Director, Solutions Engineer

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 299,000 - 378,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Generous holidays and volunteer time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. in the Americas invites an accomplished Director of Sales Engineering to shape the technical sales strategy and drive execution for the AI Infrastructure & Connectivity portfolio.

You will lead a global, high-performing team, build trusted relationships with executives, analysts, and partners, and translate technical vision into business outcomes. This role advances Cisco’s leadership in AI, cloud-native networking, and data center innovation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field; equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in sales engineering, solutions architecture, or technical leadership.
• Experience managing large, geographically dispersed Sales Engineering or Solutions Architecture teams.
• Experience building trusted relationships with C-suite executives, industry analysts, and ecosystem partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical sales strategy and execution for the Americas.
• Influence market direction through thought leadership and high-stakes validations.
• Foster a high-performing, inclusive engineering organization.
• Align technical vision with business goals and cultivate strategic partnerships.

Skills

Sales engineering

Solutions architecture

Technical leadership

C-suite relationships

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or CS

MBA or advanced 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 the Director of Sales Engineering for the Americas, you will lead the technical sales strategy and execution, serving as the primary technical voice for Cisco’s AI Infrastructure & Connectivity portfolio. You will influence market direction through thought leadership, drive technical wins via high-stakes validations, and foster a high-performing, inclusive engineering organization. Success in this role means aligning technical vision with business goals, cultivating strategic partnerships, and enabling Cisco’s leadership in AI and cloud-native networking.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in sales engineering, solutions architecture, or technical leadership within networking, data center, cloud-native, or AI/ML infrastructure domains.
• Experience managing large, geographically dispersed Sales Engineering or Solutions Architecture teams.
• Experience building and maintaining trusted relationships with C-suite executives, industry analysts, and ecosystem partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA, Master’s in Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline) preferred.
• Deep technical expertise in AI infrastructure, cloud-native technologies, and data center architectures.
• Experience as an industry thought leader, including participation in forums, white papers, and executive briefings.
• Strong operational skills in resource allocation, opportunity management, and technical forecasting.
• Commitment to talent development, mentorship, and fostering a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and inclusivity.

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 $298,800.00 to $377,500.00 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.

• 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, 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: $320,600.00 - $468,200.00 Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $307,600.00 - $447,000.00 * 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.