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Leader, Semiconductor Product Engineering

Cisco Systems
September 16, 2026
Full-time
Remote friendly (San Jose, California, United States)
Worldwide
$194,600 - $285,700 USD yearly
Process Engineering Jobs, Level - Senior

Job Title

Leader, Semiconductor Product Engineering

Role Summary

Lead and mentor a product engineering team within Optics Operations to develop and sustain semiconductor wafer products (including silicon photonics and mmWave components) through initial silicon to high-volume manufacturing. Partner with design, foundry, packaging, test, and reliability teams to improve yield, quality, and supply resilience.

Focus includes AI-driven process transformation and Design-for-Manufacturing to deliver scalable, high-yield products.

Experience Level

Senior - 10+ years of semiconductor industry experience with at least 5 years of direct people leadership.

Responsibilities

Accountable for product engineering leadership, yield and quality improvements, and cross-functional execution from silicon bring-up to HVM.

  • Lead an engineering team to deliver semiconductor wafer products that meet Cisco quality and performance targets.
  • Partner with design, foundry, IC packaging, test, and reliability teams to meet yield, quality, and cost objectives.
  • Drive DFx/DFM implementation and manage products from initial silicon to high-volume manufacturing.
  • Establish manufacturing and test strategies, including DFT implementation, test hardware specifications, and test program creation.
  • Deliver AI-driven process transformation to reduce test time, accelerate root-cause analysis, and improve yield and cost across design, fab, and packaging.
  • Create and execute AI-powered analytics strategies to streamline product development and failure identification.
  • Coach and upskill engineers across career stages to build technical capability and an AI-driven mindset.

Requirements

Key technical and leadership requirements. Degree requirements are listed separately under Education Requirements.

  • 10+ years in the semiconductor industry (mmWave, DSP, Silicon Photonics) with 5+ years of direct people leadership.
  • Technical expertise in semiconductor fabrication processes, wafer sort/probe testing, and advanced packaging (2.5D/3D, flip-chip, optical interconnect).
  • Proven ability to manage technical deliverables with foundry ecosystems and OSAT partners.
  • Hands-on mastery of Statistical Process Control (SPC), Design of Experiments (DOE), Six Sigma methodologies, and yield management tools (e.g., JMP, Spotfire).
  • Strategic silicon engineering experience to guide complex projects and drive cross-functional outcomes.
  • Strong mentoring skills and experience developing engineers at multiple career levels.

Nice-to-have:

  • Experience with Python, machine learning libraries, or enterprise AI tools to automate yield learning, test pattern generation, or anomaly detection.
  • Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills in complex matrix organizations.

Education Requirements

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Optical Physics, Photonics, or a related engineering field.


About the Company

Company: Cisco Systems

Headquarters: San Jose, CA, United States

Cisco Systems is a global technology company that designs and sells networking hardware, telecommunications equipment, software, and services. It provides enterprise and service-provider networking, security, collaboration, and optical communications solutions (including Acacia Communications technologies for high-speed optical interconnects).

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Date Posted: 2026-09-16