Mechanical Engineer

Meet the Team

The Product Operations team plays a pivotal role in delivering Cisco’s next-generation hardware at scale with quality. Operating at the intersection of engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing, the team ensures seamless product lifecycle execution from New Product Introduction (NPI) through high-volume production to customer delivery. With a focus on Product Quality, reliability, efficiency, and operational excellence, the team drives significant impact across global operations to enable successful product outcomes.

Your Impact

As a Mechanical Product Engineer, you will serve as the technical anchor for our products throughout their entire lifecycle—from pre-concept commit through End of Life (EOL). You will bridge the gap between design engineering and manufacturing, ensuring that our products meet rigorous cost, quality, and reliability standards. You will collaborate closely with Mechanical Engineering, Product Operations, Global Supplier Management (GSM), Manufacturing Operations, and our EMS partners to drive excellence in New Product Introduction (NPI) and sustaining engineering.

1. New Product Introduction (NPI) & Early Design Engagement

• Provide end-to-end engineering support from pre-concept through FCS (First Customer Ship), ensuring seamless transitions from development to mass production.
• Engage early with hardware and mechanical design teams to influence component selection and champion Design for Excellence (DfX) and Design for Assembly (DfA) principles.
• Oversee the development and sourcing of mechanical commodities, including sheet metal enclosures, thermal solutions, and customized components.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to develop robust manufacturing processes and cutting-edge technology integration during the NPI phase.

2. Quality, Yield, and Technical Lifecycle Management

• Provide leadership in the identification, analysis, and resolution of product quality issues during both NPI and sustaining phases.
• Lead and participate in Design and Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to proactively mitigate risks.
• Perform Mechanical design analysis and provide technical influence to resolve complex thermal design and cost optimized solutions.
• Manage technical lifecycle activities, including defect reduction initiatives and the qualification of new components.

3. Value Engineering & Cost Management

• Drive cost avoidance and value engineering initiatives during the pre-production release phase.
• Maintain BOM (Bill of Materials) integrity, including proactive BOM structuring and risk management.
• Work with Component Engineering, T&Q, and GSM to optimize design for cost-efficiency without compromising quality.

4. Manufacturing & Supply Chain Collaboration

• Assess and identify technical capability gaps within the CM (Contract Manufacturer) and supply chain ecosystem.
• Develop, analyze, and release comprehensive product documentation for both factory and field environments.
• Conduct design lab experimentation, Design of Experiments (DOE), and debug activities to ensure product robustness.
• Act as the primary technical point of contact for EMS partners, ensuring alignment on quality standards and process execution.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent) with 6+ years of relevant experience in hardware product engineering, NPI, and sustaining support.
• Demonstrated experience in a high-volume, high-complexity engineering environment, DFx, FMEA, specifically managing hardware lifecycles from concept to EOL.

Preferred Qualifications

• System Hardware Mastery: Comprehensive understanding of system hardware architectures, Mechanical design concepts, and modern engineering development practices.
• Design & Manufacturing Tools: Proficiency in industry-standard tools, including CREO, CAD  tools
• Domain Knowledge: Deep understanding of sheet metal fabrication, thermal (fan and heatsinks) fabrication and PCBA assembly process and technology.
• Manufacturing Knowledge: Extensive knowledge of end-to-end manufacturing processes, including fabrication techniques and tooling requirements.
• Change Management: Hands on experience of change management (Ex. ECO/ECN and Deviation release process).
• Tolerance Analysis: Deep understanding of Tolerance Analysis and Mechanical Design Verification tests.
• Packaging: Basic understanding about Packaging Design and Circular Economy.
• Communication & Collaboration: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., GSM, Product Ops, EMS partners).
• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams, manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously, and maintain composure in fast-paced NPI environments.

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. 

Disclaimer

To ensure that we hire the best talent in the right way, we follow a strict hiring process and recently, Cisco has been made aware of fraudulent recruiters claiming to be from the company. Please be advised that any communication from Cisco about careers will:

• be in direct response to an application you have submitted through the company career site
• begin with screening or an interview
• originate from a Cisco email address, and
• be conducted across email, phone, or WebEx

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