Solutions Engineer

Candidate for this role must reside or be willing to relocate to either Birmingham, AL or Colorado.

Meet the Team

The Solutions Engineer for the Defense Joint Forces Region will serve as the technical lead for a strategic Department of War customer — the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). This engineer will own the technical relationship, driving architecture, customer engagement, and mission alignment so that Cisco solutions deliver measurable operational and mission outcomes. This role requires strong technical credibility, a selling instinct, the ability to operate independently, as well as an understanding of defense environments, acquisition cycles, and mission-critical infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical relationship for assigned MDA accounts to ensure Cisco solutions deliver measurable operational and mission outcomes.
• Design secure and resilient architectures across networking, security, and Zero Trust to meet rigorous DoD standards and FedRAMP requirements.
• Partner with the account team to shape long-term strategy and accelerate the adoption of new technologies within the MDA environment.
• Coordinate directly with major system integrators to build integrated solutions that support large-scale mission transformation.
• Deliver high-impact technical presentations and demonstrations that differentiate Cisco’s portfolio and drive technical wins.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 3+ years of experience in customer-centric IT, delivery, or pre-sales roles within the Defense sector.
• Current CCNP Enterprise (ENCOR) certification or ability to get one within 12 months.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance.
• Experience configuring architectures within FedRAMP or IL5 boundaries and supporting ATO compliance requirements.
• Proven track record of leading technical engagements from conception to completion.
• Deep understanding of IT trends relevant to the Department of Defense, including observability and cloud infrastructure.
• Strong business writing and presentation skills with a calming presence in high-stakes customer environments.
• Active Secret security clearance (or a former Secret clearance requiring an in-depth security background).

About 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.

Pay

The starting salary range for this position is $208,200.00 to $264,400.00 for new hires 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. Below are the full salary ranges for specific locations:

• 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 include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution.
• Paid parental leave.
• Short and long-term disability coverage.
• Basic life insurance.
• Restricted stock units (RSUs) that vest following continued employment.
• 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.
• 4 paid days off for personal wellness.
• Non-exempt employees receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at 4.92 hours per pay period.
• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program with no defined limit (subject to business limitations).
• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, with up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward.
• Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family issues.
• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer.
• Annual bonuses for non-sales roles, subject to Cisco’s policies.
• For sales roles, performance-based incentive pay split between quota and non-quota components.

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