• You will work with a team of Solutions Engineers, the Sales Team, and Executives
• You'll collaborate with Cisco leaders, partner with mentors, and develop incredible relationships with colleagues who share your interest in connecting the unconnected
• You'll be part of a team that cares about its customers, enjoys having fun, and takes part in changing lives in our local communities
• Partner with Account Executives in a pre-sales technical role, showcasing Cisco product solutions, setting up demonstrations, explaining features and benefits to customers, and designing and configuring products to meet specific customer needs
• Access the palette of Cisco technologies and applications across vertical markets
• Collaborate with Account Managers and Executives to recommend and develop customer solution offerings
• Provide an architectural perspective across the Cisco product portfolio and apply technical specialization for specific opportunities
• Act as a trusted technical adviser to the account team and customers
• Stay current on competitors’ solutions, products, and services, educating peers on findings
• Co-lead the development of formal sales plans and proposals for assigned opportunities
• Participate and lead as a specialist on assigned Virtual Teams, educating colleagues and providing authoritative consultative support

Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements

• Strong understanding of systems and platform infrastructure for cloud/hyperscale and AI infrastructure requirements
• Excellent written and verbal communication, listening, negotiation, and presentation skills
• Superior technical knowledge and consultative skills
• Cisco product experience or relevant experience in key competitor offerings in the technology area of emphasis required

BS/BA (preferably in EE/CS) or equivalent

• In-depth knowledge of Optical and Ethernet networking technologies, including coherent transceivers, optical transmission systems with EDFA and Raman amplification, ROADM architectures, and various fiber types

Knowledge of standards related to pluggable optical transceivers, including optical PMDs (e.g., IEEE 802.3xx, optical MSAs), pluggable form factor MSAs (SFF, QSFP-DD, CMIS, etc.), and IEEE Attachment Unit Interfaces (AUIs)

• 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

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