Thermal Engineering Technical Leader
Cisco
The application window is expected to close on: 9/12/2025
Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.
Meet the Team
The Component Quality and Technology Organization in Supply Chain Operations is a key hub of technical innovation in Cisco. Members of the organization have a broad scope of influence: interacting with Business Units, Product Operations, Manufacturing Operations, Planning and Fulfillment, Supplier Management and directly with Suppliers. In addition, members of the organization participate in industry consortia, conferences and collaborate with academia and other strategic partners. The organization focuses on evaluating and adopting new technologies to help Cisco leapfrog the competition in advanced algorithms and solutions to solve complex problems.
Your Impact
You will be part of a world class Component Quality and Technology Group and contribute to developing, road mapping and implementing advanced thermal solutions for Cisco’s products. You will Investigate and develop innovative thermal cooling solutions for hardware systems in large scale. You will lead in the development of test plans and qualification requirements to ensure mechanical and manufacturing robustness of thermal cooling solutions (pumps, heat pipes, vapor chambers, heat sinks, cold plates etc.). You will Engage with external vendors including ODM and component vendors on design, test and production. You will Establish parameters for thermal design/testing, correlation of design/test results to model predictions. You will Collaborate with Cisco hardware design teams to develop roadmaps and risk analyses for future thermal solutions for ASIC/IC, Optics, Power and other components and systems. You will partner with several Cisco hardware design teams to improve specifications and qualification procedures.
Minimum Qualifications:
- BS in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering
- 8 – 10 years of experience in design, simulation and testing of thermal solutions for electronic devices and systems
- 8+ years of experience in electronic device and system level air cooling technologies
- Experience in mechanical design validation and testing for electronic assemblies
- Knowledge of integrated circuit packaging technologies (BGA, large body size Flip Chip BGA, 2.5D and 3D Packaging)
- Component and system reliability analysis
Preferred Qualifications
- 10+ years of relevant industry experience in microelectronics cooling
- Experience in developing liquid cooling solutions for electronic devices and systems.
- Experience with Thermal Interface Material Thermal Conductivity Testing procedures
- Experience with troubleshooting and thermal validation with data acquisition systems, airflow and environmental chambers
- Experience with liquid cooling (cold plates, CDUs, manifolds, piping, characterization, pumps etc.) and high-power air-cooling solutions, such as heat pipes, VCs, and 3D VCs.
- Ability to lead by influence without direct reporting chain and advise executive decision makers
- Self-starter, proven ability to work independently on multiple projects and priorities
- Excellent communication, project management and metrics design skills>
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. Simply put – we power the future.
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.
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.