The application window is expected to close on: 06/23/2026
Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.
Application window expected to close: 6/23/26
Location: PST time zone/West Coast
Travel required
Meet the TeamJoin our best-in-class pre-sales engineering team dedicated to driving co-development engagements with one of the world's most influential hyper-scale cloud providers. You will collaborate closely with customer stakeholders and business unit leaders and architects to address the unique, challenging demands of a global-scale customer environment. Our team culture thrives on creativity, teamwork and continuous improvement, focusing on advancing systems through innovative network architectures. This role offers the exciting opportunity to influence Cisco's next-generation Hardware and Software roadmaps and bridge the gap between complex customer requirements and cutting-edge engineering solutions.
Your ImpactServe as a bridge consolidating and driving design alignment between Google datacenter's engineering leadership and technical architects and Cisco's silicon/systems and SONIC software teams to address the unique, challenging demands of AI through innovative network architectures.
Translate complex customer requirements into precise engineering-specific documents to drive feature planning and product development. Analyze and prioritize technical data for customer reviews to ensure solutions are grounded in performance and reliability. Design innovative system improvements by identifying process patterns, ultimately boosting customer confidence in Cisco's execution plan and solution deliverables.
Minimum Qualifications- Bachelor's degree with 8+ years of related experience OR a Master's with 6+ years OR a PhD with 3+ years
- Ability to build relevant customer relationships and strong communication skills in making sophisticated simple
- Practical knowledge of network architecture spanning software and hardware
- Experience with Routing Protocols (BGP, Segment Routing), QoS, and MPLS
- Proficiency in Network Operating Systems such as SONIC and/or IOS-XR
Preferred Qualifications- Familiarity with AI Datacenter front-end and back-end design concepts
- Highly organized
- Experience working with Linux or BSD systems
- Experience with network automation using Python or Golang
- Experience with Netconf, YANG, or OpenConfig data models
- Proven ability to perform technical presentations and demonstrations for internal and external audiences
- Experience coordinating and prioritizing detailed data for large-scale customer reviews
- Creative problem-solving skills with a focus on system and process optimization
Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:The starting salary range posted for this position is $223,000.00 to $287,200.00 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 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:
$223,000.00 - $330,300.00
Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$217,200.00 - $315,300.00
* 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.
