Finance Manager

Cisco Systems; Milpitas (CA); Hybrid; USD 134,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Office in San Jose or Milpitas

Job summary

Cisco Systems is seeking a senior finance professional to lead end-to-end OpEx/CapEx management, COGS, and MDF investments. You will partner with Operations and Engineering, ensuring rigorous financial governance and impactful budgeting and forecasting.

The role emphasizes data-driven decision making, advanced modeling, and strong collaboration with cross-functional teams to drive efficiency and value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field; MBA/CPA/CFA preferred.
• 5+ years of Finance or related business experience.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and presentation skills.
• Ability to influence and communicate with senior leadership.
• Solid understanding of P&L management, margin analysis, and financial modeling.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end financial management of OpEx, CapEx, COGS, and MDF investments.
• Provide monthly OpEx/CapEx results aligned with month-end timetable.
• Coordinate financial governance for Operations support contracts and governance.

Skills

Financial analysis

Variance analysis

P&L management

Strategic partnering

Communication with leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field

MBA/CPA/CFA or equivalent experience preferred

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Essbase

Business Objects

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/19/2026

This is a hybrid role with two days per week at Cisco’s San Jose or Milpitas offices, Alternate locations will be considered on an exception basis.

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

You will be joining the Compute Business Entity (BE) Finance team, the financial engine behind one of Cisco’s most multifaceted and critical portfolios. We are a high-performing, analytical group that believes finance is more than just reporting numbers—it is about providing the insights that develop the future of our business. We pride ourselves on being trusted advisors who translate sophisticated data into actionable strategies.

Your Impact

Lead and handle end-to-end financial management of OpEx, CapEx, COGS and MDF (market development funds) investments, serving as a strategic business partner to the Operations and Engineering teams encompassing the full financial lifecycle, including month-end reporting in collaboration with accounting, budgeting, and forecasting of key performance measurements. Working as the primary financial partner for shareholders and coordinate the financial governance of Operations support contracts, consistently driving data-backed cases and measurable outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Accounting

• Partnering with central finance to deliver detailed monthly OpEx and CapEx investment results in full alignment with the month-end timetable

• Facilitate the monthly balance sheet reconciliation process, ensuring timely completion and high-quality financial reporting

• Collaborating closely with leadership to influence strategic outcomes and ensure financial rigor across all business initiatives

• Financial Reporting & Analysis helping drive operational excellence through high-integrity reporting and deep-dive variance analysis

2. AI Strategy & Innovation

• Identify and develop high-impact use cases for finance (e.g., predictive forecasting, anomaly detection, risk management) and drive results

• Monitor emerging AI trends to ensure we remain at the forefront of financial technology

3. Finance Operations

• Serving as a strategic business partner to the Operations and Delivery teams, driving commercial analysis and develop robust business cases that directly influence key operational outcomes and decision-making.

• Analyze the correlation between business activities and OpEx/CapEx drivers to optimize financial performance.

• Provide rigorous financial oversight of outsourced vendor contracts, ensuring that all service delivery meets established performance standard.

• Proactively identify and lead initiatives to optimize investment, operational efficiency, and process workflows in collaboration with the Operations and Engineering teams, consistently driving value and streamlining operations.

4. Compliance & Security

• Commit to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance by actively supporting and adhering to policies.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field (MBA/CPA/CFA or equivalent experience preferred).

• 5+ years of Finance or relative business experience

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and presentation skills.

• Ability to influence and communicate effectively with senior leadership.

• Solid understanding of P&L management, margin analysis, and financial modeling.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years prior operating expense management experience.

• 3+ years business partnering experience.
• Advanced Excel & PowerPoint skills with proficiency in Finance reporting tools (Essbase, Business Objects)

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 $133,800.00 to $175,400.00 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:

$133,800.00 - $201,700.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$118,900.00 - $179,300.00

• 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.