Cisco Careers

Who We Are

Outshift by Cisco is the emerging tech incubation group that explores, identifies, and creates new businesses for Cisco. We are passionate about being at the cutting edge of technology, taking Cisco into new markets and building exciting products that solve tomorrow's biggest challenges. Like a startup, we take an entrepreneurial approach to success. We incubate ideas into products that solve critical needs, then deliver an experience that delights users and customers from Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to full-blown commercial offering.

Outshift is about innovation. We look from 12 months out to five years into the future, flexibly working to solve problems instead of fitting into a defined job description. We celebrate learning, and expect our teams to move fast, challenging assumptions and finding new ways of solving problems. Outshifters enjoy gaining experience across a breadth of technological and business challenges and can expect to shift across products/problems and build new skills regularly. We're building the next wave of startup-like innovation with the support of a trusted name like Cisco. Where else will you get to do this? Come create with us. Learn more about us at outshift.com.

What You'll Do

As Director of Product Management, you have a strong mix of product management, technology, people leadership, and GenAI domain competence, coupled with strategic vision and proven execution. You will mentor senior product managers towards new incubation efforts in alignment to current and future AI based product offerings. You will define and lead overall AI/ML product strategy and roadmap and understand industry trends and competitive landscape relating to overall AI domain.

Who You'll Work With

The Outshift team is highly visible within Cisco as it's leading the future innovation for the business. As part of the Strategy & Incubations group led by Cisco's Chief Strategy Officer, you'll be working with some of the organization's most forward problem solvers.

In this role, you can expect to:

• Work with customers to understand problems, priorities, and common themes.
• Work with leadership team to devise business strategy and investment roadmap.
• Brainstorm and review ideas, proposals, and strategy with other Cisco businesses, corporate development, and strategy teams.
• Lead a team of high caliber product managers to drive fast paced and high bar delivery of product management artifacts.
• Work with engineering, design, machine learning (ML) scientists, and program operations to define and implement the product plan.
• Work with marketing, growth, and business development teams to develop and execute effective Go-To-Market strategies for your product.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Working with engineering, design, and operations in defining an operating model for driving the product roadmap including defining Agile Framework for execution, resource planning, funding, prioritization, and phased approach of business commit to drive, project/product development.
• Conducting market feasibility & readiness, assessment, industry research, Tracking VC & startup community in addition to following what large innovative companies are doing in the AI space.
• Articulating Total Addressable Market (TAM) we can target after analyzing user problems in the target market.
• Taking complete ownership for the product market fit and delivery of business goals and key results.
• Defining the criteria for ideal customer for Minimal Viable Product (MVP) and actively participate in defining GTM, working with key partners.
• Setting up the right business model for your product areas including forecast, financial health, pricing, and resourcing.
• Establishing milestones & metrics to evaluate the success and failure of the project.
• Developing and growing the product managers on the team.
• Building thought leadership narratives for Outshift across product, technology, and process innovations.

Who You Are

You have a passion for thinking big, taking ownership, solving hard problems, and persevering through challenges. You have strong social skills, sound judgment, and a capacity for critical thinking and collaborative decision-making. You approach your work with integrity, and empathy for your customers and your partners. You have a successful track record in driving business results, creating innovative products, leading product teams, and developing business strategy proposals.

Minimum Qualifications

• Demonstrable progressive experience in product management with technical products.
• Demonstrable supervisory and people management experience.
• Demonstrable experience in building products with Generative and Predictive AI technologies.
• Deep understanding of the emerging trends in Generative AI.
• This role requires strong independent judgment skills, forward-thinking, utmost integrity, and trust as well as bringing balance to both strategic and tactical actions.
• Engineering degree or equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Growth mind-set of diving into new areas and quickly developing a strong point of view.
• Expertise in building decision frameworks that help make objective investment calls.
• Mastery in building quick credibility with customers and partners on complex topics.
• Problem solving approach and a can-do attitude.
• Strategic, critical but creative problem solver with strong business sense.
• Ability to work within cross-functional team environments.
• Experience defining epics and writing user stories.
• Skilled in design thinking and UX/UI methodologies.
• Masters' degree or equivalent experience strongly preferred.

Why Cisco?

#WeAreCisco. We are all unique, but collectively we bring our talents to work as a team, to develop innovative technology and power a more inclusive, digital future for everyone. How do we do it? Well, for starters – with people like you!

Nearly every internet connection around the world touches Cisco. We’re the Internet’s optimists. Our technology makes sure the data traveling at light speed across connections does so securely, yet it’s not what we make but what we make happen which marks us out. We’re helping those who work in the health service to connect with patients and each other; schools, colleges, and universities to teach in even the most challenging of times. We’re helping businesses of all shapes and sizes to connect with their employees and customers in new ways, providing people with access to the digital skills they need and connecting the most remote parts of the world – whether through 5G, or otherwise.

We tackle whatever challenges come our way. We have each other’s backs, we recognize our accomplishments, and we grow together. We celebrate and support one another – from big and small things in life to big career moments. And giving back is in our DNA (we get 10 days off each year to do just that).

We know that powering an inclusive future starts with us. Because without diversity and a dedication to equality, there is no moving forward. Our 30 Inclusive Communities, that bring people together around commonalities or passions, are leading the way. Together we’re committed to learning, listening, caring for our communities, whilst supporting the most vulnerable with a collective effort to make this world a better place either with technology, or through our actions.

So, you have colorful hair? Don’t care. Tattoos? Show off your ink. Like polka dots? That’s cool. Pop culture geek? Many of us are. Passion for technology and world changing? Be you, with us! #WeAreCisco

#WeAreCisco.