Good understanding of MSA standards such as QSFP/QSFP-DD and IEEE 802.3 ethernet specifications.
- Strong communication, global team management, and executive presence.
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.
Skills Required
- 15+ years high-speed electronics and photonics development leadership experience including management of global teams
- Experience with mixed-signal/analog electronics (Drivers, TIAs, ADCs, TX/RX Equalizers, CDRs)
- Experience with digital signal processors (DSP) and Optical/Photonic ICs (Modulators, Photo Detectors, Grating Couplers, Waveguides)
- Experience with high-speed SERDES (e.g., 112Gbps, 224Gbps), PAM4/PAM6, signal and power integrity, and channel modeling
- Experience with advanced packaging (fine-pitch, low-parasitic chip-chip interconnect), PLL/clock domains and power distribution
- Expertise in silicon diagnostics, test coverage, DFT, electrical/optical co-simulation, and silicon validation/test equipment
- Advanced degree (Master's/PhD) in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field focused on semiconductors/optics
- Advanced understanding of silicon manufacturing processes and automation
- Experience defining optical transceiver silicon and module architectures at 200Gbps/lane and 400Gbps/lane
- Familiarity with MSA standards (QSFP/QSFP-DD) and IEEE 802.3 ethernet specifications
- Strong communication, global team management, and executive presence
- Experience deploying or applying AI/ML tools to enhance engineering productivity and test/validation
Cisco Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Cisco and has not been reviewed or approved by Cisco.
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Healthcare Strength — Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, mental health support via an EAP, and access to on-site or virtual health centers indicate robust healthcare offerings. Wellness programs, fitness resources, and specialized services further reinforce coverage depth.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO, a global minimum for paid parental leave, and unique programs like company-wide recharge days and paid volunteer time expand time-away options. Additional offerings such as Critical Time Off and adoption assistance add flexibility for life events.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Restricted stock units and a discounted employee stock purchase plan are meaningful elements of total compensation. The prominence of equity can materially augment overall pay packages alongside salary and bonuses.
Cisco Insights
What We Do
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) enables people to make powerful connections--whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible--providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time. Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Today, with more than 71,000 employees worldwide, this tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading products and solutions in the company's core development areas of routing and switching, as well as in advanced technologies such as home networking, IP telephony, optical networking, security, storage area networking, and wireless technology. In addition to its products, Cisco provides a broad range of service offerings, including technical support and advanced services. Cisco sells its products and services, both directly through its own sales force as well as through its channel partners, to large enterprises, commercial businesses, service providers, and consumers.
