Solutions Designer

105 Cisco Systems Canada Co.; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

105 Cisco Systems Canada Co. is seeking a Solutions Designer to support Ontario public sector customers from the Toronto area.

You will blend technical expertise, consultative engagement, and business acumen to shape secure, scalable solutions and roadmaps that meet mission-critical requirements. You will work with Account Executives, specialists, and partners to lead discovery, design proposals, and high-impact proofs-of-concept, delivering architecture-driven outcomes across government,

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years in systems architecture or solution design within enterprise or public sector environments.
• 3 large-scale end-to-end solution architectures or delivery leadership projects completed.
• Technical competency in at least two domains: networking, security, data centre, collaboration, or observability.
• Experience delivering multiple technical presentations to diverse stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combined education and experience.

Responsibilities

• Act as trusted technical advisor to Canadian public sector customers in Ontario.
• Lead discovery, solution design, and high-impact demonstrations during pre-sales.
• Develop technology roadmaps aligned with customer objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Collaborate with account executives, partners, and teams to craft secure, scalable solutions.
• Maintain knowledge of Cisco technologies and communicate business value to stakeholders.

Skills

Systems architecture

Solution design

Technical consulting

Delivery leadership

Networking

Security

Data centre

Observability

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

Tools

Cisco hardware

Cisco enterprise networking

AI infrastructure concepts

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 12/05/2026

Solutions Designer – Meet the Team

Cisco's vision is to change the way the world works, lives, plays, and learns. We helped build the Internet as it is known today. In the Agentic AI era, our vision is more relevant than ever. Cisco is building the critical infrastructure that powers the intelligent, secure, and high-performance networks required for AI-driven transformation. This includes connecting people, processes, data, and things through networks that form an essential foundation for an AI-powered future. You will join a team of Cisco pre-sales Solutions Designers supporting the Ontario public sector, including government, utilities, education and healthcare. Our technically skilled and solutions-focused team members build trusted relationships, understand customer needs, and deliver innovative and effective outcomes. Your ideas can have meaningful, real-world impact. You will work with a collaborative group of forward-thinking technical professionals who turn complex challenges into practical solutions for Canadian Federal customers.

Your Impact

Cisco is seeking a Solutions Designer based in the Toronto area to work with public sector customers in the city and around the province of Ontario. As a Solutions Designer, you will combine technical expertise, consultative engagement, and business acumen to help customers address complex operational and technology challenges. Working closely with Account Executives, specialists, partners, and customers, you will shape secure and scalable solutions and develop technology roadmaps that support customer mission, business, and operational outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Consultative Partnership: Act as a trusted technical advisor to Canadian public sector customers, applying architecture, delivery, and implementation expertise to align solutions with their mission, business, and operational objectives.
• Technical Sales Leadership: Partner with Account Executives and cross-functional teams throughout the pre-sales cycle. Serve as the technical lead for discovery, solution design, customer presentations, proposal development, demonstrations, and high-impact proof-of-concept activities.
• Discovery and Solution Alignment: Lead comprehensive discovery sessions to uncover mission-critical challenges, technical requirements, constraints, and desired outcomes. Translate these insights into architectures that address applicable regulatory, security, and operational requirements in Canadian Federal environments.
• Strategic Roadmap Development: Collaborate across Cisco, customer, and partner teams to develop, document, and present clear technology roadmaps that guide customers from their current environments toward their desired future state.
• Technology Leadership and Advocacy: Maintain current knowledge of Cisco technologies, industry trends, and emerging capabilities—including AI infrastructure—and communicate their relevance and business value to technical teams, business stakeholders, and executive leaders.
• Complex Problem‑Solving: Draw on Cisco’s broad portfolio and partner ecosystem to architect secure, resilient, scalable, and operationally practical solutions for complex customer environments.
• Customer Influence and Business Value: Translate complex technical considerations into clear recommendations, architectural trade-offs, and business value. Help stakeholders make informed technology decisions and build confidence in the proposed approach.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of 5+ years of professional experience in systems architecture, solution design, systems design engineering, technical consulting, delivery, or implementation within enterprise environments.
• Completion of at least 3 large-scale, end-to-end solution architectures, implementations, or delivery leadership projects within enterprise, critical infrastructure, public sector, or regulated environments.
• Documented technical competency in at least two of the following domains: networking, security, data centre, collaboration, or observability, evidenced by past project work or technical portfolios.
• Experience delivering a minimum of 5 technical presentations or architecture reviews to audiences including technical teams, business stakeholders, and executive leadership.
• Experience producing written technical documentation, including customer requirements analyses, solution architecture diagrams, and actionable implementation roadmaps.
• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, or a minimum of 14 years of combined education, formal certifications, technical training, and practical work experience.
• Current residency in the Toronto area, and availability to fulfill hybrid office, customer-site, and travel requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of 5+ years of professional experience providing technical services, solution architecture, or sales engineering for Canadian Public Sector accounts, including Federal, Provincial, Municipal, Utilities, Higher Education, or Healthcare organizations.
• Possession of at least one active industry-recognized certification, such as Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), or Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
• Minimum of 3 years of hands-on configuration or architecture experience utilizing Cisco enterprise networking, security, or data centre portfolios, or equivalent enterprise-grade vendor technologies.
• Completion of at least 1 project involving the design or implementation of AI infrastructure, AI workloads, or solutions across secure on-premises, hybrid, or cloud-connected environments.
• Minimum of 2 years of direct pre-sales or technical advocacy experience resulting in approved technical architectures or