Hardware Engineer

The application window is expected to close on: 07/23/2026

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

This role requires the employee to work onsite at the Austin, TX office location.

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.

The Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series hardware team within CHG is responsible for designing and developing the stackable enterprise switching platform tailored for security, mobility, and cloud applications. This product family features flexible uplink architectures supporting 1 GE to 100 GE speeds and offers models with 24 or 48 ports supporting various Ethernet speeds and Power over Ethernet (PoE) capabilities, including PoE+, Cisco UPOE, and UPOE+.

This role directly impacts Cisco’s Catalyst switching business by delivering reliable, scalable, and cost‑effective hardware platforms for enterprise campus networks. The engineer will contribute across design, validation, manufacturing, and sustaining activities, with influence on product quality, customer experience, supply continuity, and Cisco’s competitive position in enterprise networking.

• Plays a visible role in maintaining Cisco’s leadership position in enterprise access switching through execution quality and platform innovation.
• Drives technical execution across hardware design, validation, bring‑up, diagnostics, compliance, manufacturing readiness, and sustaining support.
• Influences product cost, manufacturability, supply continuity, and lifecycle efficiency through strong engineering decisions.
• Partner with software, mechanical, signal integrity, power, thermal, manufacturing, supply chain, compliance, product management, and customer support teams.
• Helps resolve complex technical issues that affect customer deployments, manufacturing continuity, and product reliability.

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical or computer engineering + 5 years of related experience OR master’s degree in electrical or computer Engineering + 3 years of related experience.
• Experience in hardware design, validation, bring‑up, and debug for complex electronic systems.
• Experience in areas such as high‑speed digital design, power delivery, signal integrity, thermal, EMI/EMC, and manufacturing readiness.
• Experience with lab equipment such as Oscilloscopes, Logic Analyzers, Function generators, protocol analyzers, etc.

• Knowledge of Board Design tools:
  Cadence Concept/Allegro/System Capture.
• Experience with interface protocols such as PCIe, USB, eMMC, I2C, MDIO, and Ethernet.
• Experience with Ethernet switching technologies, PHYs, Ser Des, optics, PoE, power supplies, or embedded management subsystems.

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.

The starting salary range posted for this position is $ to $ 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…