[Hiring] Senior Solutions Specialist - Cisco Networking @Connection

Role Description

The Senior Solution Specialist, Cisco Networking is a senior individual contributor on the Cisco Product Management team who serves as the technical subject matter expert for Cisco’s networking portfolio across campus, branch, wireless, and related secure access architectures. This role translates complex product, architecture, and lifecycle knowledge into clear field guidance that helps sales teams position Cisco solutions effectively, identify migration paths, handle competitive displacement conversations, and connect technical value to partner profitability.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical subject matter expert for Cisco’s networking portfolio, including switching, routing, wireless, campus, branch, and secure access use cases.
• Explain how Cisco networking platforms interoperate across the broader architecture, including how switching, routing, wireless, policy, and secure access fit together in customer environments.
• Equip account managers, sellers, and overlay resources with practical technical messaging that improves customer conversations and solution positioning.
• Support field teams with technical education on where Cisco’s networking portfolio is differentiated, how solutions map to customer outcomes, and where products fit within the lifecycle of a refresh or modernization motion.
• Provide sales-facing guidance on competitive positioning and displacement, including how to migrate customers from role holder or legacy environments to Cisco-based architectures.
• Advise on end-of-sale and end-of-life transitions by helping sellers understand migration paths, successor products, and customer lifecycle options under Cisco policy.
• Stay current on Cisco product announcements, roadmap themes, and market changes, and translate them into actionable guidance for the field.
• Clarify where AI is embedded across Cisco networking operations and architecture, including AI-optimized operations, assurance, and AI-ready infrastructure messaging.
• Partner with sales leadership and product management to identify common field gaps, recurring objections, and enablement needs.
• Connect technical solution areas to partner value creation by understanding which networking offers and solution plays align to Cisco Partner Incentive motions and specialization opportunities.
• Triage opportunity support by determining when an engagement requires strategic technical guidance versus when it should be transitioned to an Inside Solutions Architect for BOM, licensing, configuration, or quoting execution.
• Maintain a disciplined handoff model so technical advisory work is separated cleanly from quoting and build functions.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in enterprise networking, technical product management, technical pre-sales, sales engineering, or partner-facing solution specialization.
• Deep knowledge of Cisco networking technologies, especially switching, routing, wireless, campus, and branch architectures.
• Strong understanding of how networking components interoperate across enterprise environments and how to position architecture-level outcomes.
• Ability to explain complex technical subjects in simple business language for sales and customer audiences.
• Demonstrated experience supporting sellers through technical positioning, competitive strategy, refresh motions, or migration planning.
• Familiarity with Cisco lifecycle concepts such as end-of-sale, end-of-life, support windows, and migration guidance.
• Working knowledge of Cisco’s evolving AI and automation messaging in networking and operations.
• Strong executive presence and facilitation skills, with the ability to educate without overwhelming non-technical audiences.
• Ability to distinguish strategic technical advisory work from executional quoting and architecture handoff processes.

Benefits

• Progressive and competitive compensation.
• 401k plans.
• Medical insurance.
• Free therapy visits and mental health coaching.
• Meditation resources.
• Generous paid time off package, including vacation, sick time, Wellness, and Volunteer Time Off days.