Senior Counsel – Data Governance & Privacy

Cisco Systems, Inc; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 192,000 - 244,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with Cisco matching

Paid parental leave

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Annual bonuses

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a strategic Legal Counsel to advise on privacy, data governance, and AI governance across domestic and international laws.

You will partner with product, engineering, security, and compliance teams to operationalize governance, data sourcing, and lifecycle controls while navigating evolving regulatory requirements. The role emphasizes risk-based guidance, leadership in data policy development, and readiness for regulatory inquiries and audits in a fast-paced tech

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor degree and active bar membership required.
• 8+ years of legal experience.
• Deep expertise in privacy, cybersecurity, data governance, or technology transactions.
• Experience with global privacy and data laws including GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and AI regulations.
• Experience in large tech/cloud/telecom/SaaS/cybersecurity businesses.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide governance programs in multinational tech companies.
• Privacy/AI certifications such as IAPP CIPP/US, AIG, CIPE are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Counsel on privacy, data governance, and AI governance under domestic and international laws.
• Advise on data governance frameworks, standards, and controls; lead on data classification and lifecycle governance.
• Provide specialized advice on data classification, inventories, stewardship, minimization, retention, and governance.
• Establish legal standards for data sourcing, use, sharing, deidentification, anonymization, and synthetic data initiatives.
• Define governance requirements and accountability structures across the company.
• Review and draft Data Processing/Sharing Agreements and AI-related contracts and terms.
• Collaborate with product, security, compliance to operationalize governance.
• Develop guidelines for legal risk in new data uses for analytics and ML.
• Advise leadership on data risk, opportunity, and strategic data use initiatives.
• Develop data policies, training, and governance guidance.
• Lead responses to regulatory inquiries, audits, investigations, and litigation readiness.
• Coordinate with Government Affairs on data legislation and standards.

Skills

Privacy & data governance

Cross-functional collaboration

AI governance

Regulatory compliance

Education

Juris Doctor and bar membership

Privacy/AI certifications (IAPP CIPP/US, AI)

Job description

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a strategic Legal Counsel to advise on privacy, data governance, and AI governance across domestic and international laws.

You will partner with product, engineering, security, and compliance teams to operationalize governance, data sourcing, and lifecycle controls while navigating evolving regulatory requirements. The role emphasizes risk-based guidance, leadership in data policy development, and readiness for regulatory inquiries and audits in a fast-paced tech