Account Executive - Portfolio

Cisco Systems, Inc; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 269,000 - 361,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking an Account Executive to lead a defined portfolio of strategic Public Sector accounts in the United States.

You will drive revenue growth by aligning Cisco’s full portfolio across hardware, software, and services to customer priorities and long-term transformation initiatives, while serving as the trusted advisor and primary influencer in purchasing decisions. You will manage end-to-end deal cycles, build executive relationships from senior leadership to C‑suite,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree plus 5+ years of related experience; Master’s degree plus 3+ years preferred.
• Proven success managing enterprise and/or public sector accounts

Responsibilities

• Serve as trusted advisor within assigned accounts and build executive-level relationships
• Lead end-to-end sales cycles from prospecting and qualification through negotiation and close
• Align Cisco solutions to customer transformation initiatives and strategic goals
• Coordinate across Sales, Engineering, Services, Customer Experience, and Partners
• Drive revenue growth, pipeline quality, and forecast accuracy
• Foster long-term customer loyalty through credibility and execution excellence

Skills

Strategic account growth

Executive relationships

Pipeline management

Cross-functional collaboration

End-to-end sales cycle

Education

Bachelor’s degree + 5+ years

Master’s degree + 3+ years

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 11/06/2026

Lead a defined portfolio of strategic Public Sector accounts while serving as a trusted advisor and primary influencer in customer purchasing decisions as their account executive. Drive business growth by aligning Cisco’s full portfolio across hardware, software, and services to customer priorities and long-term transformation initiatives.

Your Impact

As An Account Executive Within The Business, You Will

• Drive revenue growth and maintain disciplined pipeline integrity across a strategic account portfolio
• Build trusted relationships with senior customer leaders and key decision-makers
• Align Cisco’s full portfolio to customer business outcomes and transformation priorities
• Lead end-to-end sales cycles from prospecting and qualification through negotiation and close
• Collaborate across Sales, Engineering, Services, Customer Experience, and Partners to deliver high-impact customer outcomes
• Position Cisco’s differentiated value across networking, security, software, AI, and services
• Foster long-term customer loyalty through credibility, insight, and execution excellence

Core Responsibilities

Customer & Account Leadership

• Serve as the trusted advisor and primary influencer within assigned accounts
• Build executive-level relationships from senior leadership to C‑suite stakeholders
• Develop a deep understanding of customer priorities, organizational dynamics, and industry trends
• Align Cisco solutions to customer transformation initiatives and strategic goals
• Drive account retention, expansion, and long-term growth

Sales & Business Execution

• Manage end-to-end deal cycles independently across medium to highly complex opportunities
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline through strategic prospecting and opportunity development
• Deliver accurate forecasting and revenue commitments
• Navigate complex buying environments and multi-stakeholder decision processes

Cross Functional & Portfolio Leadership

• Coordinate technical specialists and cross-functional teams to deliver tailored customer solutions
• Leverage market insights, competitive intelligence, and emerging technologies in customer engagements
• Lead account planning in partnership with SEs and broader Cisco teams
• Improve operational workflows and proactively remove execution obstacles
• Drive alignment across internal teams to accelerate customer success

Success Measures

• Sustained portfolio and account growth
• Strong pipeline quality and forecast accuracy
• Executive relationship development and customer retention
• Cross-portfolio expansion and strategic account penetration
• Customer satisfaction and long-term strategic value creation

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree plus 5+ years of related experience, or Master’s degree plus 3+ years of related experience
• Proven success managing enterprise and/or public sector accounts

Why This Role

This is a high-impact opportunity to help this customer base achieve their key goals. There's never been a better time to join this organization so you can be the bridge between customer outcomes and technology to get them there.

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 $269,300.00 to $360,800.00 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

$292,000.00 - $440,900.00

Non-Metro New York State & Washington State

$269,300.00 - $411,100.00

• 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.