Director Global Owned Real Estate Asset Management

The application window is expected to close on: 09/24/2026

Location: San Jose, California
Work Model: Hybrid in San Jose office
Scope: Global
Travel: Required
Reports To: Senior Director, Real Estate Strategy and Planning
 

Meet the Team

Cisco's Workplace Resources (WPR) group is responsible for managing the physical and digital environments that support Cisco employees globally. Our primary focus is on creating and maintaining a productive, safe, and efficient workplace experience.

The Director of Real Estate Global Asset Management leads the global front-end strategy, highest-and-best-use analysis, site selection and disposition, Real Estate due diligence, entitlement, development and master planning support for Cisco’s major owned-real estate assets and large campuses.

Your Impact

This role is responsible for maintaining and increasing Cisco’s owned real estate asset and large campus values.  The Director is responsible for advising on how the company’s owned real estate and large campus portfolio, should best be used, repositioned, reinvested in, expanded, contracted, leased against, or sold to support Cisco’s business strategy. The role will translate business needs, portfolio data, financial inputs, operational requirements, and market conditions into clear recommendations for investment and portfolio governance decisions.

The role fills a critical gap by bringing together real estate development planning, portfolio strategy, land-use, entitlement, due diligence, and highest-and-best-use evaluation to drive global owned asset values and portfolio optimization decisions.
 

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the owned and large campus-portfolio optimization and global real estate asset management function across Cisco’s global real estate portfolio.

• Lead and develop a small team focused on portfolio strategy, asset optimization, development and disposition planning, due diligence, entitlements, financial and risk analysis, and consultant coordination.

• Analyze the existing owned real estate portfolio to identify highest-and-best-use opportunities, constraints, risks, and long-term strategic options.

• Partner with WPR’s Global Business Partners to understand long-range business needs, growth plans, operating requirements, and location priorities.

• Evaluate whether new business demand should be met through existing owned assets, leased alternatives, new real estate acquisitions, redevelopment, repositioning, or disposition, while balancing and maintaining the best asset values for Cisco.

• Coordinate with Finance, Accounting and Tax to evaluate depreciation, book value, capital investment, operating cost, impairment, and financial, accounting and tax implications of hold, sell, reinvest, reposition, lease, or acquire scenarios.

• Assess talent, workforce, location strategy, operational adjacency, infrastructure, market, regulatory, and business-continuity considerations.

• Prepare hold / sell / reinvest / reposition / redevelop / lease / acquire recommendations for portfolio governance approval by Senior Leadership.

• Source and evaluate new land or property opportunities when existing assets are not the right strategic fit.

• Lead acquisition and disposition due diligence for property and land, including zoning, entitlement feasibility, title, survey, infrastructure, appraisals, market analysis, development risk and support environmental and energy engagements.

• Partner with the Real Estate Transactions team on acquisition, disposition, and other market-facing transaction execution.

• Work with Cisco Procurement and Legal to contract, onboard and manage the best external consultants, including land-use counsel, development planners, appraisers, real estate analysts, due diligence teams, and development advisors.

• Coordinate with WPR PMO, Design & Construction and WPR Energy, EH&S and Engineering Teams on design and master planning consultant selection, early technical feasibility, delivery assumptions, and handoff readiness.

• Support early-stage master planning, preliminary programming, conceptual design.

• Lead entitlement packages, regulatory agency approvals for development phasing plans.

• Guide planning and design efforts to preserve asset value on owned properties and large campuses, then hand off execution leadership to Design & Construction once entitlements are secured for large projects and is ready for delivery.

• Establish repeatable data and reporting on owned asset optimization, due diligence, stage-gate, and development entitlement planning practices for the global real estate organization.

• Maintain executive-ready materials, recommendations, assumptions, risks, options, and decision records for governance forums.

Leadership Scope

This role will lead a small, specialized strategy and development team and is accountable for building the operating model, decision frameworks, advisor network, and governance materials needed to support global owned-asset decisions.

The role will lead through both direct team leadership and enterprise influence, coordinating across Real Estate Strategy, Global Business Partners, Finance and Accounting, Real Estate Transactions, Legal, WPR PMO, Design & Construction, Operations, Government Affairs and external consultants.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 15+ years of experience in real estate development and disposition, portfolio strategy, land use, entitlements, acquisitions, asset strategy, corporate real estate, or related owner-side real estate leadership.

• Experience leading teams or complex cross-functional work streams in a matrixed environment.

• Deep experience evaluating owned real estate assets, highest and best use, development, feasibility, entitlement pathways, regulatory approvals, redevelopment potential, and disposition options.

• Experience with large-scale real estate portfolios and leading acquisition and disposition due diligence for complex land or property opportunities.

• Strong understanding of owned-versus-leased alternatives, capital investment tradeoffs, asset repositioning, portfolio optimization, and governance approvals.

• Experience leading external consultants, land-use counsel, planners, appraisers, development advisors, due diligence teams, and real estate analysts.

• Ability to prepare and defend executive-level recommendations for investment steering committees, portfolio governance bodies, and capital approval forums.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a global technology company, corporate real estate organization, developer, institutional owner, REIT, real estate investment firm, or large owner-operator environment.

• Experience with global portfolios and cross-border real estate strategy.

• Experience developing master plans, entitlement strategies, conceptual site plans, phasing strategies, and early project approval materials.

• Advanced degree or professional background in real estate, urban planning, architecture, engineering, business, finance, construction, or a related field.

• Excellent leadership, communication, analytical, financial, and stakeholder management skills.

• Exceptional presentation and executive communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey complex ideas to senior leadership.

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 $243,300.00 to $312,000.00 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 elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

$243,300.00 - $364,400.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$217,700.00 - $327,000.00

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.