Principal Corporate Counsel: Product Legal

Cisco Systems, Inc.; North Carolina; Remote; USD 185,000 - 235,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Principal Corporate Counsel to join their Product Legal team in North Carolina. This role involves managing legal requests, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and advising on regulatory matters. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in legal roles, particularly in software and cloud products, and will be part of a dynamic and innovative environment.

Benefits

401(k) plan with matching contribution

Flexible vacation time off policy

Paid time off for volunteering

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance

Performance-based incentive pay

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in a law firm or in-house legal role.
• Experience with software and cloud products.
• Exceptional writing and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage legal requests from internal clients.
• Collaborate with product teams throughout the product lifecycle.
• Draft and maintain product legal collateral.

Skills

Legal expertise

Project management

Communication

Education

Bar admission

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

Principal Corporate Counsel: Product Legal

Location:

RTP, North Carolina, US

Alternate Location

Anywhere US remote based

Area of Interest

Legal

Compensation Range

185700 USD - 234100 USD

Job Type

Professional

*None

Job Id

1441224

The application window is expected to close on: 5.27.2025

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

We will consider any internal applicants in any location.

Meet the Team

Join a dynamic Cisco Product Legal team, directly supporting the Cisco Security Business Group (SBG). SBG delivers a diverse range of security solutions designed to safeguard customers' networks, cloud environments, users, and endpoints through the Cisco Security Cloud platform. Our team of six passionate product counsels serves as subject matter experts for a broad portfolio of innovative solutions.

We are looking for a dedicated, collaborative, and enthusiastic teammate excited to support a fast-paced, innovative business unit critical to Cisco’s future. If you are a curious, motivated self-starter with excellent organizational skills, dependability, and responsiveness, we want to hear from you!

This is an incredible opportunity to join a high-performing team, contribute to meaningful and impactful work, and grow your expertise in a ground breaking legal and technology environment. If you’re ready to take on this exciting challenge, we encourage you to apply!

Your Impact

As a key member of the Product Legal team supporting one of Cisco's most visible and strategic business units, you will play a pivotal role in enabling innovation and driving business success. You will partner closely with cross-functional teams, including engineering, product management, research, business development, operations, finance, and legal subject matter experts (e.g., regulatory and intellectual property teams). Your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Managing legal requests from multiple internal clients, prioritizing tasks based on urgency and business impact.
• Collaborating with product managers and engineers to provide legal support throughout the product lifecycle, from ideation to end-of-life.
• Drafting and maintaining product legal collateral, such as transparency disclosures and product-specific terms.
• Supporting sales and sales legal teams by addressing product-specific requirements in deals.
• Advising on data privacy, responsible AI, regulatory, and intellectual property matters in collaboration with legal subject matter experts.
• Help define strategy and key terms for agreements, including strategic partnerships, alliances, joint marketing, and design partner arrangements.
• Providing fast, sound legal judgments to enable agile business decision-making.
• Communicating complex legal issues clearly and succinctly, both orally and in writing.
• Contributing to a collegial team environment by assisting with projects outside your primary scope when needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bar admission with 7+ years of experience in a law firm and/or in-house legal role, preferably in a transactional and/or product counseling role.
• Proven experience working with software and/or cloud products and licensing matters.
• Strong ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritize tasks effectively, and communicate progress to stakeholders.
• Exceptional writing and oral communication skills with the ability to distill complex legal issues into concise, actionable advice.

Preferred Qualifications

• Excellent business judgment, with the ability to balance legal risk and business objectives.
• Customer-centric mentality with a strong sense of ownership for timely delivery of legal solutions.
• Detail oriented and self-sufficient, yet comfortable seeking assistance when needed.
• Strong organizational skills to handle competing priorities effectively.
• Familiarity with data privacy and cybersecurity laws, CIPP/E is a plus.

#WeAreCisco

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. Simply put – we power the future.

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.

#remote

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees haveaccess to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.

Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days ofvacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Offpolicy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter. Up to 80 hours ofunused sick timewill be carried forwardfrom one calendar yearto the nextsuch that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

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