Solutions Engineer

Cisco Systems, Inc; Austin (TX); Remote; USD 209,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) with Cisco matching

Paid parental leave

Paid time away

Cisco RSU grants

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc seeks a seasoned IIoT solutions architect and pre-sales leader to drive OT-based opportunities across industrial customers. You will shape architectures, deliver compelling demonstrations, and collaborate with partners to enable scalable, secure industrial networking and edge solutions.

The role emphasizes collaboration with account teams, field engineering, and management to accelerate IT/OT convergence and deliver value across plant operations, security, and AI-enabled edge

Qualifications

• 8+ years in technical pre-sales, solutions engineering, or network architecture in industrial environments.
• Proficient in Cisco Industrial Portfolio (Industrial Routing/Switching, Wireless, Security) and enterprise architectures (SD-WAN, Meraki, etc.).
• Bridge IT and OT domains with understanding of critical infrastructure requirements.
• Proven track record leading large-scale technology sales cycles with executives and decision-makers.
• Strong consultative selling skills and ability to articulate business value to non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical engagement for high-impact IIoT opportunities from discovery to proof of value and close.
• Serve as SME in OT/IIoT, guiding account teams, partners, and customer stakeholders.
• Shape architectures across industrial switching, routing, wireless, security, edge connectivity, and AI-ready use cases.
• Translate OT problems into Cisco solutions for plant modernization and asset visibility.
• Build multi-year technical strategies, sales plans, and pipeline motions with customers and partners.
• Develop demos, workshops, and enablement sessions for customers and internal teams.
• Create reusable technical assets, reference architectures, and field guidance for scale.

Skills

OT / IIoT expertise

Technical pre-sales

Solution architecture

Executive stakeholder communication

Industrial networking

Education

CCNP certification or above

Job description

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

Location: Open to anywhere US Remote

Meet the Team

Our Industrial IoT team helps customers modernize, secure, and automate the operational environments that keep manufacturing, utilities, transportation, energy, and critical infrastructure running.

We work across Cisco account teams, partners, business entities, and customer IT/OT stakeholders to turn complex industrial requirements into practical, repeatable solutions. The team is focused on accelerating IT/OT convergence through Cisco’s industrial networking, security, wireless, secure remote access, and edge portfolio, with an eye toward how Physical AI will reshape how industrial environments sense, automate, and secure critical infrastructure.

This role is focused on the OT ecosystem: machine builders, OEMs, system integrators, OT distributors, service providers, and strategic partners. The work requires technical depth, field judgment, and the ability to translate Cisco’s portfolio into outcomes that matter to plant operations, controls teams, security leaders, and business decision makers.

Your Impact

You will serve as a technical leader and trusted authority for Cisco’s Industrial IoT architecture across strategic customer and partner opportunities.

You will help account teams and partners identify OT use cases, shape the technical strategy, and lead solution development for industrial networking, OT security, industrial wireless, secure remote access, and AI-ready edge architectures.

You will work with machine builders, OEMs, system integrators, OT distributors, service providers, and strategic IT partners to create repeatable routes to market and scalable solution motions.

You will also help equip the broader SE and partner community through demos, workshops, technical enablement, reference architectures, and field feedback to Cisco product, industry solutions, and business teams.

What You’ll Do

• · Lead technical engagement for selected high-impact Industrial IoT opportunities, from discovery through proof of value, proof of concept, and technical close.
• · Serve as a subject matter expert in OT / IIoT, providing consultative guidance to account teams, partners, customer technical stakeholders, and portfolio Solutions Engineers.
• · Shape customer and partner solution architectures across industrial switching, routing, wireless / CURWB, Cyber Vision, ISE segmentation, secure remote access, edge connectivity, and AI-ready industrial use cases.
• · Translate OT business problems into Cisco technical solutions, including plant modernization, asset visibility, microsegmentation, remote access, machine vision, AMR / AGV mobility, and industrial network resiliency.
• · Partner with account teams to build multi-year technical strategies, sales plans, and pipeline motions for targeted customers, verticals, and partner routes to market.
• · Build and deliver demos, workshops, technical presentations, and enablement sessions for customers, partners, portfolio SEs, and internal sales teams.
• · Develop reusable technical assets, reference architectures, competitive positioning, and field guidance that help scale IIoT knowledge across the SE community.
• · Work directly with machine builders, OEMs, system integrators, OT distributors, service providers and strategic partners to reduce buying friction and create repeatable solution motions.
• · Provide field feedback to business entities, product management, industry solutions, and GTM leaders on customer requirements, competitive gaps, partner friction, and solution opportunities.
• · Support critical escalations and complex solution-fit questions with clear communication, practical tradeoff analysis, and cross-functional alignment.

Minimum Qualifications:

• · 8+ years of experience in technical pre-sales, solutions engineering, or network architecture, specifically within industrial environments.
• · Proficient in Cisco's Industrial portfolio, including Industrial Routing/Switching, Wireless, and Security, alongside enterprise architectures (like SD-WAN, CatCenter, Meraki or similar competitive offers).
• · Demonstrated experience in bridging IT and OT domains, with a deep understanding of the unique requirements of critical infrastructure.
• · Proven track record of leading large-scale, complex technology sales cycles requiring alignment with executives and key decision-makers.
• · Advanced proficiency in consultative selling, with the ability to articulate the business value of technical solutions to non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:

• · CCNP certification or above (or equivalent advanced networking credential), demonstrating validated technical depth in enterprise and industrial networking.
• · Extensive domain expertise in manufacturing, utilities, transportation, or public sector smart-city initiatives.
• · Deep understanding of industrial protocols, performance criteria, and the specific security challenges inherent in OT environments.
• · Experience working with machine builders, OEMs, system integrators, OT distributors, service providers, or strategic technology partners.
• · Demonstrated success in positioning holistic solutions that encompass industrial networking, edge analytics, cloud integration, and cybersecurity.
• Exceptional communication and negotiation skills, with a history of building influential relationships across highly matrixed global organizations

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 $209,100.00 to $275,100.00 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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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:

$229,000.00 - $344,700.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$218,600.00 - $329,000.00

* 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.