Quality Engineering Technical Leader

The application window is expected to close on:

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

The application window is expected to close on July 30, 2026.

Please note that this posting may close earlier if the position is filled or a sufficient number of applications are received.

This is a hybrid role based in the San Jose area. Candidates should be local or willing to relocate.

Meet the Team

Cisco’s Global Supply Chain organization is seeking an experienced Product Quality Engineering Technical Leader to join our central PQE team. In this highly visible role, you'll collaborate with Product Design, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, Product Operations, and Customer Experience teams to deliver innovative, reliable products that power the world's networks.

Our team influences the product quality lifecycle—from concept and development through manufacturing and customer deployment. If you're passionate about solving complex technical challenges, driving multi-functional alignment, and shaping quality strategy at scale, we'd love to hear from you.

Your Impact

You will be a trusted quality authority responsible for driving product quality and reliability across multiple product families and technologies.

• Lead strategy throughout the New Product Introduction (NPI) lifecycle, ensuring quality is built into products from the earliest design stages.
• Own quality investigations, partner concerns, and corrective actions, driving issues to resolution while providing technical leadership and mentorship.
• Partner across Engineering, Manufacturing, Product Operations, and Customer Experience teams to influence decisions, manage risk, and deliver continuous quality improvements.
• Leverage advanced analytics and data-driven insights to identify trends, mitigate risks, and improve product performance and customer outcomes.
• Drive adoption of Quality Management Systems (QMS), industry standards, and best practices while communicating recommendations and influencing stakeholders at all levels.

• Lead DFx & FMEA engagements for new program releases, manage factory quality through the use of statistical quality management tools including lean six sigma methodologies, Cp / CpK.  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with 12+ years of related experience, or Master’s degree with 8+ years of related experience.
• Deep expertise in product quality engineering, product architecture, reliability, and failure analysis.
• Success leading complex cross-functional initiatives and influencing technical and business stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience applying statistical methods to drive quality improvements and business decisions.
• Experience leading risk management and change initiatives for new technologies, products, or large-scale programs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Six Sigma Black Belt certification or equivalent process improvement experience.

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 $159,800.00 to $202,300.00 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:

$159,800.00 - $232,600.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$141,700.00 - $206,400.00

* 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.