Solutions Engineer - SLED (Northern California) at Cisco in San Jose, CA

Job description

Candidate must live in or relocate to NorCal Meet the Team We are NorCal SLED, a dynamic and close-knit team of account executives and solutions engineers passionate about our mission to support our schools, cities, counties, universities, and healthcare agencies across Northern California. We work to help our public sector customers solve their most challenging IT problems and enable them to deliver difference-making outcomes to their students, citizens, and employees. In this role, you will champion the Cisco brand across diverse public sector verticals, partnering with Account Executives, Specialist engineering teams, and strategic regional partners to architect cutting-edge solutions across Secure Networking, Hybrid Cloud, AI-ready Infrastructure, and Zero Trust Cybersecurity. What You'll Do As a Solutions Engineer on the NorCal SLED team, your core mission encompasses five key strategic pillars: Trusted Technical Advisory & Customer Advocacy: Build and cultivate deep technical relationships with public sector IT leaders, serving as their primary advocate, technology strategist, and trusted advisor. Strategic Architecture & Opportunity Definition: Identify customer challenges and define cross-architectural solution options that directly align with public sector business priorities, mission goals, and operational outcomes. High-Impact Demonstrations & POC Execution: Collaborate with customers and partners to deliver compelling proof-of-concepts (POCs), proof-of-value engagements, and live demonstrations showcasing Cisco’s portfolio value. Technical Account Planning & Deal Strategy: Develop and execute multi-year technical account plans in lockstep with Account Executives, directly shaping overall territory strategy and deal progression. Adoption, Operational Success & Partner Enablement: Drive continuous solution adoption and long-term customer operational success by mobilizing internal specialist engineering teams and regional partner communities. Minimum Qualifications 5+ years of related technical pre-sales, systems engineering, or technical consulting experience in enterprise or public sector environments. Strong hands-on technical expertise across core Cisco architectures (Enterprise Networking, Switching, Wireless, Routing, Data Center, or Cybersecurity) or relevant competitor platforms. Proven pre-sales track record with demonstrated ability to translate complex technical solutions into measurable business, mission, and operational value. Demonstrated experience leading customer-facing architectural presentations, technical whiteboarding, and solution validations. Must reside in or relocate to Northern California with the willingness and ability to travel locally for customer meetings and partner events. Preferred Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related technical field (or equivalent practical experience). Professional or Expert-level certifications (e.g., CCIE, CCNP, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, CISSP, or equivalent). Familiarity with SLED public sector procurement cycles, E-Rate funding, state/local contracts, and education/government IT compliance frameworks. Conversant in AI infrastructure, modern Collaboration, SDN, full-stack observability, and a passionate adopter of AI productivity tools. Strong business acumen with proven capability to frame technical offerings around student outcomes, citizen services, and public safety impact. 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.