Senior Director, Diagnostics Engineering (Common Hardware Group)

Your Impact Global Strategy and Vision Develop and implement a cohesive diagnostics strategy aligned with Cisco’s hardware product development and business objectives. Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, operational excellence, and accountability across global teams. Promote and adopt AI technologies to enhance team productivity and efficiency, and generate business insights for product strategy and process improvements. Diagnostics Development, Quality and Lifecycle Management Oversee the design and execution of diagnostics software development and bring-up during New Product Introduction (NPI), while ensuring diagnostic support throughout the product lifecycle. Implement rigorous testing and validation processes to deliver reliable, high-quality diagnostic packages for hardware validation and manufacturing production, contributing to Cisco’s overall product quality. Drive improvements in diagnostics coverage, usability, debug capabilities, and fault isolation to meet and exceed customer requirements. Support production issue resolution and contribute to yield improvements in manufacturing facilities. Adopt AI-assisted coding to leverage artificial intelligence in various coding tasks, enhancing productivity and code quality. Innovation, Continuous Improvement, and Operational Excellence Champion innovation and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance productivity, efficiency, and quality while reducing costs. Implement advanced cloud-based data collection and analytics frameworks, driving the adoption of AI technologies in diagnostics development, testing, and user applications. Leverage AI/ML technologies to generate data insights for business strategy and operational efficiency improvements. Establish a flexible and scalable infrastructure with standardized methodologies and processes, ensuring consistent execution across product lines and global teams. Multi-functional and Cross-Team Collaboration Partner with hardware, software, validation, and manufacturing teams to plan, implement, and deliver programs effectively. Foster a collaborative environment that drives innovation, alignment, and accountability across functions. Promote knowledge sharing, standard methodology adoption, and cross-team collaboration to improve the community advantages of the Diagnostics COE. Who You Are Diagnostics Expert: You possess deep expertise in hardware system diagnostics, with a proven track record of delivering complex networking hardware products. Strategic Problem solver: You can develop and implement forward-thinking strategies that align with organizational goals. Operational Leader: You excel in managing diagnostic systems across global, complex, and matrixed organizations. Innovator: You identify and implement powerful solutions to drive quality and efficiency improvements, including latest AI/ML technologies. Collaborative Partner: You build strong partnerships across teams, fostering alignment and shared accountability. Talent Developer: You are committed to mentoring and developing high-performing diagnostics teams, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability. Minimum Qualifications 12+ years of leadership experience in embedded software development, with a focus on networking hardware system diagnostics. Deep technical knowledge at the intersection of software and hardware development, with a solid understanding of large-scale software infrastructure and its application to various hardware architectures, including bootloaders and device drivers Proficiency in C/C++, Python, and scripting languages commonly used in diagnostic tools and test automation. Strong knowledge of networking hardware systems, including ASICs, FPGAs, CPUs, memory systems, SerDes and high-speed interfaces. Knowledge of AI/ML frameworks and their application in anomaly detection, data analytics, and intelligent testing. Standard processes for CI/CD pipelines, regression test automation, and release management in hardware-dependent software. Preferred Qualifications Good understanding of manufacturing processes, production testing requirements, test frameworks and automation systems. Proficient in AI-assisted coding for software development for productivity, code quality, and accelerated development lifecycle. Expertise in engineering product development and lifecycle management. Proven ability to lead large-scale transformation initiatives and deliver measurable outcomes. Exceptional communication skills, partner management abilities, and executive presence. Advanced degree or equivalent experience in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field (preferred) #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! 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 access 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.