Principal Digital Design Lead

Cisco

Lead Digital Design for silicon photonics ICs at Cisco's Client Optics Group. Driving integration and architecture for high-performance optical interconnect products.

Posted 5/8/2026full-timeCarlsbad • California, Pennsylvania • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $208,600 - $287,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

PerlPython

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead digital design and integration of Cisco's silicon photonics ICs for 100G-400G per lambda solutions
Drive architecture, RTL design, and subsystem integration for high-performance optical interconnect products
Define organization-wide RTL quality standards and procedures
Drive full-chip integration of high-speed IPs (ODSP, D2D, SerDes XSR/PAM4)
Own DFT strategy and testability across designs
Partner with verification, firmware, and physical design teams for program success
Mentor global teams and foster collaborative, innovative culture
Develop automation scripts (Python, Perl, Tcl) for design analysis and QoR tracking

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree + 15 yrs, Master’s degree + 12 yrs, or PhD + 7 yrs ASIC design experience
Demonstrated expertise in full ASIC/SoC design flow (RTL, simulation, synthesis, DFT, implementation)
Technical leadership in block/subsystem development
Experience with scripting languages (Python, Perl, TCL)

Benefits

Comp & perks

medical, dental and vision insurance
401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
paid parental leave
short and long-term disability coverage
basic life insurance
10 paid holidays per full calendar year
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
16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year
flexible vacation time off program
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter
optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

RTL designsubsystem integrationfull-chip integrationASIC designSoC designDFT strategydesign analysisQoR trackingscripting languageshigh-speed IPs

Soft Skills

technical leadershipmentoringcollaborationinnovation

Certifications

Bachelor’s degreeMaster’s degreePhD