Senior CAD Engineer PDK And IP Integration

Meet the Team

The Common Hardware Group (CHG) delivers silicon, optics, and hardware platforms for Ciscos core Switching, Routing, and Wireless products. We design the networking hardware for Enterprises and Service Providers of various sizes, the Public Sector, and Non-Profit Organizations across the world. Cisco Silicon One (#CiscoSiliconOne) is the only unifying silicon architecture in the market that enables customers to deploy the best-of-breed silicon from Top of Rack (TOR) switches all the way through web scale data centers and across service provider, enterprise networks, and data centers with a fully unified routing and switching portfolio. Come join us and take part in shaping Ciscos ground-breaking solutions by designing, developing and testing some of the most complex ASICs being developed in the industry.

Your Impact

We are looking for a motivated technical leader to join the CAD/Methodology team. You will own Infrastructure engagement and alignment including the arrangement/QA for Vendor IPs, standard cells and Process Design Kits (PDKs)—from early architecture through tape-out and into post-silicon bring-up and debug.

Success depends as much on clarity and follow-through as on depth in flows and tools. You will be the primary key stakeholder bridging between Cisco projects leads and all supply chain dependencies such as IP/std cells vendors and external foundries.

Responsibilities include keeping schedules, aligning technical requirements, and aligning delivery commitments so IP and PDK land on time, qualified, and usable in Cisco projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Stakeholder leadership and communication — Partner routinely with Program/Project Management, Physical Design, Package / SI, RTL/Design, Design Verification, and CAD/Methodology. Translate priorities across disciplines, surface risks early, and drive decisions.
• External engagement and IP delivery — Work with foundries and IP vendors on roadmaps, releases, and bug fixes.
• Vendor IP and PDK lifecycle — Manage vendor deliverables end-to-end including integration, validation, qualification, versioning, and controlled distribution into the design environment.
• Help define and evolve the installation, QA, and release platform for IPs and PDKs.
• Collaborate with design teams on benchmarking vendors and technology options where trade-offs affect PPA, schedule, or flow risks, support informed choices for programs.
• Foundry collateral quality — Evaluate, integrate, and debug PDKs, technology files, and libraries for flow compatibility and design-rule readiness, feed issues back to vendors with clear technical context.
• Documentation enablement for IP/PDK usage, integration, and best practices.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years in physical design enablement, CAD, or equivalent, with strong knowledge of ASIC flows, physical design methodologies, and foundry processes.
• Demonstrated strength in communication and program management: able to run multi-party threads, write crisp summaries for executives and engineers, and keep pre-silicon and post-silicon stakeholders aligned.
• Hands-on experience with IP installation, PDK enablement, and technology file management.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail, plus collaboration and influencing skills across matrixed internal teams and external suppliers.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Scripting (e.g., Python, TCL) for automation; comfortable with process nodes and PDK structures in real programs.
• Hands-on experience with timing models.
• Familiarity with EDA tools (e.g., Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens) for physical design and verification.
  
  

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.

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