Principal Corporate Counsel

Cisco Systems, Inc; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems Canada Co. in Toronto seeks a Principal Corporate Counsel to guide transactional work and strategic risk management across Canada. You will lead complex technology contracts, data protection, and regulatory topics while aligning with Cisco's global strategy.

You will collaborate with sales, legal, and product teams, integrate AI tools for research and contract analysis, and help governance standards. Fluency in English and French preferred, hybrid work model.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in commercial and corporate law, at a top-tier firm or multinational corporate legal department.
• Independent drafting and negotiation of sophisticated commercial technology contracts including licenses, cloud and SaaS.
• Strong expertise in data protection and information security in commercial transactions.
• Familiarity with public procurement and tendering rules; experience with public RFPs is a plus.
• Proficiency with contract lifecycle management platforms and enterprise communications systems.

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate complex technology contracts, including licenses, cloud and SaaS agreements.
• Provide high-level risk assessments and strategic legal guidance to management.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to align legal strategy with Cisco's global objectives.
• Lead innovation by integrating AI-powered tools to speed research and contract analysis.
• Support governance, compliance, and policy implementation across regional and global initiatives.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Commercial law

Data protection

AI tools in legal

Education

Bar Admission or JD

7+ years in commercial/corporate law

Tools

CLM platforms

Enterprise communications systems

AI-powered legal tools

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/29/2026

Members of the Legal organization at select locations will generally be expected to follow a hybrid work model.

Meet The Team

You will join a dynamic in‑house legal department that is actively redefining the practice of law through technology, both internally and on a global scale. We thrive in a fast‑paced environment where our team’s shared passion drives Cisco’s business growth and enables our customers’ digital transformation journeys.

Your Impact

As a Principal Corporate Counsel for Cisco Systems Canada Co., you will serve as a strategic legal advisor, driving operational excellence and commercial success. You will provide comprehensive transactional support to our Canadian sales teams, leading the drafting and negotiation of complex commercial agreements—including software licenses, product and service purchases, cloud and XaaS agreements, and channel and alliance partnerships. By partnering directly with management, you will provide high‑level risk assessments and practical, solution‑oriented mentorship that advances our business objectives while ensuring strict alignment with Cisco’s global strategy. Your scope includes a specialized focus on data protection, security, and regulatory frameworks. A key aspect of this role is your dedication to innovation; you will actively integrate AI technologies into your daily practice to optimize legal research, accelerate contract analysis, and improve the efficiency of document reviews. In addition to your regional responsibilities, you will participate in key global initiatives alongside cross‑functional legal teams to drive wider organizational alignment. By coordinating the implementation of corporate legal policies, you will uphold our high standards for governance and compliance. Throughout these efforts, you will act as a vital bridge between the legal department and internal stakeholders, ensuring our processes remain agile, scalable, and fully responsive to the fast‑evolving needs of the sales environment.

Minimum Qualifications

• Professional Experience: Bar Admission or JD with 7+ years of experience in commercial and corporate law, gained at a top‑tier law firm, a multinational corporate legal department, or equivalent practice (technology, data protection, or telecommunications).
• Contractual Expertise: Proven track record to independently draft and negotiate sophisticated commercial technology contracts, including software licenses, cloud, and SaaS agreements.
• Data & Security: Substantial expertise in data protection and information security as applied to commercial transactions.
• Procurement Knowledge: Familiarity with public procurement and tendering rules, with a track record of supporting public RFPs considered a significant asset.
• Technical Proficiency: High proficiency in enterprise communications systems and contract lifecycle management (CLM) platforms, with a demonstrated ability to integrate AI‑powered legal tools into daily operations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Agility & Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a dynamic environment, managing shifting priorities, tight deadlines, and evolving workloads with ease.
• Continuous Improvement: A natural curiosity and drive to learn, paired with a commitment to applying those insights to enhance personal workflows and team efficiency.
• Client-Centric Approach: A professional who demonstrates respect and maintains a positive, customer‑centric attitude in all circumstances.
• Language & Location: Proficiency in both English and French is preferred. The ideal candidate will be based in Toronto.

"Cisco may use AI Tools to review candidate-provided details—such as skills, experience, location, and education to determine how closely candidates match job criteria. AI Tools are intended to guide and support the recruitment team in identifying and prioritizing candidates but are not used in isolation or without human judgment. For more information about Cisco’s use of AI, please see the Job Candidate Privacy Statement found here.

Conseiller juridique principal en entreprise

Les membres de l’organisation juridique de certains sites seront généralement tenus de suivre un modèle de travail hybride.

Rencontrez l’équipe

Vous rejoindrez un service juridique interne dynamique qui redéfinit activement la pratique du droit grâce à la technologie, tant à l’interne qu’à l’échelle mondiale. Nous prospérons dans un environnement dynamique où la passion commune de notre équipe stimule la croissance commerciale de Cisco et favorise les parcours de transformation numérique de nos clients.

Votre impact

En tant que conseiller juridique principal pour Cisco Systems Canada Co., vous agirez en tant que conseiller juridique stratégique, favorisant l'excellence opérationnelle et la réussite commerciale. Vous fournirez un soutien transactionnel complet à nos équipes de vente canadiennes, en dirigeant la rédaction et la négociation de contrats commerciaux complexes, y compris les licences de logiciels, les achats de produits et de services, les contrats infonuagiques et XaaS, ainsi que les partenariats d’alliance et de réseau. En collaborant directement avec la direction, vous fournirez des évaluations des risques de haut niveau et des conseils pratiques axés sur les solutions qui font progresser nos objectifs commerciaux tout en assurant une harmonisation stricte avec la stratégie mondiale de Cisco. Votre portée comprend un intérêt particulier pour la protection des données, la sécurité et les cadres réglementaires. Un aspect clé de ce poste est votre engagement envers l’innovation; vous intégrerez activement les technologies de l'IA dans votre pratique quotidienne afin d'optimiser la recherche juridique, d'accélérer l'analyse des contrats et d'améliorer l’efficacité de l’examen des documents. En plus de vos responsabilités régionales, vous participerez à des initiatives mondiales clés aux côtés d’équipes juridiques interfonctionnelles afin de favoriser une harmonisation organisationnelle plus large. En coordonnant la mise en œuvre des politiques juridiques de l’entreprise, vous respecterez nos normes élevées en matière de gouvernance et de conformité. Tout au long de ces efforts, vous agirez comme un pont essentiel entre le service juridique et les parties prenantes internes, en veillant à ce que nos processus restent agiles, évolutifs et entièrement réactifs aux besoins en constante évolution de l'environnement des ventes.

Qualifications minimales

• Expérience professionnelle: plus de 7ans d’expérience en droit commercial et des sociétés, acquise dans un cabinet d'avocats de premier plan, un service juridique d'entreprise multinationale ou dans une pratique équivalente (technologie, protection des données ou télécommunications).
• Expertise contractuelle: capacité éprouvée à rédiger et à négocier de manière indépendante des contrats technologiques commerciaux complexes, y compris des licences logicielles, le nuage et des contrats de logiciel‑service.
• Données et sécurité: expertise approfondie en matière de protection des données et de sécurité de l’information appliquée aux transactions commerciales.
• Connaissances en approvisionnement: familiarité avec les règles d’approvisionnement public et d’appels d’offres, avec une expérience dans la prise en charge d’appels d’offres publics, un atout important.
• Compétences techniques: maîtrise élevée des systèmes de communication d’entreprise et des plateformes de gestion du cycle de vie des contrats, avec une capacité démontrée à intégrer des outils juridiques optimisés par l’IA dans les opérations quotidiennes.

Qualifications recherchées

• Agilité et adaptabilité: capacité à s’épanouir dans un environnement dynamique, à gérer facilement les priorités changeantes, les échéanciers serrés et l’évolution des charges de travail.
• Amélioration continue: curiosité naturelle et désir d’apprendre, associés à un engagement à appliquer ces connaissances pour améliorer les flux de travail personnels et l’efficacité des équipes.
• Approche axée sur le client: professionnel qui fait preuve de respect et maintient une attitude positive axée sur le client en toutes circonstances.
• Aspect linguistique et emplacement: la maîtrise de l’anglais et du français est préférée. Le candidat idéal sera basé à Toronto.

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 $162,800.00 to $205,800.00 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: $225,000.00 - $336,300.00

Non‑Metro New York state & Washington state: $205,600.00 - $298,900.00

* 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.