Senior Counsel, Data Governance & Privacy Regulation

Cisco Systems, Inc.; Clegg (NC); Hybrid; USD 192,000 - 244,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan with Cisco matching

Paid parental leave

Short/long-term disability

Life insurance

Paid time away

Volunteer days

Job summary

Join Cisco's Privacy and Data Regulatory Legal team to shape global privacy and data governance compliance as a strategic, solutions-oriented counsel. You will advise on data governance, risk management, and regulatory readiness, partnering with product, engineering, security, and policy groups to translate complex legal requirements into actionable business guidance.

You will help define governance standards, respond to regulatory inquiries, and influence data legislation while supporting AI

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor and active bar membership.
• 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 emerging AI regulations.
• Large technology company, cloud company, telecom, SaaS, or cybersecurity business.
• Experience leading cross-functional, enterprise-wide governance programs in a multinational technology company.
• Familiarity with data and AI governance and responsible data use programs.
• Professional Certification in Privacy, AI such as IAPP CIPP/US, AIG, CIPE.

Responsibilities

• Own interpretation and provide specialized, actionable data privacy guidance under domestic and international laws and regulations.
• Advise on enterprise data governance frameworks, standards, and controls, including data classification and information lifecycle governance.
• Counsel stakeholders on data classification, inventories, stewardship, minimization, retention, defensible deletion, access governance.
• Establish legal standards for data sourcing, use, sharing, deidentification, anonymization, and synthetic data initiatives.
• Define governance requirements for data stewardship and accountability across the company.
• Review and draft Data Processing Agreements, Data Sharing Agreements, AI-related provisions, and privacy terms.
• Partner with product, engineering, security, and compliance teams to operationalize governance requirements.
• Develop guidelines for assessing legal risks in data use for analytics, AI, and ML.
• Advise leadership on data-related risk, opportunities, and strategic data utilization.
• Develop data policies, training, and governance guidance.
• Lead responses to regulatory inquiries, audits, investigations, and litigation readiness.
• Collaborate with Government Affairs to influence data legislation and frameworks.

Skills

Privacy law

Data governance

Regulatory compliance

AI governance

Cross-functional collaboration

Cybersecurity

Contract negotiation

Global privacy laws

Education

Juris Doctor and active bar membership

Privacy certifications (IAPP CIPP/US, AIG, CIPE)

Job description

Join Cisco's Privacy and Data Regulatory Legal team to shape global privacy and data governance compliance as a strategic, solutions-oriented counsel. You will advise on data governance, risk management, and regulatory readiness, partnering with product, engineering, security, and policy groups to translate complex legal requirements into actionable business guidance.

You will help define governance standards, respond to regulatory inquiries, and influence data legislation while supporting AI