Engineering Product Manager

The application window is expected to close on: 11/04/2026
***We are looking for candidates local to Milpitas, CA as this is a hybrid role requiring 3 days in the office per week***

Meet the Team

Join Cisco's Data Center Networking Product Management team, where we are shaping the future of AI infrastructure and powering the next generation of AI/ML data centers. Our team drives the strategy and innovation behind Cisco's Nexus portfolio, delivering high-performance, scalable, and intelligent networking solutions for hyperscalers, cloud providers, and enterprise customers. We are a collaborative and technically driven team of product managers working closely with engineering, architecture, sales, and strategic ecosystem partners to solve some of the industry's most complex networking challenges. As AI workloads continue to transform data center architectures, our team is at the forefront of developing networking technologies that deliver the performance, efficiency, and operational simplicity required for large-scale AI deployments.

Your Impact

Lead product strategy and roadmap development for AI/ML networking solutions within Cisco's Data Center Networking portfolio, driving innovation in high-performance Ethernet fabrics, intelligent traffic management, and scalable AI infrastructure.

Identify emerging market opportunities, customer requirements, and competitive trends to define differentiated solutions that address the evolving needs of AI training, inference, and distributed workloads.

Drive end-to-end product lifecycle management, from business case development and product requirements through execution, launch, and adoption, partnering with engineering, architecture, marketing, and sales teams to deliver measurable business outcomes.

Engage directly with hyperscalers, neocloud and sovereign cloud providers, enterprise customers, and strategic technology ecosystem partners to influence product direction, validate architectural requirements, and accelerate adoption of Cisco's AI networking solutions.

Shape Cisco's AI networking strategy by translating complex technical challenges into compelling product investments, influencing cross-functional priorities, and driving business growth and competitive differentiation.

Minimum Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field
- 10+ years of combined professional experience in product management, software engineering, systems engineering, network architecture, or related technical roles
- 3+ years of experience working with data center networking technologies, including ethernet switching, routing, or network fabrics.
- Experience driving technical product development, defining requirements, influencing architectural decisions, or delivering complex networking solutions through cross-functional collaboration
- Experience with AI/ML infrastructure, high-performance computing (HPC), or large-scale distributed systems, including networking requirements for high-bandwidth, low-latency workloads

Preferred Qualifications:

- Deep technical understanding of AI/ML networking architectures, including GPU clusters, AI training and inference fabrics, RDMA/RoCEv2, congestion management, load balancing, and high-performance Ethernet technologies
- Experience with data center networking technologies such as VXLAN EVPN, BGP, ECMP, network telemetry, and programmable network fabrics, with familiarity with Cisco Nexus, NX-OS, or comparable networking platforms
- Demonstrated ability to define and execute product strategies, build business cases, prioritize investments, and drive product adoption and revenue growth in competitive markets
- Experience engaging with hyperscalers, cloud service providers, GPU/NIC ecosystem partners, or enterprise AI infrastructure customers to translate complex architectural requirements into product capabilities
- Strong strategic thinking, technical depth, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence engineering teams, senior leadership, customers, and external partners across organizational boundaries

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.

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

The starting salary range posted for this position is $194,600.00 to $285,700.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position 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. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks.  Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:

- 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, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
- Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees
- Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)
- 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and 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

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

- .75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;
- 1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;
- 1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and
- Once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:
$194,600.00 - $328,600.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$179,000.00 - $294,000.00

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.