Solutions Engineer
About the job
- At least 5 years of presales experience with network equipment, specifically routers and switches.
- Knowledge of WAN-related Layer 3 and Layer 2 protocols.
- Knowledge and experience with Proof of Concept work, product demonstrations, and validation testing.
- High-level communication skills in Japanese.
- Leadership capabilities to lead teams or projects.
- Ability to take a proactive approach to customer success.
- Willingness to take on new challenges.
- Identify and analyze customer challenges and technical requirements.
- Design and propose optimal Cisco solutions.
- Create proposal materials and deliver presentations.
- Conduct and report on product demonstrations and Proof of Concepts.
- Respond to technical inquiries.
- Collaborate with domestic internal departments and global engineering teams on business opportunities.
- Develop strategies for competitive differentiation.
- Build strong relationships with assigned customers and lead technical sales efforts to address their needs.
- Presales experience serving Service Provider customers.
- Knowledge of generative AI and machine learning.
- Knowledge and experience with virtualization and container platforms, including Docker and Kubernetes.
- Practical knowledge of Cisco solutions and products.
- Business-level English communication skills.
- Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert certification at the expert level.
About the company
Cisco makes the switches and routers that connect offices, data centers, and cloud services, and it also sells cybersecurity tools and Webex video meetings to businesses and governments. It was one of the first companies to sell routers that let different kinds of computer networks exchange data, and in 2000 it briefly became the world's most valuable company. Customers run its network gear, from Wi-Fi access points to AI data center systems, with Cisco software that sets up and secures the network, while its Splunk unit searches computer logs to catch outages and attacks. Cisco earns money from hardware sales, software subscriptions, and support contracts. It was founded in 1984 and is based in San Jose, California.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
San Jose, California
Founded
1984
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Cloud giants fuel growth: they ordered $9.3 billion of Cisco's AI gear in the year to July 2026, up 4.5-fold.
- Stock awards gained value: Cisco shares rose 63% in the year to October 2026, four times the S&P 500's 15%.
- Signed deals steady the business: Cisco had $46.7 billion of contracted sales still to deliver in July 2026, up 7%.
What critics are saying
- Record sales didn't stop layoffs: Cisco cut nearly 4,000 jobs, just under 5% of staff, in May 2026.
- Rivals lead in data center switches: in the June 2026 quarter, Nvidia held 20.4%, Arista 18.7% and Cisco 18.2%.
- Hardware-heavy AI growth squeezes profit: Cisco's gross margin fell to 66.3% from 68.4% in the July 2026 quarter.
What makes Cisco unique
- Cisco still sells the most network switches: it took 28.7% of worldwide switch sales in the June 2026 quarter.
- Cisco designs its own networking chips: Microsoft and Alibaba signed on early for its Silicon One P200, launched October 2025.
- Cisco trains future network engineers: its Networking Academy has taught over 28 million learners in 195 countries since 1997.
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Benefits
Paid Vacation
Hybrid Work Options
Flexible Work Hours
Professional Development Budget
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
0%1 year growth
0%2 year growth
0%Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) has added AI agents to Webex that keep working on tasks after a conversation ends. Its shares traded at $114.52 on October 12, down about 3.3%. The agents use a tool called Dialog, which links customer history, company data, and backend systems so they can pursue unresolved requests. Claude integration is planned. Splunk tracks agent activity, and Cisco AI Defense provides safeguards. Shares sit 52.15% above the $75.27 GF Value estimate from GuruFocus. Cisco must turn the agents into higher recurring revenue without letting implementation costs and human supervision erode the gains.
NVIDIA and Cisco announced Ultra-Dense Small Form Factor Pluggable (USFP), a new optical module for AI data centres, on October 12, 2026. They say it will be the first to support 400Gb/s-per-lane electrical signals, for capacity up to 12.8Tb/s. USFP offers 4x the bandwidth density and about 1.3x the power efficiency of 200Gb/s-per-lane modules. Operators can connect more computing systems without adding network tiers, while cutting networking's share of power use. The first transceivers will pack 16 full-duplex lanes in an octal small form factor-sized footprint, with 32 lanes or more planned. The companies are working with TE Connectivity and Amphenol on cages, connectors and modules. They plan an open industry specification through a community-led multi-source project.
Cisco unveiled new chips, systems and optics for AI networks at the Open Compute Project Global Summit on October 12, 2026. With NVIDIA, it plans to create an open specification for Ultra-Dense Small Form Factor Pluggable (USFP), a 400Gb/s-per-lane optical module. Cisco says USFP should deliver 4x the bandwidth density and 1.3x the power efficiency of 200Gb/s-per-lane optics. Microsoft and Alibaba have put systems powered by Cisco's 51.2T Silicon One P200 into production. The first systems using the 102.4T G300 chip are shipping to customers. Cisco also introduced the 51.2T G302 chip for top-of-rack switches, which it plans to ship before the end of 2026. Its Live Protect security feature for SONiC customers starts in mid-2027.
Oracle and Cisco are both positioned to benefit from growing AI infrastructure demand, though through different approaches. Oracle focuses on cloud computing power through its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, while Cisco concentrates on networking and security, including its Secure AI Factory partnership with Nvidia. Oracle reported annual sales of $67.36 billion and net income of $17.09 billion, outpacing Cisco's $63.33 billion in sales and $13.27 billion in profit. Oracle trades at 22 times forward earnings versus Cisco's 27 times. Both companies offer a 1.4% dividend yield. However, Oracle's payout ratio stands at 29%, compared with Cisco's 45%, providing more reinvestment flexibility. Cisco has delivered stronger stock performance with 112% returns over five years, more than double Oracle's 51%. Analysts rate Oracle a "Strong Buy" and Cisco a "Moderate Buy".
Cisco has appointed Girish Rishi to its board of directors, effective immediately. Rishi currently serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Cognite, an industrial AI company, and is a senior adviser to Blackstone. Rishi brings three decades of experience leading technology businesses across hardware, software and systems. He previously served as CEO of Blue Yonder and held executive positions at Tyco International, Zebra Technologies, Motorola Solutions and Symbol Technologies. Cisco chair and CEO Chuck Robbins said Rishi's expertise in helping organisations harness data and AI would be invaluable as Cisco provides infrastructure for the AI era. Rishi also serves on the board of Insight Enterprises and holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, University of Hartford and University of Mumbai.