Partner Solutions Engineer

Who You Are

Highly regarded technical leader, both within the account team and the Operation for which they work. Has a level of transparency inside and outside of Cisco and, therefore, provides influence and drives strategy & planning and investment at large around innovative architectural solutions with key partners. Provide business level mentorship to the Partner account team or Operation on technology trends and competitive threats, both at a business and technical level. Works closely with key partners to design and present business cases for innovative architectural solution development, investment and implementation. Manages Cisco technical resources and engages SMEs on behalf of the partner. Acts as primary owner of the partner technical relationship.

What You'll Do

Market Analysis and Planning

• Provide strategic feedback regarding partner landscape, and technology and solution trends within a local market (strategic)

Business Development

• Evaluate current partner's technical readiness relative to Cisco's technical strategy (solutions, services, product, quality of service, reputation) and identify gaps in readiness
• Provide technical direction, and influence new and existing partners toward developing new Cisco solutions and services offerings
• Work with and influence partner to develop new partner practices aligned with Cisco's architectural plays
• Coordinate with PAM, Partner SEM and MCO / CRM in structuring new partnerships

Partner Enablement

• Build the partner Technical Business Plan
• Analyze and give recommendations on partner technical needs, goals, and objectives. Involve learning partners and internal partner training to help the partner reach a higher technical sales and service capability
• Ensure partner technical resources are provided appropriate products, solutions and architecture training. Assist in training partner sales teams
• Provide positioning and use case development training (for partner to use with customer) to senior partner technical leadership. Focus training around architecturally positioning Cisco solutions and services
• Participate in development, measurement and management of the partner's Technical Readiness Plan
• Use Requirements & Processes as needed for key features / product requests

Sales Coordination

• Adapt existing or develop new Cisco solutions that address a specific partner need
• Cross communicate Cisco and partner value propositions, especially between partner and Cisco field SEs
• Aggressively capture insight into strategic / high-value opportunities that the partner is pursuing and connect with Cisco field team

Partner Service and Support

• Act as key contact and customer concern point for partner technical issues within Cisco
• Educate partners and promote use of Cisco remote support model and effective use of partner and customer support tools (e.g. TAC, TSN, Partner Helpline, PDI, etc.)
• Personal and Interpersonal Development
• Be the technical leader with vision
• To show the value proposition thru partner practices
• Provide feedback to Cisco business units (Products and Marketing) on features and solutions gaps in current products and coordinated solutions (Cisco / other vendors)
• Research and build collateral positioning the technical trends of the internetworking industry
• Become an expert in competitive landscape nuances in local market
• Actively participate and contribute to Cisco technical community discussions

Qualify (Partner Led)

• Assist partner in refining and researching technical requirements of an opportunity
• Provide support in customer meetings and seminars
• Assist partner in qualifying customer technical requirements

Who you'll Work With

• Work with partner to develop Technical Account Plan
• Work with partner in driving solution development (demos, POC and technical questions)
• Assist partner in developing customer presentation materials
• Assist partner with technical presentations of Cisco solution and services options to customer
• Assist partner in demonstrating solution return on investment and impact of Cisco solution to customer's business

Post-Sales (Partner Led)

• Participate with partner in addressing post-sales, deal-specific technical questions

#WeAreCisco
WeAreCisco where every individual brings their unique skills and perspectives together to pursue our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all.

Our passion is connection—we celebrate our employees' diverse set of backgrounds and focus on unlocking potential. Cisconians often experience one company, many careers where learning and development are encouraged and supported at every stage. Our technology, tools, and culture pioneered hybrid work trends, allowing all to not only give their best, but be their best.

We understand our outstanding opportunity to bring communities together and at the heart of that is our people. One-third of Cisconians collaborate in our 30 employee resource organizations, called Inclusive Communities, to connect, foster belonging, learn to be informed allies, and make a difference. Dedicated paid time off to volunteer—80 hours each year—allows us to give back to causes we are passionate about, and nearly 86% do

Our purpose, driven by our people, is what makes us the worldwide leader in technology that powers the internet. Helping our customers reimagine their applications, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals is what we do best. We ensure that every step we take is a step towards a more inclusive future for all. Take your next step and be you, with us

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. Simply put – we power the future.

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:

When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

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.

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