Solutions Engineer

Job posting will close on January 23rd, 2026. Posting may be removed earlier if a sufficient number of applicants are received.

The desired location for this role is Downstate Illinois or Chicago.

**Meet the Team**

As a Solutions Engineer at Cisco, you will be part of a dynamic team dedicated to serving customers and partners across the State of Illinois, collaborating closely with sales, customer experience (CX), and engineering groups to deliver innovative technology solutions that drive digital transformation and business success **.**

**Your Impact**

You will act as a trusted advisor, leveraging your expertise in Cisco technologies to guide customers through technology selection and implementation. Building and nurturing strong, long-term relationships with technical and business decision-makers, you will tailor solutions to address specific business challenges. You will shape strategic plans for key accounts, lead cross-architecture designs, and engage partners and Customer Success teams to ensure successful adoption of Cisco solutions. Maintaining technical excellence, you will translate complex business requirements into robust solutions, utilize demo-led selling techniques, and analyze the competitive landscape to position Cisco’s value effectively. Your leadership will foster collaboration across diverse teams, drive educational efforts, and engage executives with clarity and vision, demonstrating resilience and a growth mindset in a dynamic sales environment.

You are an experienced professional with specialized expertise capable of interpreting complex business issues and recommending innovative best practices. Thriving in independent work environments, you provide guidance in complex situations and lead projects or programs that significantly impact customer and operational objectives, contributing to measurable business and process improvements. You possess deep expertise in your core discipline, with knowledge of related job families and industry trends. As a sophisticated analytical thinker, you lead others in solving diverse and complex issues and identifying innovative solutions. A skilled communicator, you convey difficult concepts clearly and influence both internal and external stakeholders. You work independently with minimal guidance, demonstrating strong leadership qualities that inspire collaboration and drive successful outcomes. Additionally, you have a thorough understanding of and commitment to enforcing Cisco’s compliance policies and procedures.

**Minimum Qualifications**

+ Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of related experience, OR

+ Master’s degree with 6 years of related experience, OR

+ PhD with 3 years of related experience, OR

+ Equivalent related work experience.

**Preferred Qualifications**

+ Demonstrated ability to interpret complex business issues and recommend innovative best practices.

+ Proven experience working independently and leading projects or programs with minimal guidance.

+ Strong consultative selling skills and ability to influence both internal and external stakeholders.

+ Specialized expertise in Cisco technologies with continuous advancement of networking skills and certifications.

+ Excellent communication skills, capable of conveying complex concepts clearly and persuasively.

+ Leadership qualities that inspire collaboration and drive successful outcomes.

+ All Account SEs are required to complete the CCNP by the end of this fiscal year

**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 $205,700.00 to $266,300.00 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.

Cisco is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.

Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.