Leader, Thermal Hardware Engineering

About the role

• The application window is expected to close on: 11/29/2026
• This position will be on-site in San Jose, CA
• Meet the Team

You will join the Component Quality & Technology Group within Global Supply Chain Operations. Our team is at the forefront of technical innovation, responsible for the roadmap, development, and implementation of sophisticated end-to-end thermal solutions that power Cisco's world-class products. You will collaborate extensively with Business Units, Product Operations, Manufacturing, Planning, and Supplier Management. You will also represent Cisco in external industry forums, conferences, and academic partnerships to adopt cutting-edge technologies that keep Cisco ahead of the competition.

Your Impact

The Component Quality and Technology Organization is a hub of innovation. You will collaborate extensively with Business Units, Product Operations, Manufacturing, Planning, and Supplier Management. You will also represent Cisco in external industry forums, conferences, and academic partnerships to adopt cutting-edge technologies that keep Cisco ahead of the competition.

• Strategic Leadership: Lead a global team of thermal component engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, mentorship, and career development.
• Technology Roadmap: Partner with microelectronics packaging suppliers, thermal interface material (TIM) vendors, and internal stakeholders to define and execute a system-wide thermal technology roadmap.
• Ecosystem Readiness: Drive supply ecosystem readiness for advanced cooling technologies, including liquid and immersion cooling.
• Innovation & Strategy: Investigate innovative, large-scale thermal cooling solutions. Develop commodity and supplier strategies based on industry sensing, quality roadmaps, and rigorous supplier assessments.
• Quality Excellence: Establish and maintain an end-to-end quality strategy for all thermal components.
• Technical Analysis: Analyze thermal performance tradeoffs (substrate, underfill, TIM, heat spreaders) and chip thermal gradients using experimental test data.
• Validation & Qualification: Define test plans and qualification requirements for mechanical and manufacturing adaptability (pumps, heat pipes, vapor chambers, heat sinks, liquid cooling).
• Industry Influence: Engage with ODMs and component vendors, participate in industry consortia, and collaborate with academia to influence Cisco's position as an industry leader.

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical, Thermal, or Chemical Engineering or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in the design, simulation, testing of thermal solutions for electronic devices and systems.
• Extensive experience with advanced air-cooling technologies (vapor chambers, remote heat sinks, TIM, fan trays).
• Experience with liquid cooling and/or immersion cooling.
• Proven people leadership experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering or a related field.
• 15+ years of relevant experience in microelectronics thermal cooling; 10+ years of people leadership experience.
• Expertise in Thermal Interface Material (TIM) conductivity testing procedures and microelectronics packaging manufacturing processes.

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.

Pay and benefits

The starting salary range posted for this position is $194,600.00 to $285,700.00 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:

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $179,000.00 - $294,000.00

• 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.