Optical Design Engineer

The application window is expected to close on: 01/04/2027

The Silicon One team 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 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.

Our Silicon Photonics product team provides a full opportunity to go from fundamental photonic building blocks all the way to fully qualified products like CPO, NPO, OCI and pluggable modules. Our team also encourages spending time on new ideas and innovation in-line with continuous optimization of all our products. Cisco encourages filling patents to maintain its leadership position in a highly competitive market.

Ownership of PIC product design cycle starting from simulation to layout using Cadence Virtuoso to final GDS tapeout to post-Fab validation.

Work closely with EIC & module team to co-design highly optimized Opto‑Electronic chipsets satisfying system‑level specifications.

In line with multiple PIC tapeouts a year, hitting ground running in first 6 months is expected to enable multiple products.

Expect responsibility to design and own small test‑chips within a year or two to facilitate next‑generation products.

Many PIC tapeouts per year translates into parallel processing several PIC designs and tracking them through design‑tapeout‑Fab‑validation cycle.

• Bachelors + 5 years of related experience, or Masters + 3 years of related experience, or PhD + 0 years of related experience
• Prior experience in Silicon Photonics circuit modeling, layouts/tapeouts, and fabrication process, including testing and validation.
• Prior experience in photonic device layouts both passive and active (GDS generation using appropriate EDA tools like Cadence, Virtuoso etc.)
• Prior experience with lab measurements, data analysis and automation using tools like Matlab, Labview, Python.

• Prior experience working with cross‑functional engineering teams
• Prior experience with OE/RF simulation (S-parameters, Co-simulation with electronic driver/TIA, HFSS)
• Prior experience working with silicon photonics foundries
• Prior experience using AI tools for data analysis, testing, and validation.

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 location, market conditions,…