Senior Data Scientist

Cisco’s Common Hardware Group (CHG) is the driving force behind the design and development of physical hardware across the company. Within CHG, the Analytics & Data Science team plays a meaningful role in empowering hardware innovation by providing cutting-edge data engineering, sophisticated analytics, and predictive modeling. Our team supports not only CHG but also key functions across Cisco, partnering with Supply Chain, Finance, Software, and more on hardware-related initiatives. As a high-visibility team, we work closely with executive leadership and on customer-facing projects that have a direct impact on Cisco’s success.

In this role, you will collaborate with the Field Quality & Failure Analysis team, a group within CHG dedicated to solving Cisco’s most challenging hardware issues. This team works with some of our most valued customers, ensuring swift and detailed resolution of hardware failures while safeguarding customer trust and satisfaction. Together, our teams combine deep technical expertise and data-driven insights to uphold Cisco’s dedication to quality and excellence.

As a Senior Data Scientist on the Analytics & Data Science team, you will play a pivotal role in empowering Cisco’s hardware engineers with swift, actionable insights. Your work will directly influence how we understand and address hardware failures, ensuring our products meet the highest standards of quality and reliability. You will grow to become a leader and subject matter expert in Cisco hardware failure analysis.

You will operate across the entire data stack: crafting and building data pipelines, creating intuitive dashboards, and conducting sophisticated statistical analyses to uncover trends and patterns in returned and failed devices. Your contributions will provide the visibility needed to answer critical questions and drive informed decision-making.

Collaboration and initiative will be key to your success. You will partner with teams across supply chain, manufacturing, operations, and support to gather relevant data and ensure a complete approach to solving sophisticated hardware challenges. Ideal candidates will have strong communication skills, an analytical mentality, excellent organizational skills, and a bias to action. You bring a builder’s mentality, ready to craft this new role by creating solutions from the ground up.

• Create a tool that surfaces a standard set of information for partners investigating hardware failures. Build a data pipeline that automatically combines data tables from different sources with automatic refreshes. Ensure data fidelity with automated checks on the pipeline.
• Analyze failure trends over time of devices from our manufacturing partners. Surface early identification of changes in failure rates. Find root causes of failures and changes in rates.
• Build a dashboard showing key metrics allowing partners to identify early issues before they become a systemic problem
• Identify correlations and causal relationships between field failure rates and comprehensive manufacturing data, including metrics and classifications collected throughout the production and testing lifecycle. How can the manufacturing and testing process be adjusted to improve quality in the field?
• Develop novel methods and techniques for patents and defensive publications.

• 5+ years experience with SQL
• 5+ years experience with data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau)
• 5+ years experience working with core statistical concepts (e.g., regression analysis and unsupervised learning) in Python or R
• 5+ years experience with version control systems (e.g., git) and data pipeline tools (e.g., dbt)
• Strong written and oral presentation skills. Able to communicate sophisticated concepts to a variety of audiences with different backgrounds

• Ability to take initiative and work autonomously
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills and attention to detail
• Experience in the hardware development industry
• Master’s degree or PhD in a quantitative field (e.g., statistics, physics, economics)
• Experience in causal modeling

#WeAreCisco where every individual brings their unique skills and perspectives together to pursue our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all.

Our passion is connection—we celebrate our employees’ diverse set of backgrounds and focus on unlocking potential. Cisconians often experience one company, many careers where learning and development are encouraged and supported at every stage. Our technology, tools, and culture pioneered hybrid work trends, allowing all to not only give their best, but be their best.

We understand our outstanding opportunity to bring communities together and at the heart of that is our people. One-third of Cisconians collaborate in our 30 employee resource organizations, called Inclusive Communities, to connect, foster belonging, learn to be informed allies, and make a difference. Dedicated paid time off to volunteer—80 hours each year—allows us to give back to causes we are passionate about, and nearly 86% do.

Our purpose, driven by our people, is what makes us the worldwide leader in technology that powers the internet. Helping our customers reimagine their applications, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals is what we do best. We ensure that every step we take is a step towards a more inclusive future for all. Take your next step and be you, with us.

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada: 
When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.

Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter.  Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.