Hardware Project Manager at Cisco in San Jose, CA

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 11/29/2026 The preferred location is in RTP, NC but open to San Jose, CA. Meet 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. What You'll Do Lead NPI 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. Minimum Qualifications 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, NPI 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 NPI 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, a