Solutions Engineer

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Boxborough (MA); On-site; USD 219,000 - 286,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Solutions Engineer to join the U.S. Public sector team, serving K12, Higher Education, and local governments by designing and implementing cutting-edge solutions that meet customers' business and technical needs.

You will partner with Account Managers, architects, and CX to drive discovery, demos, and value delivery, with regular in-person meetings and ongoing knowledge growth in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a customer-facing field-sales engineering role or network engineering role.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• Experience with Cisco technologies (networking, security, collaboration, or cloud).

Responsibilities

• Understand customer business and technical needs in K12, Higher Education, and local government.
• Design and implement solutions leveraging Cisco portfolio.
• Collaborate with partners, architecture teams, and CX to drive adoption.
• Build relationships through regular in-person meetings and non-transactional touchpoints.

Skills

Customer facing

Cisco tech

Quotas met

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/02/2026

Meet the Team

As part of the U.S. Public sector team at Cisco, you’ll have the opportunity to serve customers who protect, serve, and educate their citizens. You’ll be joining a group of highly technical individuals with a passion for helping customers solve complex technical challenges by leveraging our best‑in‑class Cisco portfolio. You will have a chance to create a real impact across your customer base while being part of a team that fosters continuous learning and growth.

Your Impact

As a Solutions Engineer, you will be at the forefront of our technical strategy, working closely with our SLED customers to understand their unique business and technical needs. You will be covering a variety of different verticals including K12, Higher Education, and local governments and leveraging your expertise to design and implement cutting‑edge solutions that enable our customers to serve their constituents. Dive into our customers’ business to gain a comprehensive understanding of their challenges and opportunities and develop technical strategies where Cisco can be positioned to help our customers. Work alongside our partners, architecture teams, and CX organization to ensure the successful adoption and optimization of our solutions. Establish a partnership with your Account Manager to drive a robust pipeline by focusing on discovery, demos, and deliverables that showcase the value of our portfolio. Build and maintain strong relationships with our customers by conducting regular in‑person meetings and non‑transactional touchpoints to foster trust and collaboration. Stay ahead of the curve with an always learning mindset to stay up to date on industry trends and competitive strategy

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years in a customer facing, field‑sales engineering role or network engineering role
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
• Experience with Cisco technologies, including networking, security, collaboration, or cloud solutions
• Proven track record of consistently exceeding sales quotas

Preferred Qualifications

• CCNP/CCDP or similar vendor certification
• Understanding of emerging technologies including, Software‑Defined Networking (SDN), AI/ML, DevOps, and cloud solutions (AWS/Azure/GCP)
• Proficiency with Python, RESTCONF, NETCONF, YANG Suite, Ansible, Terraform
• Hands‑on experience with core Cisco technologies including, IOS‑XE, Firepower, Meraki, NX‑OS, ACI, and NDFC
• Strong technical presentation skills with demonstrated experience articulating a complex technical solution to both technical and non‑technical audiences, including C‑level executives

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 $218,600.00 to $286,100.00 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.
• 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: $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.

Cisconians power the future. We make impact as a team, innovating fast and fearlessly to create meaningful solutions on a large scale. The depth and breadth of our technology doesn't just benefit our customers – it also means limitless opportunities for us to experiment and learn. We understand the power each of our unique backgrounds bring when we work together. Because of that, we have a global network of thinkers, doers, experts, and curious creators who help one another do their life’s best work.