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SW Post-Silicon Validation Engineer
- Cisco (San Jose, CA)
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Meet the team:
Welcome to the Post-Silicon Validation Team at Cisco! Our group offers a unique combination of a startup culture with the benefits of working for the leading networking company in the world. You will engage in dynamic collaboration with verification engineers, designers, and cross-functional teams, working together to ensure the successful verification of the ASIC throughout its lifecycle.
Operating at the forefront of technology, we work with cutting-edge, high-speed, and power-hungry devices. Our small, but highly influential team thrives in this challenging environment, leveraging our expertise to impact the future of networking technology. With a commitment to excellence and a passion transformative technology, we are shaping the future of high-performance Networking and delivering unparalleled value in every project we undertake. Join us and be a part of a team where professionalism meets impact
Your Impact:
We are seeking a Post-Silicon Validation Engineer with an interest in **software** -oriented hardware validation, to support the electrical characterization of networking silicon in lab environments. In this role, you will contribute to executing validation plans, developing test procedures, and assisting with debug activities for networking ASICs. This position offers hands-on exposure to networking technologies and hardware-software cross functional debug.
Key Responsibilities
+ Execute post-silicon validation tests on networking ASICs
+ Assist with silicon bring-up and feature validation in lab environments
+ Run functional, performance, and stress tests
+ Collect and analyze test results, logs, and failure data
+ Develop and maintain validation tests and scripts in **C/C++ and Python**
+ Modify existing diagnostics and test frameworks to add new coverage
+ Automate test execution, result collection, and reporting
+ Support regression testing and continuous validation environments
+ Assist in debugging hardware and software issues using standard tools
+ Analyze packet traces, logs, and counters to help identify issues
+ Reproduce failures and provide clear data to senior engineers
+ Learn to distinguish between silicon, firmware, and software defects
+ Validate basic networking functionality such as connectivity, packet forwarding, and traffic handling
+ Assist with testing of MAC/PHY, SerDes and other high-speed interfaces
+ Learn data plane and control plane concepts through hands-on testing
Minimum Qualifications:
+ Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
+ Minimum 3 years of experience (internship or academic project experience acceptable)
+ Programming experience in **C or C++**
+ Fundamental scripting experience in **Python** or similar languages
+ Fundamental understanding of **computer architecture and embedded systems**
+ Basic knowledge of **networking concepts** (Ethernet, TCP/IP fundamentals)
Preferred Qualifications:
+ Academic or internship experience with hardware validation, embedded software, or networking
+ Exposure to Linux, device drivers, or embedded OS environments
+ Familiarity with lab equipment or debug tools (JTAG, logic analyzers, packet analyzers)
+ Debug experience with: DDR5, USB3.0, SGMII, PCIe Gen3, USB2.0, eMMC, SPI, MDIO, I2C, UART.
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.
Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:
The starting salary range posted for this position is $135,800.00 to $193,400.00 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.
+ 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:
New York City Metro Area:
$135,800.00 - $222,400.00
Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$122,000.00 - $197,900.00
* 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.
Cisco is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.
Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
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