Cisco Senior Hardware Engineer Mock Interview

Master 30 Cisco Senior Hardware Engineer interview questions covering silicon design, systems architecture, and technical depth.

Question 28 of 30

Describe the steps you would take when creating a Cisco hardware development project plan.

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William Swansen

William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.

In addition to having the technical expertise needed to design a functional piece of hardware, Cisco interviewers want to make sure you have the project management and leadership skills required to direct a team to accomplish project goals. This question is specific to senior-level positions. When asked to describe the steps required to complete a task, you should present each in order, with minimal detail. This will keep your answer brief and to the point. The Cisco interviewer will ask you a follow-up question or two if they need additional information.

William Swansen

"When creating a hardware development project plan, the first thing I would do is ensure that I completely understand the objective of the project. I would then create a list of the resources required, including personnel and technology. Next, I'd develop an outline of the steps required to complete the project. Once I have this, I will review the individual steps and provide additional details regarding the timeline, budget, resources, and other dependencies. When the plan draft is completed, I will publish it to the Cisco team and other project stakeholders for their review and input. Their feedback is consolidated into the final plan."

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30Cisco Interview Questions & Answers

Competency

1.Can you describe the elements of your designs that address the safety issues for the hardware?

Competency

2.How do you minimize the footprint of a design and still incorporate all the necessary hardware elements and electrical components?

Competency

3.Can you define what rectifiers are and their function within a hardware design?

Competency

4.What is the role of a printed circuit board or PCB within a piece of hardware?

Experience

5.Can you provide me a list of some of the devices you use in your hardware designs?

Competency

6.Every piece of electronic equipment will eventually fail or experience performance issues. Can you discuss some of the major reasons hardware fails and how good design can minimize this?

Competency

7.Can you discuss what a semiconductor is and how they are used in your designs?

Competency

8.What is a chip, and how does it differ from an integrated circuit?

Competency

9.Can you tell me what you know about microprocessors?

Experience

10.What are some of the design tools you use for hardware design?

Competency

11.When would you elect to repair a component on a piece of Cisco hardware, and when would you recommend replacing one?

Competency

12.What are some of the benefits of incorporating LED technology into a design?

Competency

13.When designing a piece of hardware, what are the general consideration used in your design methodology?

Competency

14.What is machine language, and how is it used when designing hardware?

Competency

15.Can you discuss what a clock generator is and how it applies to your hardware designs?

Competency

16.What is meant by the term SMPS, and how does that contribute to the functionality of the hardware?

Competency

17.While the functionality of a piece of hardware is important, Cisco uses other criteria when deciding whether to develop a piece of equipment. Can you discuss some of these?

Competency

18.One of the design cost components of a piece of hardware Cisco considers is NRE. Can you define this and discuss how it impacts a design project?

Competency

19.No matter how well they're designed, some pieces of hardware or equipment either never made it to market or quickly became obsolete. Can you discuss why this occurs?

Competency

20.How are the processes of soldering and de-soldering in the hardware design process?

Competency

21.How is emulation used in the hardware design and development process?

Competency

22.What does SNR stand for, how does it impact an electronic device, and how can it be mitigated?

Competency

23.What is a breadboard, and how is it used to develop hardware?

Competency

24.How can a circuit store an electric charge?

Competency

25.Can you describe the type of circuit illustrated by this drawing?

Comptency

26.Please discuss pre-layout signal integrity and why this is important when designing a piece of electronic hardware.

Leadership

27.How would you manage your and your Cisco teamâ€™s time during an engineering project with tight deadlines?

Leadership

28.Describe the steps you would take when creating a Cisco hardware development project plan.

Teamwork

29.What types of professionals do you reach out to when you encounter a problem on a project that you canâ€™t solve yourself?

Leadership

Cisco Senior Hardware Engineer Mock Interview

Describe the steps you would take when creating a Cisco hardware development project plan.

30Cisco Interview Questions & Answers

1.Can you describe the elements of your designs that address the safety issues for the hardware?

2.How do you minimize the footprint of a design and still incorporate all the necessary hardware elements and electrical components?

3.Can you define what rectifiers are and their function within a hardware design?

4.What is the role of a printed circuit board or PCB within a piece of hardware?

5.Can you provide me a list of some of the devices you use in your hardware designs?

6.Every piece of electronic equipment will eventually fail or experience performance issues. Can you discuss some of the major reasons hardware fails and how good design can minimize this?

7.Can you discuss what a semiconductor is and how they are used in your designs?

8.What is a chip, and how does it differ from an integrated circuit?

9.Can you tell me what you know about microprocessors?

10.What are some of the design tools you use for hardware design?

11.When would you elect to repair a component on a piece of Cisco hardware, and when would you recommend replacing one?

12.What are some of the benefits of incorporating LED technology into a design?

13.When designing a piece of hardware, what are the general consideration used in your design methodology?

14.What is machine language, and how is it used when designing hardware?

15.Can you discuss what a clock generator is and how it applies to your hardware designs?

16.What is meant by the term SMPS, and how does that contribute to the functionality of the hardware?

17.While the functionality of a piece of hardware is important, Cisco uses other criteria when deciding whether to develop a piece of equipment. Can you discuss some of these?

18.One of the design cost components of a piece of hardware Cisco considers is NRE. Can you define this and discuss how it impacts a design project?

19.No matter how well they're designed, some pieces of hardware or equipment either never made it to market or quickly became obsolete. Can you discuss why this occurs?

20.How are the processes of soldering and de-soldering in the hardware design process?

21.How is emulation used in the hardware design and development process?

22.What does SNR stand for, how does it impact an electronic device, and how can it be mitigated?

23.What is a breadboard, and how is it used to develop hardware?

24.How can a circuit store an electric charge?

25.Can you describe the type of circuit illustrated by this drawing?

26.Please discuss pre-layout signal integrity and why this is important when designing a piece of electronic hardware.

27.How would you manage your and your Cisco teamâ€™s time during an engineering project with tight deadlines?

28.Describe the steps you would take when creating a Cisco hardware development project plan.

29.What types of professionals do you reach out to when you encounter a problem on a project that you canâ€™t solve yourself?

30.What are some of the methods you use to upgrade the skills of your development team?