Hardware Engineer (Onsite)

This is an onsite position in Milpitas, California, US.

The Product Operations team within the Core Routing Business Unit (CRBU) plays a critical role in delivering Cisco’s next-generation hardware products at scale. Working at the intersection of engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing, the team ensures seamless product lifecycle execution—from new product introduction to high-volume production and customer delivery. With a strong focus on reliability, efficiency, and operational excellence, the team drives impact across global operations and enables successful product outcomes.

Cisco Hardware Engineers are at the forefront of building the technology that powers the future. By balancing innovative design with rigorous IEEE standards, you will play a meaningful role in taking products from initial concept to high-quality production.

In this role, you will work across a broad spectrum of the Cisco portfolio—including system and board design, signal integrity, power design, and validation. Whether you are defining industry standards as an architect or ensuring product reliability as a solution integrator, you will collaborate with multi-functional teams and external partners to optimize performance, cost, and quality. We are looking for engineers who are eager to challenge the status quo and drive innovation through research and practical application. Responsibilities include:

• Silicon, Package & Board Characterization: Validate high-speed channels from silicon die through the PCB interface using advanced time-domain and frequency-domain techniques. Partner with layout engineers to optimize routing and define manufacturing test requirements.
• PCIe Gen 6 Validation: Execute physical layer compliance and characterization for PCIe Gen 6/7 protocols, utilizing PAM4 signaling, multi-tap equalization, and advanced clocking architectures.
• High-Speed Measurement Execution: Operate precision lab instrumentation, including multi-port Vector Network Analyzers (110GHz+), high-bandwidth Oscilloscopes, Bit Error Rate Testers (BERTs), and Time Domain Reflectometers (TDRs).
• Measurement-to-Simulation Correlation: Extract S-parameters and utilize tools such as Ansys HFSS, Keysight ADS, or Cadence Sigrity to correlate lab data with simulation models. Drive root-cause analysis based on these findings.
• Root-Cause Debugging: Troubleshoot complex signal and power integrity anomalies, such as insertion/return loss, crosstalk, jitter, and noise, to ensure robust product performance.
• Lab Automation: Develop and maintain Python or MATLAB scripts to automate instrument control, streamline data collection, and process complex validation datasets.

• Bachelor's degree and 5+ years of related experience, or Master’s degree and 3+ years of related experience, or PhD plus 1+ years of related experience.
• 5+ years of applied experience with VNA to measure multiport S Parameter (insertion loss, return loss and X talk)
• Capability to set up TDR setups to locate impedance discontinuity, trace routing mismatches, structural damage in PCB, cables and connectors

• Prior experience with micro probing station, high bandwidth differential probes, calibration methodology.
• Basic scripting skills in Python or MATLAB to parse data and analyze data.

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. 

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:

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

* 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.