Component Engineer - Board-Mount Power

Cisco Systems, Inc. - Supply Chain Organization - Component Quality & Technology (CQT) is looking for a Component Engineer to support component technology, qualification, supplier engagement, and manufacturing readiness for critical board-mount power components used across Cisco products.

This role will focus primarily on Board Mount Power (BMP) conversion components in the following areas:

• Power modules (uPOLs, Common Footprint Power Blocks, etc.)
• DC-DC High Voltage and Intermediate Bus Converters
• Packaging and manufacturing technologies

A key part of this role is direct engagement with component suppliers and their manufacturing operations.

You will regularly visit supplier factories, assess manufacturing processes and controls, identify technical and quality risks, and partner with suppliers to drive corrective actions and continuous improvement.

You will:

• Provide component engineering technical & quality support for assigned board-mount power commodities.
• Evaluate and qualify new components, technologies, and suppliers for Cisco hardware platforms.
• Conduct supplier manufacturing facility visits, technical assessments, and process audits.
• Review supplier manufacturing process flows, process controls, test methodologies, reliability controls, traceability, and change-management systems.
• Identify manufacturing, quality, reliability, and technology risks and drive corrective actions through closure.
• Partner with suppliers on root-cause analysis and corrective actions for component and manufacturing-related failures.
• Review supplier 8D, failure-analysis, and corrective-action reports.
• Assess Product Change Notifications and determine potential impact to Cisco products.
• Review component specifications, qualification reports, reliability data, manufacturing data, and supplier test coverage.
• Support component-level and board-level failure analysis.
• Partner with Cisco Hardware Engineering, Reliability, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing, and Global Supply Management teams.
• Monitor supplier quality, technology, and manufacturing performance and drive continuous-improvement activities.
• Support new-product introduction and component readiness for production, including assessment of supplier manufacturing capacity, line readiness, and ramp risk ahead of production builds.
  
• Travel regularly to supplier manufacturing sites in locations across Asia.

Who You’ll Work With

As a technical member of the component quality & technology (CQT) group, you will work closely with Cisco hardware development teams, supplier and product quality/reliability teams, global supply management, manufacturing and product operations organizations.

You will also work directly with supplier engineering, manufacturing, quality, product, and management teams.

This role requires the ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries and translate supplier manufacturing details into clear technical risks and recommendations for Cisco engineering teams.

Who You Are

You are a hands-on engineer who is comfortable working both at the component level and on the supplier factory floor.

You understand that component qualification is more than reviewing datasheets and qualification reports. You are able to visit a manufacturing line, understand how the product is built and tested, identify areas of technical or process risk, ask the right engineering questions, and work with suppliers to resolve issues.

You have strong technical judgment, are comfortable working directly with suppliers, and can communicate effectively with both detailed engineering teams and cross-functional leadership.

Board-Mount Power Focus

You will gain exposure and conduct evaluation in areas including:

• • Power-conversion topology
  • Electrical performance
  • Efficiency
  • Thermal performance
  • Transient response
  • Protection features
  • Component derating
  • Manufacturing process controls
  • Magnetics design and manufacturing
  • BMP module packaging & assembly
  • PCB and substrate technologies
  • Solder and interconnect reliability
  • Supplier screening and test coverage
  • Reliability qualification and life testing

Experience with GaN-based power conversion, 48 V / 50 V architectures, high-power DC-DC conversion, or high-voltage intermediate bus architectures such as ±400 V or 800 V systems is a plus.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Power Electronics, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in component engineering, supplier engineering, supplier quality, product engineering, manufacturing engineering, power electronics, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with electronic-component or power-conversion suppliers.
• Prior experience performing supplier manufacturing facility audits, factory assessments, process reviews, or on-site supplier technical evaluations.
• Experience with one or more of the following:
  • DC-DC power conversion
  • Board-mount power modules
  • Intermediate bus converters
  • Point-of-load regulators
  • Power semiconductors
• Familiarity with JEDEC and IPC-9592 standards.
• Experience with component qualification, reliability, or failure analysis.
• Experience driving supplier root-cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Strong problem-solving and data-analysis skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively in English and Mandarin.
• Ability to travel regularly to supplier manufacturing locations.

Preferred Qualifications

• 7+ years of relevant component, supplier, quality, or hardware engineering experience.
• Direct experience working with manufacturers of DC-DC converters, power modules, or intermediate bus converters.
• Strong understanding of power-electronics fundamentals and power-conversion architectures.
• Extensive experience performing supplier manufacturing facility audits, factory assessments, process reviews, or on-site supplier technical evaluations.
• Experience with board mount power module packaging, assembly, and test.
• Experience with magnetics, substrates, PCB technologies, solder joints, and module-level interconnects.
• Experience with component-level and board-level failure analysis.
• Experience with 8D, FMEA, SPC, and process-capability analysis.
• Extensive experience with JEDEC and IPC-9592 standards.
• Experience with networking, compute, data-center, telecom, or other high-reliability electronic products.
• Experience with GaN, SiC, or other wide-bandgap semiconductor technologies.
• Experience with high-power or high-voltage DC-DC conversion.

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.