PCB Design Engineer - High-speed
About The Position
The Common Hardware Group (CHG) creates innovative hardware platforms central to the AI era, powering Cisco’s core Switching, Routing, and Wireless products for organizations globally. Our innovations in silicon, optics, and hardware platforms—like Silicon One—are shaping the technology industry. We're a global team of creative experts, bringing our unique backgrounds and bold ideas to push boundaries and help each other grow. Because full product development—from design to qualification to production—is within our team, we’re able to think differently, experiment more, and work quickly. Join us to power the future of the digital world. 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 through web-scale data centers and across service providers, enterprise networks, and data centers with a fully unified routing and switching portfolio. 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. The Cisco Service Provider Routing Hardware Engineering team develops next-generation hardware by adhering to IEEE standards and industry best practices. Our engineers drive innovation across the full product lifecycle, serving as IP architects, creators, and solution integrators who manage products from concept to production. We design a new class of high-performance routers for the Internet of the future: Cisco 8000 Series routers. These cloud-enhanced systems are powered by Cisco Silicon One ASICs and deliver the scale, performance, and efficiency required by critical infrastructure. You will collaborate with board design, ASIC, signal integrity, power, software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, systems, and supplier teams to define, design, validate, and release high-performance networking products.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field plus 7 years of related experience; or Master’s degree plus 4 years of related experience; or Ph.D. plus 1 year of related experience; or equivalent related experience, consistent with Cisco’s Grade 10 leveling criteria.
- Previous experience taking complex hardware products through manufacturing release.
- Previous experience with board-level design, schematic capture, laboratory bring-up, validation, and root-cause analysis.
- Experience with high-speed digital design and signal integrity fundamentals, including controlled impedance, crosstalk, termination, and decoupling.
Nice To Haves
- Methodical and highly analytical approach to problem solving, with the ability to break down complex issues, evaluate evidence, and document clear conclusions and next steps.
- Experience with networking, server, computer, or high-performance embedded systems.
- Experience with Ethernet, PCIe, DDR4/DDR5, SerDes, MDIO, SPI, I2C, or similar interfaces.
- Experience with Cadence Concept/Design Entry, Allegro, or comparable EDA tools.
- Experience with SI/PI or electromagnetic simulation tools such as HyperLynx, ANSYS, or Keysight ADS.
- Experience with multi-phase VRMs, POL converters, PDN target impedance, thermal management, or EMI/EMC mitigation.
- Experience with ASIC, FPGA, network processor, or high-speed memory support circuitry.
- Experience mentoring engineers and improving design methods, quality, or release processes.
- Proven ability to work independently on ambiguous problems and communicate technical decisions clearly.
Responsibilities
- Independently own complex board-level subsystems or complete products from hardware definition through qualification and manufacturing release.
- Work closely with ASIC, signal integrity, power, software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, and supplier teams to solve difficult technical problems and deliver reliable hardware.
- Translate system requirements into board-level architecture, schematics, constraints, and verification plans.
- Design complex digital, analog, and mixed-signal circuits using schematic-capture and PCB-design tools.
- Define high-speed routing strategies, stack-up requirements, and design constraints for multi-gigabit interfaces.
- Develop power-delivery and power-distribution solutions for high-current, low-voltage systems.
- Lead board bring-up, validation, and systematic debug using oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, TDRs, VNAs, and other laboratory equipment.
- Analyze signal integrity, power integrity, EMI/EMC, thermal, and manufacturing risks and drive them to closure.
- Lead design reviews and provide technical guidance to junior and mid-level engineers.
- Collaborate with ASIC teams, PCB layout, software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing operations, and external suppliers.
- Drive designs through qualification, documentation, and product release.
Benefits
- medical, dental and vision insurance
- a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
- paid parental leave
- short and long-term disability coverage
- basic life insurance
- 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
- 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees (for non-exempt employees)
- flexible vacation time off program (for exempt employees)
- 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
- Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer
- annual bonuses (for non-sales roles)
- performance-based incentive pay (for sales roles)
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
