Hardware Project Manager
Application window expected to close on 09/23/2026; posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or sufficient applications are received.
About the Team
The Common Hardware Group (CHG) creates innovative hardware platforms central to the AI era, powering Cisco’s core Switching, Routing, and Wireless products for organizations globally. Our innovations in silicon, optics, and hardware platforms—like Silicon One—are shaping the technology industry. The CHG HW PMO team is the program management engine for Cisco's hardware portfolio. We partner across engineering, product management, operations, supply chain, marketing, sales, and leadership teams to turn strategy into executable plans, clear decision-making, and predictable delivery. We create operating rhythms, governance, transparency, and multi-functional coordination that help teams manage dependencies, resolve risks, and deliver products that power Cisco's customers at scale.
Responsibilities
- Lead project and program management activities across hardware engineering, product management, operations, marketing, account teams, EPM, power, thermal, and other partner organizations.
- Lead small to mid-sized programs with moderate complexity, multiple dependencies, and multi-functional stakeholder groups across the CHG hardware portfolio.
- Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, milestones, deliverables, communication frameworks, and execution cadences that keep teams aligned and accountable.
- Track program health, identify risks and dependencies, drive issue resolution, and escalate decisions or blockers with clear recommendations.
- Support operational work for HW groups, coordinate planning cycles, business reviews, status reporting, leadership updates, and other operating mechanisms that improve visibility and execution.
- Establish and improve documentation frameworks, governance processes, templates, and team execution models; use collaboration, automation, and AI-enabled productivity tools responsibly to improve operational efficiency.
Requirements
- Bachelors + 5 years of related experience, or Masters + 3 years of related experience, or PhD + 0 years of related experience, or equivalent related work experience.
- Related experience in program/project management, business operations, PMO, chief-of-staff support, or hardware design, HW manufacturing processes, product development.
- Experience leading cross-functional programs or projects, including project plans, milestones, dependencies, risks, issue resolution, and stakeholder communications.
- Experience supporting business operations or leadership operating rhythms, such as staff meetings, business reviews, action tracking, executive updates, dashboards, or organizational communications.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting hardware, system-level, networking, telecom, or enterprise infrastructure programs within a PMO or product development environment.
- Experience in business operations, executive operations, or PMO role supporting senior leadership operating mechanisms.
- Familiarity with product development lifecycles, release readiness, change management, and launch or operational governance processes.
- Ability to operate effectively in a highly matrixed, fast-paced, and globally distributed environment while balancing program execution with operational priorities.
- Strong analytical problem-solving skills with the ability to turn ambiguous inputs into clear plans, owners, actions, and decisions.
- Experience using collaboration, automation, AI-enabled productivity, or workflow tools to improve program execution, executive communications, and team efficiency.
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.
Pay
The starting salary range for this position is $113,900.00 to $161,000.00 for new hires 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:
- 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 include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution
- Paid parental leave
- Short and long-term disability coverage
- Basic life insurance
- Eligibility for grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time
- Paid time away:
- 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
- 4 paid days off for personal wellness
- Non-exempt employees receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees
- Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, with no defined limit on vacation time (subject to availability and business limitations)
- 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, with 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
- Eligibility to earn annual bonuses (for non-sales roles) subject to Cisco’s policies
- For sales roles, performance-based incentive pay split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan