Contract Negotiator: Indirect Goods & Services

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 101,000 - 128,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. in Atlanta/Research Triangle Park seeks a Strategic Contract Negotiator to lead enterprise negotiations, draft SOWs, and drive contracting strategy across data center, cloud, software licensing, and professional services.

Reporting to the Director of Connected Contracts, you will advance digitized governance, liaise with legal, infosec, tax and finance, and guide cross‑functional teams to outcomes aligned with business growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 3–5 years of drafting and negotiating outsourcing contracts.
• Experience in contract formation and enterprise-level negotiation.
• Ability to define KPIs, remedies and align language with business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic and enterprise negotiations and contract strategy.
• Draft, negotiate and close complex global contracts (data center, cloud, software, services).
• Improve templates, standards and processes across procurement cycles.
• Collaborate with legal, infosec, tax, compliance and business stakeholders.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Procurement

SOWs

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

SAP Ariba

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/01/2026 Members of the Finance organization at select locations will generally be expected to follow a hybrid work model, which includes two days of in-office attendance each week, with limited exceptions.

Meet the Team

Global Procurement Services (GPS) is responsible for the enterprise-wide- procurement of all Cisco indirect goods and services. GPS is a key partner to all regional, global and strategic Cisco Businesses, functions service delivery teams leading all sourcing, contracting, supplier management, and buying activities. The successful candidate will deliver premier contracts services from GPS to help drive business value and support profitable growth worldwide.

Your Impact

This is a Strategic Contract Negotiator role leading all strategic and enterprise negotiations and contract strategy. A successful candidate will report into the Director of Connected Contracts supporting this essential global contract position in Atlanta, Georgia or Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Connected contracts is bringing new levels of value to Cisco through strong processes and governance and deep negotiating and contracting skills while continually ensuring a digitized, insight-driven contracting experience. This position will play a meaningful role in providing end-to-end contracting services within Cisco and contribute directly to this innovative and continuous improvement environment. Drafts, negotiates and closes a wide variety of complex contracts worldwide supporting such areas as, but not limited to Data Center and Colocation services, Telecom Software as a Service, Cloud Services, Software Licensing, Professional Services for software implementations. Deliver ongoing improvements to simplify and optimize contract templates, standards and processes throughout the procurement cycle, across the range of contract documents. Collaborate with the service owners to deliver an agile contract engagement model that supports the implementation of evolving business requirements and processes by providing guidance, defining contracting strategies and engaging across a diverse range of business functions, including legal, infosec, !nance, tax, compliance, insurance etc. Collaborate with all levels of management and cross-functional teams to successfully close on project contracts. Support and deploy technology and digital transformation within Connected Contracts including the use of cognitive analysis, machine learning, and AI to enable an improved end-to-end contracting experience. Ensure proper contract administration, including obtaining contract approval, electronic signature, !ling, tracking and reporting.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree with at least 3–5 years of experience in drafting and negotiating sophisticated outsourcing contracts (Master’s or JD preferred). Demonstrated proficiency in contract formation, strategic enterprise-level negotiation, and handling legal and business issues within procurement. Ability to structure detailed Statements of Work (SOWs), define clear KPIs and remedies, and align contract language with business outcomes. Comprehensive understanding of contract law, including risk assessment and obligations related to customer maintenance and service delivery. Consistent track record of influencing executive leadership, managing cross-functional teams, and communicating effectively in a dynamic, global environment.

Preferred Qualifications

Proficient use of technology and digitization skills, experience using SAP Ariba is a plus.

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 $100,800.00 to $127,800.00 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: $121,200.00 - $176,200.00 Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $107,700.00 - $156,500.00 * 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.