Sourcing Commodity Manager (remote) - 2019059

Application window closes on 10/15/2026. This is a remote position open to candidates anywhere in the United States, with a preference for those in San Jose CA, Austin TX, or Raleigh/Durham NC.

About the role

As a Technical Sourcing Commodity Manager for Memory and Storage, you own technical decisions and cost outcomes for memory and storage commodities by partnering closely with hardware engineering, manufacturing, and supplier engineering teams. You sit at the intersection of engineering, manufacturing, and supplier technology development—helping bring Cisco products to life that do not yet exist. You will influence design decisions, enable supplier technical readiness, and remove development barriers from concept through mass production. Your work directly impacts Cisco’s ability to deliver innovative, high‑performance networking and AI systems at scale while ensuring designs are manufacturable, resilient, and production‑ready.

This role is engineering‑facing, technically hands‑on, and requires comfort engaging in detailed technical discussions related to memory & storage design, materials, and manufacturing processes. Success requires direct experience supporting hardware designs through development, manufacturing, and scale, including hands‑on technical problem solving with supplier engineering teams.

Cisco’s Global Supplier Management (GSM) organization partners deeply with hardware engineering, manufacturing, and industry‑leading suppliers to enable next‑generation technologies across Cisco’s networking and AI platforms. The team focuses on early technical engagement, supplier capability development, and execution excellence—ensuring Cisco designs are ready to scale from prototype through mass production.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Hardware Design Engineering, Component Engineering, and Manufacturing to align supplier technologies with Cisco’s product architecture and roadmap.
• Participate in technical design reviews with internal teams and suppliers, evaluating feasibility, manufacturability, and performance trade‑offs.
• Drive early supplier technical engagement for new designs and architectures.
• Lead supplier technology roadmap discussions, assessing design approaches, materials, processes, and manufacturing capabilities.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for supplier‑related design, yield, reliability, and manufacturability issues.
• Hold suppliers accountable to development milestones, technical readiness, and qualification schedules.
• Lead/own supplier technical readiness from prototype through mass production.
• Facilitate hands‑on collaboration between supplier engineering teams and Cisco engineers to resolve design and manufacturing issues.
• Support ramp readiness, yield improvement, and transition from NPI into sustained production.
• Drive value‑engineering initiatives that improve cost efficiency without compromising technical performance or reliability.
• Identify and develop second‑source strategies that strengthen design robustness and supply flexibility.
• Support geographic diversification and non‑China manufacturing strategies.
• Identify technical and manufacturing risks; develop mitigation plans in partnership with engineering and suppliers.
• Lead supplier reviews covering technology readiness, NPI execution, yield, capacity, and risk.
• Provide clear technical status updates to cross‑functional leadership.
• Partner with Component Engineering on quality investigations and corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvement using diverse methodologies.
• Define technical KPIs and enable data‑driven execution across suppliers.
• Additional responsibilities may be assigned based on evolving business priorities.

Minimum Required Qualifications

• 5 + years technical experience in memory & storage technologies (especially NAND solutions – SSD, eMMC, UFS, uSD, etc.), including design support and manufacturing engagement.
• 8 + years experience working directly with hardware design engineering teams on New Product Introductions (NPI).
• 8 + years experience engaging suppliers on technical development, qualification, and manufacturing readiness, cost negotiations, should‑cost modeling, contract management, and obtaining quotations (RFQ/RFI process) from suppliers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in mechanical engineering or a related field.
• Experience with memory & storage technology or in memory‑supplier environments.
• Familiarity with AI system architectures and high‑performance computing platforms.
• Excellent technical communication, problem‑solving, and stakeholder‑engagement skills.

Why Cisco?

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era and beyond. For 40 years we’ve created solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds, delivering unparalleled security, visibility, and insights. Our global network of doers and experts means limitless opportunities to grow, collaborate with empathy, and make a worldwide impact.

Pay

The starting salary range for this position is $143,100 – $185,900 USD (U.S. and Canada), not including incentive compensation, equity, or benefits. Specific ranges by location include:

• New York City Metro Area: $143,100 – $213,800
• Non‑Metro New York State & Washington State: $130,300 – $189,600

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 Cisco restricted stock unit (RSU) grants
• Additional benefits and perks detailed on the Cisco careers site

Schedule

• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year plus 1 floating holiday (non‑exempt)
• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday
• Paid year‑end holiday shutdown
• 4 paid personal‑wellness days
• Non‑exempt employees: 16 days of paid vacation per year (accrued at 4.92 hours per pay period)
• Exempt employees: flexible vacation time off program (no defined limit, subject to availability)
• 80 hours of sick time on hire date and each January 1st, with up to 80 hours carried forward
• Optional 10 paid volunteer days per year
• Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family issues