Director, Sales

Cisco Systems; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 405,000 - 639,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan with company matching

Medical, dental & vision insurance

Paid parental leave

Performance-based incentive plan

Job summary

Cisco Systems is seeking a Sales Director for the Americas to drive strategy, GTM planning, and sales execution for its AI Infrastructure and Connectivity portfolio. You will lead a specialist team, push growth in hardware and software, and build trusted C-suite relationships to accelerate AI infrastructure leadership.

The role emphasizes operational rigor, inclusion, and a high-performing sales culture across the Americas, with compensation tied to performance and market ranges.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive sales leadership in networking, cloud infra, or AI markets.
• Experience engaging C-suite executives (CTO, CIO, Chief Strategy Officers).
• Experience leading sales strategy across hardware and software in AI/cloud/networking domains.

Responsibilities

• Own strategy, go-to-market planning, and sales execution for Americas AI infra portfolio.
• Lead a specialist sales team to drive growth across hardware and software offerings.
• Build strong executive relationships and foster an inclusive, high-performing culture.

Skills

Sales leadership

C-suite relationships

Sales strategy

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, CS

MBA or Master’s degree

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/04/2026

Meet the Team

The Americas AI Infrastructure and Connectivity (AIC) group at Cisco delivers high-performance, scalable, and energy-efficient network infrastructure and cloud solutions, including Cisco Silicon One ASIC-based routers and AI-ready cloud infrastructure such as Cisco UCS X-Series and Intersight Cloud Orchestrator. Our customers span telcos, cloud providers, large enterprises, public sector organizations, and webscale companies requiring uniform, programmable, and automated network and cloud architectures. Join a dynamic, inclusive team driving innovation at the intersection of AI, cloud, and networking.

Your Impact

As Sales Director for the Americas region, you will own the strategy, go-to-market planning, and sales execution for Cisco’s AI Infrastructure and Connectivity portfolio. You will lead a specialist sales team to drive balanced growth across hardware and software offerings critical to AI transformation and mass-scale infrastructure. Success in this role means accelerating Cisco’s position as a leader in AI infrastructure by building strong C-suite relationships, driving operational rigor, and fostering an inclusive, high-performing sales culture.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent experience.

• 10+ years of progressive sales leadership experience in networking, cloud infrastructure, or AI-related technology markets.

• Experience building and maintaining trusted relationships with C-suite executives (CTO, CIO, Chief Strategy Officers).

• Experience driving sales strategy and execution for both hardware and software portfolios in AI, cloud, or networking domains.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA or Master’s in a technical discipline) preferred.

• Deep understanding of AI infrastructure market dynamics and emerging technologies.

• Experience leading sales teams through business transformation and market transitions.

• Strong operational skills in pipeline management, forecasting, and sales process rigor.

• Commitment to fostering an inclusive, collaborative culture that values diversity of thought and background.

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 $370,600.00 to $478,900.00 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.

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:

$419,700.00 - $638,600.00

Non‑Metro New York state & Washington state:

$404,800.00 - $595,800.00

• 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.

Cisco is an Aff…

Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.