Mechanical Engineering Technical Leader

The application window is expected to close on: July 15, 2025.

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

This role requires being onsite in our San Jose, CA office 4+ days/week.

Meet the Team

We are the Service Provider (SP) Mechanical and Thermal team responsible for the design of Cisco's best high-performance, provider class routers, the Cisco 8000 series. The Cisco 8000 series utilizes Cisco's revolutionary Silicon One ASIC that delivers unmatched performance and density with feature-rich functionality.

We are transforming the industry and building a new internet for AI networks and the 5G era, providing a unified, programmable silicon architecture that is the foundation of all Cisco's future routing products.

Our devices are designed to be universally adaptable across service providers and web-scale markets, designed for fixed and modular platforms. Our devices deliver high speed without sacrificing programmability, buffering, power efficiency, scale or feature flexibility.

You'll be part of our group driving our game-changing next-generation network devices built with Cisco Silicon One .

Your Impact

In this role, you will have the opportunity to work in the platform engineering mechanical team at San Jose, CA. The job involves working on current and next-generation mechanical designs of telecom systems.

• Architect, design, and deliver system mechanical design after specification of product requirements.
• Lead resolution of issues by working closely with manufacturing team and suppliers, developing mitigation plans, and keeping management informed.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams (Hardware, Signal Integrity, CAD, Thermal, Manufacturing, etc.) to negotiate requirements and evaluate technical risks and tradeoffs.
• Design and develop innovative mechanical solutions using sheet metal, plastic, and die-cast that meets EMI, safety, and compliance requirements.
• Collaborate with thermal engineers to design and implement cooling solutions.
• Provide technical design guidance and mentoring for junior engineers.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent and 8+ years of relevant experience.
• 3+ years of relevant experience in design of compute/networking products.
• Expertise in use of 3D MCAD tools (Creo/NX).
• Experience with sheet metal design.
• Experience with GD&T and tolerance analysis.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent and 6+ years of relevant experience.
• Relevant experience in the mechanical design of computer/networking equipment for data center.
• Strong knowledge in manufacturing tooling for sheet metal, plastic, and die-casting.
• Experience in designing plastic and die-cast parts.
• Mechanism design experience.
• Experience in performing static and dynamic analysis using tools such as Creo Simulate or ANSYS
• Expert in tolerance analysis, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) and statistical analysis.
• Experience in Model-Based Definition (MBD).

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 unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint. Simply put - we power the future.

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.

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees have to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.

Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco's flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco's Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter. Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.