Systems Architect

Meet The Team
This role will report to the Senior SE Manager, leading the Customer Systems Engineers. The team covers all accounts in the German Public operation where new and most relevant public IT trends are developed and realized. The public-sector landscape is a very collaborative landscape where key customers are often influencers for their specific vertical segment. Experience in the Public sector especially within Higher Education and a firm understanding of the challenges running large projects and how we can help monetize and optimize the GTM of our top customers will be key.

The Account SE acts in an increasingly consultative fashion and is looked to as an expert, or trusted technical advisor, in his/her field by the account team and customer. All SE's engage customers face-to-face or via collaborative tools. As part of a strategic team, it will be necessary to work cross-functionally with various operations.

Your Impact
The Systems Architect is a customer-focused technical sales professional who provides high level technical support and guidance to customers. He/she collaborates with the Account Team to recommend and develop appropriate customer solution offerings.

The successful candidate will serve designated accounts in the Public Sector, focusing on large customers primarily. In this role, he/she will drive the adoption of Cisco's networking solution portfolio within these accounts, while also shaping the technical account strategy.

Role And Responsibilities

• The Systems Architect offers a comprehensive architectural perspective across Cisco's product portfolio, leveraging their technical specialization and networking expertise to address specific opportunities effectively.
• Proactively identify and generate leads through customer engagements, seminars, and educational initiatives, while effectively qualifying opportunities
• Collaborates closely with key cross-functional teams, including Architecture Teams, Sales, Services, and Engineering, to drive alignment and deliver comprehensive solutions.
• Play an active role in the development of a comprehensive technical account plan.
• Assess and qualify business opportunities
• Analyze customers' business challenges and priorities within a technical context and translate these priorities into actionable technical roadmaps.
• Develop solution options and clearly communicate the benefits of Cisco's offerings.
• Develop a deep understanding of the business economics and industry/technical trends within the customer's specific vertical markets and demonstrate how Cisco solutions can deliver both financial and strategic value.
• Facilitate the progression of deals through the sales process by strategically identifying the right timing and engaging the appropriate Cisco and partner resources.
• Build strong relationships both within Cisco and with external stakeholders, quickly establishing credibility through confidence and expertise.

Minimum Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in a technical role as Solutions Architect, Systems Engineer, or Sales Engineer
• Strong technical background in Cisco Networking solutions (wireless, switching, routing)
• Proficient in SASE frameworks and cloud architecture (IaaS, SaaS, PaaS)
• Experienced in leading and designing complex large-scale projects with multiple integration points
• Strong communication and presentation skills for technical audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field or equivalent work experience.
• Good knowledge about Cisco's portfolio and strategy.
• Cisco certification like CCNP, CCDP, CCIE are beneficial.
• Field experience and expertise in network programming (e.g., Python APIs).
• Strong consultative sales approach with a focus on customer needs, industry trends, and emerging technologies.
• Excellent skills in relationship-building, presentation, organization, multitasking, and prioritization.

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.