Solutions Engineer, Splunk

Cisco Systems, Inc.; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 209,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

401(k) Plan

Paid Parental Leave

RSUs

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Solutions Engineer to be the trusted technical advisor for enterprise accounts, focusing on Splunk Core with Security and Observability areas.

You will run discovery, deliver tailored demos and proofs of value, and build the business case for Splunk as the right choice. You will collaborate with practitioners, architects, and leaders to uncover barriers, design solutions, and drive technical wins while partnering with sales leadership on account strategy.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in pre-sales engineering, solutions architecture, or technical consulting.
• Experience with Splunk, or a comparable log management, SIEM, or observability platform.
• Knowledge of at least one: SIEM/threat detection or observability (APM, infra monitoring).
• Ability to explain complex technical concepts in business terms to engineers and executives.
• Strong presentation skills, including leading technical workshops and whiteboard sessions.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical discovery and translate customer challenges into clear technical requirements.
• Design and deliver demos, whiteboard sessions, workshops, and proofs of value around customer use cases.
• Own the technical win: drive deals through the technical sales cycle and coordinate specialists and teams.
• Expand Splunk's footprint by identifying new use cases across Core, SIEM/ SOAR, and Observability.
• Displace competitors by articulating Splunk's differentiated value credibly.
• Build lasting relationships with technical stakeholders and bring them into strategic discussions.
• Share learnings with Product, Sales and Marketing; contribute to team enablement.

Skills

Pre-sales engineering

Solutions architecture

Technical consulting

Splunk knowledge

SIEM/observability

Technical presentations

Travel willingness

Tools

Splunk

Elastic

Datadog

Dynatrace

Microsoft Sentinel

CrowdStrike

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 12/10/2026

This role can be performed within IL, WI, MN

Must be authorized to work in the United States; this position does not provide sponsorship.

Meet the Team

Our Solutions Engineers are the technical heart of the sales process. We sit alongside account executives, own the technical relationship with our customers, and help them turn mountains of machine data into faster threat detection, fewer outages, and better business decisions. We're a close-knit, collaborative team that shares what works, from demo tricks to competitive wins, and we like solving hard problems together.

Your Impact

Splunk, a Cisco company, is looking for a Solutions Engineer to be the trusted technical advisor for a set of enterprise accounts. You'll help customers get real value from the Splunk platform, with Splunk Core at the center and Security and Observability as the areas where they grow.

You'll work directly with practitioners, architects, and technical leaders to understand their environment, uncover what's really holding them back, and design solutions that fit. You'll run discovery, deliver tailored demos and proofs of value, and make the business case for why Splunk is the right choice. You'll also partner with sales leadership on account strategy, so this is a role where your technical judgment shapes the deal.

• Lead technical discovery and translate customer business challenges into clear technical requirements


• Design and deliver compelling demos, whiteboard sessions, workshops, and proofs of value built around the customer's own use cases


• Own the technical win: drive deals through the technical sales cycle and coordinate specialists, partners, and internal teams as needed


• Expand Splunk's footprint in your accounts by identifying new use cases across Core, Security (SIEM/SOAR), and Observability (APM/Infrastructure Monitoring)


• Displace competitors by understanding their strengths and weaknesses and positioning Splunk's differentiated value credibly


• Build lasting relationships with technical stakeholders and bring them into the strategic conversation


• Feed what you learn from customers and the market back to Product, Sales, and Marketing


• Contribute to the team through knowledge sharing, demo assets, and enablement

What Success Looks Like

• Technical wins that convert to closed deals and net new customers


• Growth in the accounts you support, through expansion into new use cases and platform areas


• Competitive displacements


• Customers who see you as an advisor, not a vendor

Minimum Qualifications

• 6+ years in pre-sales engineering, solutions architecture, or technical consulting


• Experience with Splunk, or with a comparable log management, SIEM, or observability platform in large-scale data environments


• Knowledge of at least one of: SIEM/threat detection, or observability (APM, infrastructure monitoring)


• Ability to explain complex technical concepts in terms of business value to both engineers and executives


• Presentation skills, including leading technical workshops and whiteboard sessions

Preferred Qualifications

• Splunk certification (e.g., Core Certified Power User or Admin, or Splunk Enterprise Security or Observability certifications)


• Experience with platforms such as Elastic, Datadog, Dynatrace, Microsoft Sentinel, CrowdStrike Next-Gen SIEM, or similar


• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and cloud-native monitoring and security tooling


• Familiarity with modern architectures: microservices, containers, Kubernetes, and AI/ML workloads


• Scripting and integration skills (Python, PowerShell, or Bash) and experience with APIs and data modeling


• Understanding of security frameworks and compliance standards (e.g., MITRE ATT&CK, NIST, PCI, HIPAA)


• Willingness and ability to travel within assigned territory to meet business and customer engagement requirements

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.