Senior Director, Silicon Engineering (Client Optics Group)

The application window is expected to close on: Dec 20th, 12 PM ET 2025

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

Meet the Team

The Senior Director of Silicon Engineering leads the Cisco's Silicon Engineering Team within the Client Optics Group (COG). This role is responsible for setting the strategy and driving the end-to-end execution of silicon development for COG's silicon-photonics-based transceiver chipsets and modules. Key responsibilities include planning, architecture, development, simulation, diagnostics, bring-up, and validation of both electronics and silicon photonics ICs (EICs & PICs). A significant new focus for this role is the deployment of AI tools, when possible, to enhance productivity, quality, and development cycle times.

Your Impact

Product Planning

• Evaluating Marketing Requirements Documents (MRDs) and providing timely responses as to the approach, timeline, and feasibility for new product concepts.
• Significant participation in Cisco's product lifecycle (PLC) process including Concept Commits (CCs), Engineering Commits (ECs) and other important PLC milestones.
• Working with the COG Program Management Team to develop and maintain accurate, detailed, and comprehensive program schedules and resource plans.
• Drive adoption of AI tools to enhance productivity, quality, and development speed.

Silicon Development

• Oversee the design, development, delivery, and documentation of electronics ICs, silicon photonics ICs, and chipsets by working directly with the various team leaders to guarantee execution with predictability, velocity and quality.
• Ensure the Silicon Engineering team is following best engineering practices in the development, physical design, layout, simulation, validation/characterization, & documentation of the silicon being developed.
• Apply analytics and AI/ML to stimulate edge cases, optimize test strategies, and improve test coverage, usability, debug capabilities, and fault isolation.

Collaboration & Team Development

• Partner with the Platform Engineering, Module Engineering, Product Management, and Operations teams to ensure multi-functional alignment and successful program delivery.
• Foster a collaborative, innovative, accountable, and inclusive culture, promoting guidelines and knowledge sharing across global teams.
• Mentor and develop high-performing teams, emphasizing continuous learning in silicon development and effective use of AI-assisted development tools.

Who You Are

• Experienced large-team leader who can motivate its members to successful outcomes.
• Expert in the development of mixed-signal/analog electronics and silicon photonics with a proven track record of timely delivery and first-pass success.
• Advocate for AI tools, with a history of driving adoption to accelerate development and improve productivity.
• Skilled collaborator and mentor, committed to building high-performing, innovative teams.

Minimum Qualifications

• 15+ years high-speed electronics and photonics development leadership experience including management of global teams.
• Extensive experience in the following disciplines or similar areas within the silicon development lifecycle:
  • Mixed signal/analog electronics: Drivers, TIAs, ADCs, TX/RX Equalizers, CDRs, etc.
  • Digital signal processors (DSP)
  • Optical / Photonic ICs: Modulators, Photo Detectors, Grating Couplers, Waveguides, etc.
  • High-speed SERDES
  • Signal & power integrity, channel modeling
  • Advanced packaging including fine-pitch and low-parasitic chip-chip interconnect
  • PLL / clock domains and distribution
  • Power distribution
  • Silicon diagnostics, test coverage, and DFT
  • Electrical, optical, and co-simulation applications and tools
  • Silicon validation and test equipment

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced understanding of silicon manufacturing processes, and automation
• Optical transceiver silicon and module architecture
• Strong communication, partner management, and executive presence.
• Experience working with Tier 1 webscale customers.
• Advanced degree (Master's/PhD) in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field with a focus on semiconductor and/or optics development.
• Willingness to travel both domestically and internationally.

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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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.