This role involves a hybrid work model, with a flexible in-office schedule that requires commuting to the Milpitas, CA office.
Meet the TeamCisco 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!
Your ImpactWe are seeking a Principal Hardware Engineer to serve as a key technical authority within our networking organization. This role transcends individual product lines, positioning you to drive architectural strategy across internal cross-functional groups and our most strategic customer accounts. You will act as the vital link between cutting-edge innovation and real-world market success, shaping the future of our product portfolio from initial concept to field deployment.
The target technology area goes beyond a single product or product line, and will require working with multiple groups inside Cisco, and customers. This position requires high skill levels in architecture, implementation, design, evangelize, marketing support, and account team engagement.
Actively participate in engagements with current and potential customers. Ensure feedback from customers is incorporated into future products, working with product management and engineering
Work with product marketing on future product architectures
Actively participates in standards committees to influence industry practices.
Work with hardware, software and test engineering to deliver quality products to the field
Work with external vendors to ensure they can deliver products which meet our needs for future products
Support customer demonstrations at internal labs, demo labs, and/or trade shows and conferences
Author/co-author white papers and user tutorials for the Marketplace
Collaborate with Field Solutions and CSE teams to leverage expertise and scaling potential
Provide technical TOI and NPI training in various customer-oriented events
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and 15+ years of relevant signal and power integrity experience, or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and 12+ years of relevant signal and power integrity experience, or PhD in Electrical Engineering and 8+ years of relevant signal and power integrity experience.
At least 5 years’ experience driving System Architecture of hardware systems, including tradeoffs between signal integrity, power integrity, thermal design, total power consumption, cost and schedule.
At least 5 years experience driving cross-functional buy-in and approval of complex strategic programs with interior executive management (concept commit, architectural commit, execution commit)
At least 5 years experience generating, driving cross-functional review of and presenting customer-facing materials for strategic projects.
Demonstrates impactful proficiency in system architecture, hardware, and software design, including FPGA and ASIC design and verification, system bring-up and debug, and thermal design.
Exhibits effective skills in articulating complex ideas and technical concepts clearly and effectively to diverse audiences, both verbally and in writing.
Possesses successful documentation and organizational capabilities, adept at defining workflows that clarify priorities, setting meeting agendas, recording, and distributing notes, and driving tradeoffs to resolution with key stakeholders.
Demonstrates leadership excellence with experience building and nurturing technical relationships across customer architects, software teams, and Cisco cloud, data center, and network product teams and partners.
Excels in communication, with experience developing presentations, whitepapers, and architectural documents in collaboration with platform engineering.
Skilled in customer presentations, preparing thoroughly and responding dynamically to guide discussions positively.
Exhibits exceptional decision-making, conflict resolution, perseverance, and follow-through to ensure successful outcomes.
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 $233,900.00 to $330,400.00 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 of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to 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:
$233,900.00 - $380,000.00Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$220,900.00 - $344,300.00* 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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and 15+ years of relevant signal and power integrity experience, or Master’s degree and 12+ years, or PhD and 8+ years
- At least 5 years driving system architecture of hardware systems, including signal integrity, power integrity, thermal design, power consumption, cost, and schedule tradeoffs
- At least 5 years driving cross-functional buy-in and approval of complex strategic programs with executive management
- At least 5 years generating, driving cross-functional review of, and presenting customer-facing materials for strategic projects
- Proficiency in system architecture, hardware and software design, FPGA and ASIC design and verification, system bring-up and debug, and thermal design
- Ability to articulate complex technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences verbally and in writing
- Documentation and organizational skills, including workflow definition, agenda setting, note distribution, and driving stakeholder tradeoffs to resolution
- Experience building technical relationships across customer architects, software teams, Cisco cloud, data center, and network product teams and partners
- Experience developing presentations, whitepapers, and architectural documents with platform engineering
- Strong customer presentation skills and ability to respond dynamically during technical discussions
- Exceptional decision-making, conflict resolution, perseverance, and follow-through
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.
-
Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as robust with multiple plan options and access to onsite/virtual LifeConnections Health Centers on major campuses. Company materials also highlight mental-health resources and comprehensive preventive care, supporting strong core medical benefits.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time away includes company‑wide recharge days, a paid birthday, a year‑end shutdown, and paid Critical Time Off for emergencies. Paid volunteer days further expand opportunities to step away and recharge.
-
Parental & Family Support — Policies include a global minimum for paid parental leave for primary caregivers, caregiving concierge services, and on‑site children’s learning centers in select locations. In the U.S., family‑building support is consolidated under Carrot with a defined lifetime maximum, indicating structured assistance across fertility, preservation, adoption, and surrogacy.
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.
