Optical Hardware Product Engineer

The application window is expected to close on: 11/29/2026

This role will be onsite in our Maynard, MA office.

Meet the Team Optics Operations Product Engineering team partners with cross-functional team of development engineers to design and sustain Optical transceiver components and modules throughout their product lifecycle. Product Engineers are self-motivated, result oriented, and strong-minded engineers who embrace creativity and new ways of thinking to deliver innovative solutions.

Your Impact Optics Operations is an organization that enables and accelerates innovation to create an unrivaled customer experience & competitive advantage for Cisco through end-to-end operation leadership and product lifecycle management. In this role, you will be a key Optics Operations Engineering team member supporting the Cisco Optics Operations next generation product portfolio.

Your responsibilities include (but not limited to):

Collaborate & drive early discussions with cross-functional engineering (Design, Process, Test, Assembly, etc.) teams to provide feedback on DFM and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA)
Partner with quality teams to execute optical-electrical testing, de-risking, and industry-standard qualification processes

Responsible to work with design, marketing, supply chain, quality, OSATs and CMs to develop end-to-end manufacturing and test solutions, qualify and release to production

Responsible for alpha/beta/pilot stage product build yield improvement, troubleshooting, and manufacturing readiness

Early involvement in NPI with focus on manufacturing process development for optical transceivers or optical sub-assemblies

Responsible for the transition of advanced optical designs into high-volume production; drive manufacturing readiness, characterization, and PFMEAEstablish manufacturing metrics to drive continuous improvement of equipment performance and process to meet OE (Optical Engine) product specification

Drive the characterization of NPI & sustaining product yields including benchmark correlations to meet and/or exceed product cost and equipment capacity targets

Minimum Qualifications:

MS or PhD Electrical Engineering and/or related engineering fields8+ years of industry experience in product engineering or product development for high volume production with focus on silicon photonics, optical transceivers or opto-electronic packaging sub-assemblies.

Proven track record of transitioning products from NPI to High volume production through a contract manufacture and/or OSAT partner

Knowledge and experience with design for manufacturability (DFM) during product development of Optical Engines, Chip packaging, co-packaged optics and wafer packaging

Proficiency in statistical and analytical tools such as Python, JMP Scripting, AI models for automated yield prediction and monitoring

Experience in opto-electrical testing, Failure Analysis, & PFMEA Yield predicting, monitoring and improvement

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with active optical alignment, die attach, wire bonding, wafer packaging, etc.

Experience with chip packaging assembly processes development

Experience with product development tasks:
Bill of Materials & Change Management Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills

Experience with Optics & Silicon Photonics sub-assemblies

Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal skills with experience presenting senior leadership

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…