Senior Director, Hardware - Mechanical & Thermal Eng -> Hyper Scale Systems (AI Networking)
Cisco· enterprise· Enterprise Software· Oct 19, 2026 · 8d ago
San Jose, California, US
In office
Full-time
Director
$285K–$450K
14+ years exp
Job description
The application window is expected to close on: 10/29/2026 Meet the Team
The high-impact System Thermal Engineering and Mechanical (STEAM) team within Networking Hardware Engineering (NHE) provides engineering leadership and foundational innovation across Cisco s core verticals, including Service Provider Routing, Enterprise Routing, and Switching. Our team is a critical partner across Cisco—driving innovation, advancing design reliability, optimizing engineering processes and infrastructure, and delivering scalable hardware solutions that power our most critical networking products.
Cisco Hardware Engineers develop and work with next-generation technologies to build world-class hardware products, keeping user experience, IEEE standards, and industry guidelines at the forefront. We direct the hardware development function across research and technical design for electronic parts, circuitry, and mechanical/thermal systems, delivering an exceptional engineering experience that enables our teams to build market-leading platforms.
Your Impact
As the Senior Director of Mechanical and Thermal Engineering, you will lead a specialized, multi-disciplinary engineering organization dedicated to the research, design, and optimization of mechanical and thermal systems across the networking sector. You will shape next-generation package, board, and system technologies by driving simulation, experimental validation, and multi-functional optimization.
Working closely with Silicon Design, Supply Chain, Electrical Design, Manufacturing, and Quality Assurance, your contributions will directly influence product reliability, performance, and manufacturability across active programs while establishing long-term technology roadmaps and industry leadership.
Manage, mentor, and develop a high-performing organization of engineering managers, senior engineers, and technicians, fostering a collaborative, transparent, and innovative culture. Structure the team to support varied engagement models and multi-functional demands.
Be responsible for the end-to-end development and execution of complex mechanical and thermal engineering projects, ensuring thorough alignment with company goals, schedules, and quality landmarks.
Lead the design and optimization of mechanical enclosures, sheet metal, cooling systems, tolerance analysis, material selection, and Design-for-Reliability (DFR) to improve performance and efficiency in networking applications.
Develop and scale engineering standards across multiple product lines, including employing AI/ML tools, algorithms, and computational optimization to accelerate mechanical and thermal design workflows.
Ensure all hardware designs strictly align with relevant IEEE standards, industry regulations, safety requirements, and standards, maintaining uncompromised quality and superior user experience.
Drive deep design reviews of mechanical enclosures, sheet metal fabrication, high-speed connector integration, tolerance analysis, and partner with technical collaborators on granular structural and thermal simulations.
Establish seamless data transfer and collaboration workflows between STEAM and partner teams—including Product Development, Silicon Design, Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and QA—to drive innovation, efficiency, and design reliability.
Develop and execute strategic business and technology plans for the mechanical and thermal engineering department, authoring multi-year technology roadmaps for next-generation thermal, mechanical, and packaging solutions.
Synthesize complex technical updates, engineering tradeoffs, and critical needs into clear, actionable presentations for executive leadership, and engage directly with select customers when critical issues or architecture reviews arise.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical field or equivalent practical work experience.
14 years of professional engineering experience in mechanical and thermal engineering within microelectronics, networking, telecommunications, or hardware systems.
5 years of direct technical leadership experience managing multidisciplinary engineering teams (including managing engineers, engineering managers, or technical staff).
Experience in mechanical enclosure design, cooling system/thermal design, or tolerance analysis for electronic hardware systems.
Preferred Qualifications
Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical field or equivalent work experience in the hardware industry.
Direct experience building high-density hardware products for AI/ML and Hyperscale customers, track record employing AI/ML tools and optimization algorithms to accelerate and streamline mechanical and thermal design cycles.
Proven expertise with advanced cold plates, backing plates, liquid cooling architectures, optical devices, Co-Packaged Optics / Chip-Package-Optics (CPO), Chip-Package-Copper (CPC), Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs), and novel cooling solutions.
Deep experience with high-speed connectors, sheet metal fabrication, ruggedized enclosures, high-density cabling, ejector mechanisms, and large form-factor rack-level systems.
Proven ability to drive critical initiatives, process modernization, and new ways of thinking across globally distributed, multi-geographic, and multi-segment engineering teams.
Demonstrated capability to dive deep into critical technical partner concerns, conduct root-cause analysis, and structure team operating models to resolve high-stakes hardware issues swiftly.
Comprehensive understanding of evolving industry trends, IEEE standards, thermal test methodologies, and regulatory compliance standards across enterprise and service provider networking platforms.
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.
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:
The starting salary range posted for this position is $284,700.00 to $390,900.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.
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 of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to 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:
$284,700.00 - $449,500.00
Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$272,000.00 - $398,000.00
* 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.
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