Solutions Engineer

You will provide guidance and assist Security Sellers and Account teams within the territory in a pre-sales technical role, showcasing Cisco security product solutions, setting up demonstrations, explaining features and benefits to customers, and designing and configuring products to address specific customer security needs. You will form relationships with our customer’s key decision-makers, positioning Cisco security solutions aligned accurately to their requirements.

As an advisor to the customer, you’ll be working with technology experts to craft architectures and configure products to meet customer-specific needs, are prepared to lead all technical aspects of pre-sales activities, and position security solutions effectively against competing offerings. You are an aggressive starter, self-starter with the ability to build executive relationships, develop and execute sales strategies and tactics that improve Cisco’s opportunity with a customer environment, position and promote the partner and customer value proposition for Cisco security architecture, articulate Cisco’s product and business strategies, and create the demand that makes deals happen! You will:

• Serve as the subject matter expert in Cisco security solutions
• Provide guidance and assist account teams within the territory in building solutions to address specific customer security needs
• Understand business requirements for a customer base and be able to translate them into technical requirements
• Understand and articulate Cisco’s architecture and services within security technologies
• Create, present, and document technical solutions
• Perform in-depth and high-level technical presentations for customers partners and prospects
• Drive identified major account opportunities (i.e. technical consulting, upper-level management presentations, and Cisco technology solutions) while allowing local account teams to maintain long-term ownership

Who You'll Work With

You will be a part of an outstanding technical pre-sales team in our Global Security Sales Organization (GSSO), responsible for driving the success of Cisco’s Security Portfolio and focusing on protecting Customer Application Environments no matter where they live (on-prem / any cloud).

Our mission is simple: democratize security by making it easy and effective for everyone. We’re transforming security from the ground up by solving the world’s most pressing geopolitical challenge — safe, secure information access. We engineer our business to enable our customers to easily address their ever-evolving security challenges.

We believe that impactful work is rewarding work and that our team is at its best when everyone feels empowered to bring their whole self to work. We learn together by hiring for cultural contribution, not cultural fit, and recognize that diversity in background and thought are essential to building high-impact teams.

We invest in growth and learning opportunities and encourage our people to never stop learning. We foster collaboration and believe in being recognized (and rewarded!) for hard work. We champion a healthy work-life balance. We’re kinder than necessary.

Together we build for the future by designing simple solutions for complex problems. And that’s why we’re the most loved and trusted name in security.

Who You Are

You are passionate about the customer experience and excited about new technology. You are a true teammate and love to learn. Being a self-starter, our SEs act as an industry domain authority, and strive to help Cisco make customers for life. Minimum qualifications include:

• Minimum of 6 years of technical sales or pre-sales experience with 4 years in Security specialization experience with Email Security, IDS/IPS, AV, Firewall, Advanced Malware Protection technologies
• BS/BA (EE/CS) or equivalent is highly preferred
• Successful quota achievement
• Proven track record of managing and winning technical and high-value IT security projects
• Experience in administering Unix/Linux systems, low-layer (packet-level) IP networking, and a thorough understanding of network security

Preferred qualifications:

• Solid presentation and interpersonal skills
• Commercial awareness and strong communication skills
• Highly motivated self-starter who does not need day-to-day management
• Desirable experience with Cisco security technologies, experience with programming languages such as UNIX shell, Perl, or C
• Travel required, Home office based

Why Cisco?

#WeAreCisco. We are all unique, but collectively we bring our talents to work as a team, to develop innovative technology and power a more inclusive, digital future for everyone. How do we do it? Well, for starters – with people like you!

Nearly every internet connection around the world touches Cisco. We’re the Internet’s optimists. Our technology makes sure the data traveling at light speed across connections does so securely, yet it’s not what we make but what we make happen which marks us out. We’re helping those who work in the health service to connect with patients and each other; schools, colleges, and universities to teach in even the most challenging of times. We’re helping businesses of all shapes and sizes to connect with their employees and customers in new ways, providing people with access to the digital skills they need and connecting the most remote parts of the world – whether through 5G, or otherwise.

We tackle whatever challenges come our way. We have each other’s backs, we recognize our accomplishments, and we grow together. We celebrate and support one another – from big and small things in life to big career moments. And giving back is in our DNA (we get 10 days off each year to do just that).

We know that powering an inclusive future starts with us. Because without diversity and a dedication to equality, there is no moving forward. Our 30 Inclusive Communities, that bring people together around commonalities or passions, are leading the way. Together we’re committed to learning, listening, caring for our communities, whilst supporting the most vulnerable with a collective effort to make this world a better place either with technology, or through our actions.

So, you have colorful hair? Don’t care. Tattoos? Show off your ink. Like polka dots? That’s cool. Pop culture geek? Many of us are. Passion for technology and world changing? Be you, with us! #WeAreCisco

U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.

Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter. Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.