Director, Sales

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 501,000 - 633,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) with Cisco matching

Paid parental leave

Disability and life insurance

Paid holidays and vacation

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Security Sales Director for the US Global Enterprise Segment to scale the security business and lead a team of first-line leaders toward aggressive revenue targets.

You will drive the security portfolio strategy, align cross‑functional stakeholders, and build an organization focused on operational excellence, innovation, and protecting customers in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in sales or a related field.
• 5+ years in management and/or sales leadership.
• Experience with revenue responsibility and sales quota management.
• Experience in cross‑functional or general management within a matrixed environment.
• BS/BA degree or equivalent professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale the Security Sales Team across the US Global Enterprise Segment, ensuring effective market coverage and opportunity identification.
• Own the full security portfolio sales strategy, including the development of plans to achieve revenue targets and rigorous management of the sales forecasting process.
• Drive market share growth by leading initiatives for new logo acquisition and leveraging a highly leveraged coverage model.
• Lead by example, fostering a culture of professionalism, collaboration, and creativity that empowers team members to achieve their best.
• Drive operational excellence in daily business functions, including pipeline development, hiring, performance management, and team certifications.
• Collaborate across the wider Cisco Americas organization—including Portfolio Sales, Sales Engineering, Sales Operations, Enablement, Channels, and Customer Success—to ensure seamless execution.
• Articulate a compelling, long‑term vision for the Security business that inspires teams and stakeholders to take action.

Skills

Executive leadership

Security sales

Quota management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic planning

Education

BS/BA degree or equivalent

Job description

Meet the Team

You will be joining the Global Enterprise Segment; a dynamic and high-performing team focused on securing the future of our customers. We are a group of innovators and strategists who thrive on complex challenges, working at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and global connectivity. Our team is dedicated to building a culture of collaboration, excellence, and inclusivity where every member is empowered to drive real-world impact.

Your Impact

As our Security Sales Director for the US Global Enterprise Segment, you will be the visionary leader responsible for scaling our security business. You will lead, steer, and inspire a team of first-line leaders to achieve and over‑achieve aggressive revenue targets. This role is not just about meeting quotas; it is about building the Cisco security business, influencing cross‑functional stakeholders, and developing an organization that thrives on operational excellence and innovation. You will play a pivotal role in shaping how we protect our customers’ most critical assets in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale the Security Sales Team across the US Global Enterprise Segment, ensuring effective market coverage and opportunity identification.
• Own the full security portfolio sales strategy, including the development of plans to achieve revenue targets and rigorous management of the sales forecasting process.
• Drive market share growth by leading initiatives for new logo acquisition and leveraging a highly leveraged coverage model.
• Lead by example, fostering a culture of professionalism, collaboration, and creativity that empowers team members to achieve their best.
• Drive operational excellence in daily business functions, including pipeline development, hiring, performance management, and team certifications.
• Collaborate across the wider Cisco Americas organization—including Portfolio Sales, Sales Engineering, Sales Operations, Enablement, Channels, and Customer Success—to ensure seamless execution.
• Articulate a compelling, long‑term vision for the Security business that inspires teams and stakeholders to take action.

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in sales or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in management and/or sales leadership.
• Experience with revenue responsibility and sales quota management.
• Experience in cross‑functional or general management within a matrixed environment.
• BS/BA degree or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience in second‑line leadership roles.
• Exceptional executive presence with the ability to influence peers and leadership across a large organization.
• Strong track record of coaching, mentoring, and developing high‑performing sales organizations.
• Highly effective verbal and written communication skills with the ability to simplify complex concepts into compelling, creative messages.
• Expertise in driving business transformation and navigating complex organizational structures.

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 $500,600.00 to $632,500.00 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 employees1 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: $500,600.00 - $727,300.00 Non‑Metro New York state Washington state: $473,100.00 - $705,500.00

* 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 of 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.