Senior Director, Diagnostics Engineering (Common Hardware Group)

The application window is expected to close on: July 20th 8 PM ET 2025

Meet the Team

The Senior Director of Diagnostics Engineering will define and implement a global strategy for the Diagnostics Center of Excellence (COE) within the Common Hardware Group (CHG). This strategy will ensure best-in-class diagnostic services, coverage, and capabilities across Cisco's groundbreaking hardware solutions for complex network infrastructures, including data centers and AI clusters.

This leader will oversee diagnostic software development and work you're doing aligned with hardware product development, champion operational excellence, and drive innovation. The Senior Director will play a pivotal role in maintaining hardware product quality and implementing continuous improvements, including modernizing diagnostic infrastructure and using the latest AI/ML technologies and methodologies.

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)

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