ASIC Design Verification Technical Leader - Acacia (hybrid)

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

The application window is expected to close on June 2026. 

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.  

Preferred candidates will be based in Maynard, MA, or Austin, TX and be available to be onsite 3 days per week.

Meet the Team

Acacia, part of Cisco, provides innovative silicon-based high-speed optical interconnect products to accelerate network scalability through advancements in performance, capacity, and cost. Our DSP ASICs, silicon photonic PICs, and coherent modules empower cloud and service providers to meet the fast-growing demand for data. We have assembled a team of cross-functional experts capable of solving the challenges of next-generation optical interconnects, resulting in industry-leading, award-winning products. Come join us at Cisco, named the #1 world’s best workplaces, and do purposeful work that makes a global impact and gives back to a company culture that empowers an inclusive future for all.

Your Impact

The ASIC Design Verification Technical Lead Engineer will be working on next-generation 100G-1.6T coherent optical communications products. This role is for a senior contributor & technical leader focused on verifying highly complex ASICs that are used in these next-generation systems. The role requires someone to demonstrate their experience applying sophisticated verification techniques to ASIC projects: ensuring design quality, leading sophisticated technical projects, developing process improvements for the team, and mentoring teammates on techniques, technology & methods for verification. This role also requires significant communication skills (both written and verbal) to contribute to the ASIC projects, and working with other technical leaders in the engineering community.

In this role, you will need to operate independently with minimal direction in a fast-paced, dynamic, and highly technical environment, creating unique verification solutions and providing technical leadership to others on the team. A successful candidate will be highly self-motivated, collaborative, and passionate about delivering the most advanced high-speed optical products in the world. Knowledge of object-oriented verification methodologies is required.  In this role, you will: 

• Lead and develop detailed and comprehensive test plans

• Lead and develop verification test benches

• Apply innovative verification techniques to complex designs

• Supervise the timely execution of test plans by the rest of the team

• Lead and assist with chip-level design tradeoffs by working with design engineers

• Participate in the review of design verification coding and coverage metrics

• Provide technical leadership & mentoring

• Work collaboratively with the team to develop & incorporate the latest test technologies & processes

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree majoring in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electronic or Electrical Engineering, with 12+ years of experience using the latest ASIC verification methodologies, tools, and scripting/programming languages  

• Experience with SystemVerilog/UVM

• Experience with in house Verification Intellectual Property (VIP) development strategy

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with C++ hybrid test benches

• Consistent track record of innovation that leads to quantifiable improvements

• Self-motivation and the ability to implement effectively without supervision

• Experience leading ASIC technical teams

• Knowledge of DSP algorithms and modulation techniques such as QAM

• Lab silicon validation experience

• Knowledge of Formal Verification methodologies and tools such as Jasper or VCFormal

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:

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:

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

* 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.