Solutions Development Architect

Job description

About the team Join Cisco CX as a Solutions Development Architect. You will act as a trusted advisor to executive sponsors at our most strategic accounts, owning the technical relationship and leading the design of multi-architecture, AI-enabled service solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes. This is a senior, high-autonomy role: you will shape what Cisco sells, not just how it is delivered, and your work will influence how CX Services are packaged and scaled across the region. Who You Are You are an architect who is equally credible in a data centre design review and a boardroom. You build long-term trust with senior IT and OT leaders, translate business priorities into architecture and adoption roadmaps, and know how to make a high-reaching proposal one that delivery teams can actually execute. You are energised by transformation work - particularly where AI changes what is possible for a customer - and you want ownership, not a task list. You will work alongside Sales, the Services CTO organisation, Delivery, Deal Acceleration, and Strategic Engagement teams - and directly with customers - carrying opportunities from first conversation to signed outcome. Your Impact · Lead the technical relationship at executive level (VP and above), translating business priorities into architecture, service strategy, and measurable KPIs such as time-to-value, productivity, and risk reduction. · Lead the pre-sales services solution process for complex, multi-architecture opportunities — defining current state, target state, and deployment sequencing. · Define compelling, AI-enabled service propositions and multi-phase transformation roadmaps that turn customer objectives into actionable adoption journeys. · Partner with Sales to identify, qualify, and win high-value transformational opportunities aligned to Cisco's Premium Services strategy. · Lead the CX Services components of RFP/RFI responses and champion the value of Cisco Services with customers and partners. · Co-design scalable, cost-effective multi-architecture solutions with internal teams and ecosystem partners, balancing delivery efficiency and commercial outcome. · Reduce delivery risk through implementation risk analysis, and set accurate scope, effort, and timing expectations for every engagement. · Drive a clean handoff to Delivery and stay engaged post-sale to ensure value realisation and capture success stories. · Shape Integrated Account Planning (IAP) and own your opportunity pipeline in Salesforce. · Mentor engineers and architects across the Theatre on services-led solution design, and influence adoption of AI-powered tooling across the team. Minimum Qualifications · Bachelor's degree + 8 years of relevant experience, Master's + 6 years, PhD + 3 years, or equivalent practical experience. · Demonstrated success in consultative or solution selling within Professional Services, on complex, cross-functional, multi-architecture engagements. · Proven experience influencing customer leadership at VP/SVP level and above. · Architect-level depth in at least one core technical domain (Networking, Data Center, Security, Cloud, or AI/Data), with broad working knowledge across the wider portfolio. · Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills, with a track record of winning strategic opportunities. Preferred Qualifications · CCIE, or equivalent expert-level credential or demonstrable enterprise architecture experience (including hyperscaler, multi-vendor, or cloud certifications). · Experience applying AI and automation to solution design, delivery optimisation, or customer outcomes. · Knowledge of Enterprise Architecture, IT/OT operations, security, and governance frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, ITIL, COBIT, CISSP). · DevNet Professional or equivalent understanding of network software automation. · Industry or vertical specialisation relevant to the APJC market. 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.