Cisco Careers

The application window is expected to close on:  05/09/2025. 

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

Meet the Team 

The Common Hardware Group (CHG) delivers the silicon, optics, and hardware platforms for Cisco's core Switching, Routing, and Wireless products.  We design optical modules for Enterprises and Service Providers of various sizes, the Public Sector, and Non-Profit Organizations across the world.

You will be part of our Analog Mixed-Signal Layout Design team and collaborate with the Analog Mixed-Signal Circuit Design teams and Silicon Photonics design teams to create high-speed, high-performance, and highly integrated optical transceivers.

Your Impact 

In this role, you will play a crucial part in producing high-quality physical designs for high-speed connectivity in hyperscale data centers and other critical networks. You will support Circuit Designers by contributing to the CAD layout of physical designs for high-performance analog/mixed-signal optical transceiver circuits, utilizing advanced process technologies. Your work will involve designing components like frequency synthesizers, clock distribution systems, transmitters, and more.

• Create detailed analog and mixed-signal IC layout designs for analog, covering stages from floor planning, block design, and top-level design to tapeout

• Collaborate closely with circuit design engineers to ensure layouts meet the required specifications for electrical, performance, matching, and reliability

• Perform verification on advanced node technologies, ensuring compliance with DRC, LVS, antenna rules, density rules, ERC, Virtuoso XL compliance, reliability, and in-house best practices.

• Optimize layouts to minimize noise coupling, crosstalk, electromigration, matching issues, latch-up prevention, and ensure ESD robustness.

• Perform parasitic extraction to ensure that layout achieves targeted performance, considering parasitic effects.

• Use industry-standard CAD layout tools such as Cadence Virtuoso, Cadence Pegasus, and Siemens Calibre, among others.

• Support tape-out activities, including chip-level integration, full-chip verification, and documentation.

• Contribute to methodology enhancements, automation, and layout efficiency improvements to streamline the design process.

• Coordinate with the photonics team and other cross functional teams to improve the overall system.

• Divide layout tasks into component parts to work in parallel with other layout design engineers when it helps accelerate project timelines.

• Provide ongoing schedule guidance on tasks to the manager.

• Complete checklists and follow company design flows and other quality assurance methodologies.

• Present your work in layout reviews, review layouts from other layout design engineers, and collect feedback for continuous improvement of circuit layouts and documentation.

• Perform post-layout analysis and debugging to support silicon validation and characterization activities when necessary.

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in related field

• 8+ years experience of mask design experience in sub-micron CMOS (7nm or smaller geometries)

• 3+ years of experience in high precision analog/mixed signal circuit

• Experience with layout in the Cadence Virtuoso design environment and Siemens Mentor Calibre or Cadence Pegusus verification tool

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) is preferred

• 10+ years of proven experience in analog mixed-signal layout design, particularly in high-speed circuits (more than 10 GHz)

• Working knowledge of debugging with DRC/LVS/ERC with Cadence Pegasus or Siemens Calibre

• Experience translating concepts such as parasitics, matching, crosstalk, transistor layout dependent effects, latchup, IR drop, electromigration and triple well processes into physical design constraints

• Proficient experience in chip-level floor planning, analog block integration and the ability to use productivity-enhancing tools and design scripts is desirable

#WeAreCisco 

#WeAreCisco where every individual brings their unique skills and perspectives together to pursue our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all. 

Our passion is connection—we celebrate our employees’ diverse set of backgrounds and focus on unlocking potential. Cisconians often experience one company, many careers where learning and development are encouraged and supported at every stage. Our technology, tools, and culture pioneered hybrid work trends, allowing all to not only give their best, but be their best. 

We understand our outstanding opportunity to bring communities together and at the heart of that is our people. One-third of Cisconians collaborate in our 30 employee resource organizations, called Inclusive Communities, to connect, foster belonging, learn to be informed allies, and make a difference. Dedicated paid time off to volunteer—80 hours each year—allows us to give back to causes we are passionate about, and nearly 86% do! 

Our purpose, driven by our people, is what makes us the worldwide leader in technology that powers the internet. Helping our customers reimagine their applications, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals is what we do best. We ensure that every step we take is a step towards a more inclusive future for all. Take your next step and be you, with us!