Account Executive - Architecture

Owns relationships and influences strategic decisions within the customer’s buying center. Works with and supports account teams and customers to understand customer needs and position Cisco’s area of specialization. Applies deep architectural expertise and broad solution knowledge, enriched by competitor intelligence and industry insight. Maintains expert-level knowledge of all elements of the business case, including the drivers of cost, benefit, risk. Provides architectural expertise across opportunities without direct ownership; maintains architectural-specific forecasting while triangulating technical projections with broader portfolio planning to ensure alignment. Leads technical proof of concept and proof of value engagements, implementing scaled demonstration environments to showcase solution capabilities and business outcomes prior to customer commitment. Develops comprehensive proposals highlighting Cisco offerings that address solution gaps and aligns with customer objectives. Works closely with solution engineers, account teams and customers to set the direction and strategy for specific focus areas / architecture. Provides valuable feedback from customer interactions to Cisco’s development teams, influencing product roadmaps and ensuring solutions are adaptive to emerging market demands and technological advancements

• Specialization and Focus - Aligned by specific Cisco architecture and/or industry focus, Expert with deep technical and product knowledge in a specific area of specialization, Deep understanding of relevant vertical or industry,, Predominantly interacts at direct customer-level
• Customer Engagement and Accountability - Mostly in direct contact with customer and interacts with IT, LOB, CXOs, & decision makers, Primary influencers, specifically in Qualify and Proposal phases, May participate across full life-cycle
• The Internal Sales Process - 10-25% of time may be spent with internal business units (more require more time for larger deals)
• Corporate Interlock - Collaborates with the business unit to develop appropriate customer solutions, which may require new product development or enhancing functionality for existing products
• Typical Sales Cycle - Medium Sales complexity. Average length of deal is 3-6 months but can be as long as 12-18 months in more complex accounts/opportunities. Variable deal size, can be between $50K to $750K (over $1M for SP)
• Success Measures - Increased revenue for architecture - Displace competitor and increase wallet share, increased market share - Customer relationship development

What You'll Do:

• Develops and maintains an expert understanding of the market, technologies, advising customers on long-term, cross-architectural solution
• Influences the most significant deals at Cisco, involving strategic partnerships, complex solutions and creating lasting impact
• Steers customer mindset on their specialty architecture and ensures cohesion with integration of related architectures
• Synthesizes complex competitive data to shape high-level account strategies and inform long-term business development plans
• Advises internal and external stakeholders on industry shifts, risks associated with emerging competitor offerings and evolving customer needs to ensure GTM strategies are adaptive
• Cultivates trusted C-suite relationships, positioning Cisco as a strategic partner for comprehensive digital transformation through industry-leading architectural insights and tailored solutions
• Collaborates on high-level negotiations with key accounts, with an understanding of both the broader market shifts and specific competitor tactics, ensuring unmatched value in architectural solutions
• Prioritizes customer success and secures enduring, mutually beneficial relationships
• Shapes an architecture’s strategy by aligning with GTM market and revenue expansion objectives while actively guiding resource allocation to maximize impact
• Leverages the transformative potential of an architecture by integrating emerging industry insights to amplify account team effectiveness and drive customers’ strategic ambitions
• Contributes to the architecture’s evolution by providing consistent and sustained feedback to Engineering to evolve product offerings and sustain competitive advantage
• Drives the architectural strategy and collaborates cross-architecturally to develop technical proposals
• Leads scenario planning to refine long-range forecasts and integrates narratives to refine models and oversees bill of materials development
• Expands reach within and outside the buying center through establishing self as an industry advisor, bringing critical insights on Cisco’s architectures and value propositions

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelors + 12 years of related

experience, or

Masters + 8 years of related

experience, or

PhD + 5 years of related experience

Preferred Qualifications:

Varies based on the team and business needs | Preferred Qualifications are desired education, experience, and skills that are in addition to Minimum Qualifications.

THIS JOB DESCRIPTION DOES NOT APPLY FOR EMPLOYEES IN AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, FRANCE, GERMANY & NETHERLANDS

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.