Solutions Engineer - ORANGE COUNTY

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 202,000 - 258,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) plan with Cisco matching

Parental leave

Disability coverage

Life insurance

Restricted stock units (RSUs)

Paid holidays

Floating holiday

Year-end holiday shutdown

Wellness days

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. in Orange County, California (Irvine area) is seeking a proactive, highly technical Solutions Engineer to co-own our regional business.

You will partner with an Account Executive to lead strategy, translate complex architectures into business value, and build trust with engineers and executives. You will leverage AI-first approaches, vibe coding, and automated workflows to accelerate discovery and deliver end-to-end, high-impact technical engagements across the Cisco

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years in technical consulting and customer-facing solutions architecture.
• Active industry certification (e.g., CCNA/CCNP, AWS/Azure, Security+).
• Strong fundamentals in networking, security protocols, and cloud architectures.
• Bachelor's degree in CS, EE, IT, or 4 years of equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Co-own territory strategy with Account Executive and drive revenue growth.
• Lead technical engagements across Cisco portfolio (Networking, Security, AI, Automation).
• Deliver discovery workshops, demos, roadmaps, POVs, and BoMs.
• Apply agentic AI and automated scripts to speed up discovery and create prototypes.
• Translate complex architectures into business outcomes for executives.
• Collaborate across regional teams, architecture specialists, and partners.

Skills

5+ years experience

Industry certs

Networking & security

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Enterprise networking tools

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure)

AI/Automation tools

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 09/27/2026

Candidate MUST reside or be willing to relocate to the Orange County, California area.

Meet the Team In Commercial Sales, we operate at the intersection of technical excellence, rapid innovation, and strategic partnership. We succeed because we listen deeply, anticipate market shifts, and deliver transformative customer outcomes. Our culture relies on trust, continuous growth, high EQ, and cross-functional collaboration.

We are seeking a proactive, highly technical, and AI-first Solutions Engineer to step in and co-own our business in the region.

Your Impact As a Solutions Engineer (SE), you will partner directly with an Account Executive to act as the “CEO & CTO” of your assigned territory.

You will co-lead account strategy, translate complex architectural concepts into clear business value, and build deep trust with customer stakeholders—from hands-on engineers to C-suite executives.

You are an innovator and a daily user of modern AI. You leverage vibe coding, custom agents, and automated workflows to accelerate work, uncover deep customer insights, and demonstrate real-world value.

Representing Cisco’s full end-to-end portfolio, you will guide customers through technical transformations while maintaining a relentless focus on personal growth and technical excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Business Ownership Partner seamlessly with your Account Executive to run your territory as a unified business unit. Co-own account planning, opportunity targeting, and revenue growth.
• Full-Portfolio Technical Leadership Serve as a trusted technical consultant across Cisco’s entire portfolio, including Enterprise Networking, Security, Observability, Collaboration, AI Infrastructure, Agentic Ops, and Automation.
• Customer Execution & Deliverables Lead and execute high-impact technical engagements, including discovery workshops, custom solution demos, Architectural Roadmaps, Proofs of Value (POVs), and accurate Bills of Materials (BoMs).
• AI-Driven Innovation & Agentic Ops Integrate agentic AI, vibe coding, and automated scripts into your daily sales workflow to build prototype applications, streamline technical discovery, and model modern technical agility for customers.
• Executive Relevance & High EQ Translate dense technical architectures into clear business outcomes. Present with confidence, authority, and empathy across all layers of leadership within customer organizations, internal Cisco teams, and the Channel partner community.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration Serve as a generous team player, collaborating across regional teams, architecture specialists, business units, and channel partners to deliver cohesive end-to-end solutions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in technical consulting, customer-facing solutions architecture
• Possession of at least one active, verified industry certification (e.g., Cisco CCNA/CCNP, AWS/Azure certifications, Security+ or equivalent).
• Documented technical competence in core networking, security protocols, and cloud architecture environments.
• Completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Information Technology, or a minimum of 4 years of documented equivalent practical technical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of specialized pre-sales engineering experience.
• Documented experience in the development of AI applications, autonomous agents, and automated workflows using modern AI platforms.
• Demonstrated experience delivering technical presentations and system demonstrations to executive-level stakeholders (Director level and above).
• Completion of documented continuing education courses, technical certifications, or verifiable contributions to emerging technology projects within the preceding 12 months.

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.

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 $202,400.00 to $257,900.00 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.

• medical, dental and vision insurance
• a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
• paid parental leave
• short and long-term disability coverage
• basic life insurance
• grant of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.
• 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
• 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.
• New York City Metro Area: $212,200.00 - $308,300.00
• Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $202,400.00 - $296,900.00
• * 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.