Solutions Engineer, Commercial

Cisco Systems, Inc; Frankfort (KY); On-site; USD 208,000 - 264,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Solutions Engineer for the Kentucky and Indiana territories.

You will lead the technical sales process, act as a trusted advisor to IT leadership, and design tailored architecture demos and proofs-of-value across Cisco’s portfolio. The role requires deep cross-architectural knowledge, strong discovery and presentation skills, and the ability to translate complex tech into concrete business ROI.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a technical field with related pre-sales experience.
• Proven track record owning technical relationships with enterprise or commercial customers.
• Cross-architectural knowledge across Cisco solution areas (Networking, Security, Cloud/Collab).
• Strong discovery, presentation, and communication skills translating tech to business outcomes.
• Must reside in or relocate to Frankfort, KY or Indianapolis, IN.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical sales strategy from discovery to closure with account teams.
• Establish trusted-advisor relationships with IT leadership and executives.
• Design and deliver architecture demos and proofs-of-value for ROI.
• Differentiate Cisco offerings and drive net-new logo wins and revenue growth.
• Collaborate with regional partners and product teams to optimize customer success.

Skills

Pre-sales experience

Systems engineering

Technical sales

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree + 8 years

Master's degree + 6 years

PhD + 3 years

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/22/2026

Candidate must relocate of live in the listed Territory

Meet the Team

As a Solutions Engineer within Cisco's Commercial Sales organization, you will serve as the lead technical sales professional and trusted advisor for our commercial customers and ecosystem partners across the Kentucky and Indiana territories. You will partner closely with Account Executives, specialized architectural engineering teams, and regional channel partners to architect modern, resilient technology solutions that address complex business requirements. In this role, you will champion Cisco’s complete portfolio—including Enterprise Networking, Security, Collaboration, and Cloud/Compute—to drive digital transformation, displace competition, and accelerate customer business outcomes.

Your Impact

• Lead Technical Sales Strategy: Drive the technical sales process from discovery to closure, collaborating with account teams to develop multi-year customer strategic plans and map business requirements into high-value Cisco architectures.
• Trusted Technical Advisory: Establish enduring trusted-advisor relationships with customer IT leadership, C-suite executives, and line-of-business stakeholders to shape long-term technology roadmaps.
• Architectural Demos & Proofs-of-Value: Design and deliver customized solution presentations, architectural blueprints, and compelling demonstrations that clearly articulate business outcomes and ROI across Cisco's full portfolio.
• Competitive Differentiation & Market Expansion: Leverage deep market and competitive intelligence to position Cisco advantages, displace incumbent competitors, and convert pipeline into quarterly net-new logo wins and revenue growth.
• Cross-Functional & Partner Collaboration: Mobilize virtual sales teams, regional Gold Partners, and Business Unit product teams to optimize customer lifecycle success and channel field feedback into product innovation.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree + 8 years of related technical pre-sales / systems engineering experience, OR Master's degree + 6 years of related experience, OR PhD + 3 years of related experience.
• Proven track record in pre-sales systems engineering, owning technical relationships with enterprise or commercial customers and driving deals across the sales cycle.
• Demonstrated cross-architectural knowledge across core Cisco solution areas (Enterprise Networking, Wireless/Catalyst/Meraki, Cyber Security, or Cloud/Collaboration).
• Strong consultative discovery, executive presentation, and communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business outcomes.
• Must reside in or be willing to relocate to the designated territory (Frankfort, KY or Indianapolis, IN).

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Cisco or industry-recognized certifications (e.g., CCNP, CCIE, CISSP, or Cloud Practitioner/Architect).
• Hands-on expertise with Cisco full-portfolio architectures including Catalyst/Meraki SD-WAN, Cisco Security/Splunk, and Webex collaboration.
• Experience partnering with and enabling regional Cisco Gold/Premier Channel Partners (e.g., CDW, Presidio, WWT, Logicalis).
• Proven competitive displacement experience winning against alternative vendor solutions in mid-market or commercial accounts.
• Demonstrated agility in adjusting sales and architectural strategies in response to emerging market dynamics and customer disruptions. THIS JOB DESCRIPTION DOES NOT APPLY FOR EMPLOYEES IN AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, FRANCE, GERMANY & NETHERLANDS

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 $208,200.00 to $264,400.00 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.