Leader, AI Hyperspecialist Sales

AI Hyperspecialist Leader

The AI Hyperspecialist Leader is responsible for the management of a team of direct account Hyperspecialist architecture sellers tasked with influencing customers in AI purchasing decisions. This leader is accountable for team performance, sales growth and portfolio profitability, building and sustaining strong, long-term relationships with a broad range of customer and buyer stakeholders (e.g., CTO, CIO, CFO, Purchasing leaders, Partner Executive, LOB, Buyer or Partner sales managers and decision makers). Leader will collaborate with customers, partners, and industry solution providers to understand their business goals, identify opportunities for upsell/cross-sell additional solutions, and create demand based on what's possible in customer roadmaps.

The team leader serves as the Account Orchestrator, aligning and integrating solutions with customer needs, driving sustainable cross-portfolio growth through coordination and competitive deal packing. Responsibilities include leadership of both the product and services strategy, across portfolio or architecture as needed and will require maintenance of a comprehensive understanding of Cisco's full product portfolio and strategy. Engagement of specialist teams to enhance the sales process, particularly in areas where deep technical expertise is required to builds sales funnel through opportunity development and driving opportunities through to sales completion to achieve revenue goals is critical to the role.

Responsibilities:

• Reviews business plans, strategy, and forecasting data and presents to senior leadership to shape data driven account strategies
• Stays informed about industry trends, market dynamics, and competitive landscapes
• Specialization and Focus - May be organized by geography/segment/vertical/account set
• Customer Engagement and Accountability - Customer facing time varies by segment/GEO but can range from 25-50%, Amount of influence varies by segment/GEO but ranges from Moderate to High
• The Internal Sales Process - Indirect influence on roles not reporting into it
• Corporate Interlock - Cross functional team (Mid to High Corporate Interlock)
• Typical Sales Cycle - Generally runs 3-6 months, may range by segment and may be longer for more complex sales opportunities, (as long as 18-24 months)
• Success Measures - Varies substantially by Geo/Segment; may include: Team performance metrics (build, manage effective team, attract/retain top talent), Goal attainment, Recurring Revenue, Renewal rates, Territory YOY growth, New logos

Your Impact:

• Typically leads an account team managing a broad portfolio, and/or teams managing product specific architecture teams
• Accountable for sales growth across multiple years for particular product(s), portfolio(s) or region(s)
• Manages to financial and strategic objectives including growth, profitability, entering new markets or launching new product lines
• Directs resource utilization in accordance with strategic sales priorities and based on guidance from global corporate leadership
• Reviews forecasts and other sales data to suggest and remediate any sales tactics, offers aggregated feedback from multiple accounts to influence sales planning
• Oversees consistent execution of sales strategies by streamlining processes and aligning team efforts across field, partner and virtual teams
• Leads team in competitive analysis and planning, translating insights into actionable tactics
• Refreshes as needed, or refines customer success metrics that align with typical sales tactics deployed by own teams
• Coordinate joint planning sessions between partner, virtual, and field teams for assigned accounts
• Leads skill-building workshops for team members to improve quota attainment
• Manages executive-level relationships

Minimum Qualifications:

• Proven leadership experience managing hyperspecialist sales teams focused on AI solutions.
• Strong track record in complex, strategic enterprise sales with global accounts.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with C-level executives and diverse stakeholders.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and aligning sales strategies.
• Demonstrated success managing multi-year sales cycles and achieving revenue targets.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Deep knowledge of AI technologies, cloud-native solutions, Kubernetes, and open-source ecosystems.
• Experience influencing AI purchasing decisions and driving portfolio profitability.
• Skilled in account orchestration and integrating solutions to meet customer needs.
• Ability to lead competitive analysis and translate insights into actionable sales tactics.
• Experience managing executive-level relationships and leading skill-building initiatives.

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 $348,200.00 to $439,600.00 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