Director, Central Engineering - Wireless & Enterprise Routing Hardware

Shape the Future of Enterprise Hardware at Cisco

Cisco's networking platforms are the backbone of global connectivity-and we're building the next generation. We're looking for a technically grounded and strategically minded Director of Central Engineering to lead key functional domains that power our Wireless and Enterprise Routing hardware portfolio.

This role is ideal for a senior hardware leader who thrives on systems-level thinking, enabling engineering scale, and working at the intersection of platform architecture, manufacturing readiness, and product innovation. You'll drive horizontal functions-such as signal integrity, ECAD methodologies, mechanical/thermal design, and diagnostics-serving as a technical and organizational multiplier across Cisco's enterprise hardware programs.

What You'll Do

As Director of Central Engineering, you will lead a multidisciplinary team that owns the foundational engineering capabilities behind Cisco's next-gen wireless and routing platforms. You will:

• Drive strategy and execution across core engineering functions:

• Partner with product teams to support development of high-performance, cost-effective hardware systems
• Standardize tools, design practices, and IP reuse across multiple business units and product lines
• Lead organizational scale and team development, including talent strategy and mentorship
• Collaborate with global engineering, software, operations, and supply chain teams from concept through volume production

This role offers both executive visibility and deep technical impact-enabling platform consistency, accelerating NPI, and improving product quality across Cisco's enterprise hardware business.

Who You'll Work With

In this role, you'll work at the heart of Cisco's hardware ecosystem-partnering closely with product design engineers to enable innovative architectures, with software engineering teams to co-develop diagnostics and bring-up infrastructure, and with manufacturing operations to ensure every platform is built to scale, cost, and quality.

You'll be embedded in a deeply cross-functional environment, where collaboration across engineering, supply chain, and operations is essential to delivering reliable, high-performance products to our global customers. Your influence will span from whiteboard to factory floor-and everywhere in between.

Who you are

You are a creative and skilled technical professional who excels at solving complex problems. As a passionate innovator and self-starter, you build teams that turn visions into reality.

Using your strong communication, empathy, and analytical abilities you collaborate effectively by listening, finding common ground, and working as a team to find the best product solutions. You have a high awareness which will guide you in generating trust with engineering design teams. You are very organized enabling you to scale across multiple programs conversations well.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field or 14+ years of experience in Hardware Engineering field.
• 7+ years of experience leading the design and development of hardware systems. 5+ years leading cross-functional or centralized teams
• Proven experience serving in the capacity of Director or as an Engineering Leader managing teams.
• Technical depth in at least one core domain (e.g. Signal Integrity, Thermal & Mechanical Engineering, ECAD, diagnostics) and familiarity with the rest
• Experience delivering complex, high-volume hardware systems in networking, datacenter, or telco environments
• Proven success leading teams that support multiple product lines or business units
• Strong organizational leadership, talent development, and cross-functional collaboration skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to address complex issues.
• Ability to constantly identify, follow and learn innovative technologies, work in a fast-paced, team-focused environment.
• Experience mentoring peers at all levels, been a manager of managers.
• Familiarity with Cisco hardware development processes, toolchains, and standards
• Background in platform strategy, tooling infrastructure, or design-for-manufacturing processes
• Track record of scaling infrastructure or design standards across multiple product lines
• Experience with cloud, data center, or edge networking products

Why Cisco

The Internet of Everything is a phenomenon driving new opportunities for Cisco and it's redefining our customers' businesses worldwide. We are pioneers and have been since the early days of connectivity. Today, we are building teams that are expanding our technology solutions in the mobile, cloud, security, IT, including software and consulting services. As Cisco delivers the network that powers the Internet, we are connecting the unconnected. Imagine creating unprecedented disruption. Your revolutionary ideas will impact everything from retail, healthcare, and entertainment to public and private sectors, and far beyond. Collaborate with like-minded innovators in a fun and flexible culture that has earned Cisco global recognition as a Great Place to work. With roughly 10 billion connected things in the world now and over 50 billion estimated in the future, your career has exponential possibilities at Cisco.

Day to day, we focus on the give and take. We give our best, give our egos a break, and give of ourselves (because giving back is built into our DNA.) We take accountability, bold steps, and take difference to heart. Because without diversity of thought and a dedication to equality for all, there is no moving forward. So, you have colorful hair? Don't care. Tattoos? Show off your ink. Like polka dots? That's cool. Pop culture geek? Many of us are. A passion for technology and world changing? Be you, with us!

We offer extensive employee benefits including 20 days of PTO, 10 paid volunteering days, paid birthday off, 401k match with NO vesting, generous health/dental/vision benefits and much more.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

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