Account Executive - Architecture

Cisco Systems, Inc; Clayton (GA); On-site; USD 220,000 - 302,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Paid parental leave

Disability coverage

Basic life insurance

Paid holidays

Vacation days

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. seeks a seasoned architect-focused professional to own strategic customer relationships and drive architectural solutions. You will lead POC/POV engagements, develop business cases, and align with account teams to shape long-term strategy and roadmap.

Responsibilities include influencing product direction based on market feedback and ensuring proposals clearly translate architectural gaps into business value. This role demands strong collaboration with CXOs and IT leaders.

Qualifications

• Leads technical POC/POV engagements with customers.
• Develops technical bills of materials and business cases.
• Forecasts technical outcomes and triangulates with portfolio planning.
• Manages sales cycles 3–18 months with large deals.
• Experience interacting with CXOs and IT decision-makers.

Responsibilities

• Own strategic relationships within the customer's buying center.
• Lead technical proof of concept engagements to demonstrate value.
• Collaborate with solution engineers and account teams on strategy.

Skills

POC/POV engagements

Bills of Materials

Forecasting

Sales cycle management

Customer-facing leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 11/22/2026 Candidate must reside in or be able to commute/relocate to St. Louis, MO area.

Meet the Team

Our Architecture team serves as the strategic bridge between Cisco’s advanced technology and our customers' most complex business challenges. We align closely with internal account teams and business units to position specialized solutions that drive meaningful outcomes across various industries. By collaborating directly with IT leaders and CXOs, we ensure our architectural strategies are adaptive to emerging market demands and technological advancements. You will join an expert-driven environment focused on displacing competitors and increasing market share through deep technical insight and consultative partnership. This is an exciting opportunity to influence product roadmaps and shape the future of Cisco’s architectural offerings.

Your Impact

Own the strategic relationship and influence decisions within the customer’s buying center by positioning Cisco’s specialized architectural solutions. Lead technical proof of concept and proof of value engagements to showcase solution capabilities and business outcomes before customer commitment. Collaborate with solution engineers and account teams to set the long-term strategy and direction for specific architectural focus areas. Develop comprehensive proposals and competitive intelligence profiles to position Cisco as a primary strategic partner. Influence future product development by providing direct customer feedback to Cisco’s engineering teams to ensure solutions stay ahead of technological advancements.

Minimum Qualifications

• 7+ years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree
• Experience leading technical proof of concept (POC) and proof of value (POV) engagements in a customer-facing environment.
• Experience developing technical bills of materials (BOM) and architectural-specific business cases.
• Experience in architectural-specific forecasting and triangulating technical projections with portfolio planning.
• Experience managing sales cycles ranging from 3 to 18 months with deal sizes typically between $50K and $750K+.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep technical and product knowledge in a specific area of Cisco architecture or a relevant industry vertical.
• Experience interacting directly with CXOs, Line of Business (LOB) leaders, and key IT decision-makers.
• Proficiency in conducting market research to build detailed competitor profiles and integrated account plans.
• Ability to translate complex architectural gaps into business-focused technical proposals.
• Background in collaborating with product development teams to influence roadmap functionality based on market demand.

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 $219,500.00 to $301,900.00 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.

• 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
• 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
• 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: $262,300.00 - $392,600.00 Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $244,400.00 - $374,700.00 * 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. Cisconians power the future. We make impact as a team, innovating fast and fearlessly to create meaningful solutions on a large scale. The depth and breadth of our technology doesn't just benefit our customers – it also means limitless opportunities for us to experiment and learn. We understand the power each of our unique backgrounds bring when we work together. Because of that, we have a global network of thinkers, doers, experts, and curious creators who help one another do their life’s best work.