The application window is expected to close on: 04/30/2026

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

This position is based in San Jose, CA, North Carolina, or Seattle and operates under a hybrid work model.

Meet the Team

The AI Automation team is a high-impact, cross-functional group formed to lead Cisco’s enterprise AI strategy, reporting to the Principal Technical Program Manager. Our team is a fast-paced, collaborative, and highly strategic environment where we bridge the gap between AI innovation and scalable enterprise operations. We are the central engine for delivering AI at the fingertips of every Cisco employee, ensuring our tools are secure, efficient, and transformative.

Your Impact

As a Senior Engineering Technical Program Manager (Sr. TPM), you will play a critical role in the execution of strategy, driving complex, cross-functional programs that bring AI automation—such as Circuit Pulse—to life. You will manage two primary buckets of work: operational programs that establish company-wide AI standards and champions programs, and high-stakes, time-bound engineering initiatives that redefine the future of work across departments like HR, Legal, and IT. 
You will own the charter, steer decision-making among leadership, and drive engineering-led workstreams to completion. Your role is pivotal in balancing technical delivery with resource management and value frameworks, ensuring that as we scale our AI footprint, we remain operationally excellent and aligned with Cisco’s security and privacy standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Program Execution: Drive the planning, tracking, and execution of engineering projects for AI automation initiatives, ensuring timely delivery of features and integrations (e.g., with Webex, Outlook, SharePoint, Jira, MCP). Break down complex product requirements (from PRDs) into actionable engineering tasks and deliverables.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Serve as the primary point of contact between engineering, product, security, and UX teams to resolve dependencies and remove blockers. Facilitate effective communication and alignment across global, distributed teams.
• Technical Risk & Issue Management: Identify project risks and issues early; develop and execute mitigation plans in collaboration with engineering leads. Track critical technical and operational metrics, reporting progress and escalations as needed.
• Compliance & Security: Support implementation of privacy, data retention, and security best practices, ensuring features like persistent memory and data access align with Cisco’s standards.
• Continuous Improvement: Recommend and implement improvements to engineering and program management processes. Advocate for agile practices and tools that drive better collaboration and delivery outcomes.

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in technical program management or engineering project leadership, preferably in enterprise software, automation, or AI environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing engineering projects with multiple integrations and cross-functional dependencies.
• Familiarity with enterprise software development, APIs, and workflow automation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong project planning, tracking, and organizational skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; able to work effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proactive problem-solving and risk management abilities.
• Working knowledge of agile methodologies and tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence).
• Experience with AI-specific operational challenges, such as token cost management or large-scale AI deployment.

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 $191,400.00 to $281,400.00 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:

$191,400.00 - $323,600.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$176,100.00 - $287,900.00

* 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.

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