Sr. AI Solutions Pre-Sales Engineer - Commercial Central
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Location:Offsite, Chicago, Illinois, US
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Alternate LocationMinneapolis, MN, Detroit, MI, St. Louis, MO, WI, MO, OH, IN, Central U.S.
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Area of InterestSales - Services, Solutions, Customer Success
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Compensation Range237500 USD - 285000 USD
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Job TypeProfessional
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Technology InterestCloud & AI (DCN & Compute)
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Job Id1432419
What You’ll Do
As a Solutions Engineer – Artificial Intelligence (AI), you will serve as a trusted technical leader and advisor, specializing in positioning comprehensive AI solutions to customers served by our US Commercial team. In this pre-sales role, you will work closely with stakeholders to identify impactful AI use cases, assess infrastructure needs, and design full-stack solutions that drive client success. You will navigate the complexities of both on-premises and cloud-based solutions, effectively articulating the strategic benefits and value of each approach. This position requires a strong combination of technical expertise, consultative abilities, and the capacity to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to audiences ranging from engineers to executives.
Who You’ll Work With
You’ll be an integral Cloud + AI Infrastructure team member, which acts as the strategic go-to-market engine for data center transformation and growth across the Americas. You will collaborate with internal teams, including sales, engineering, product development, partners, and customers. Your work will enable the broader team to capitalize on emerging market trends, activate new opportunities to position Cisco datacenter solutions and drive client transformation. You will engage with cross-functional teams to share insights, align on best practices, and amplify your impact in the AI infrastructure space.
Who You Are
You are a thought leader who builds excitement and deepens understanding of AI solutions across internal and external teams. You excel at connecting with clients to translate their AI ambitions into actionable infrastructure strategies. Your comprehensive knowledge of datacenter requirements for AI, combined with proficiency in AI software development positions you to design and showcase solutions that meet complex public sector needs. You’re adept at presenting the unique benefits of on-premises AI infrastructure, especially in scenarios where data security, compliance, and latency are critical. Your strong communication skills, coupled with a proactive, problem-solving mindset, make you an essential partner in promoting AI advancements. Travel flexibility is essential to engage with clients and participate in industry events.
Minimum Qualifications:
• 6+ years of Technical Consulting Experience: Proven track record of advising and guiding clients through complex technological transitions, focusing on the successful adoption and integration of innovative infrastructure solutions.
• 2+ years of Technical Pre-Sales Experience: Proven experience in technical pre-sales, specifically in designing and selling datacenter solutions while effectively communicating the value to clients.
• AI/ML Experience: In-depth experience AI/ML technologies, including working with advanced models such as Transformers, Deep Neural Networks, and Reinforcement Learning. Strong proficiency in working with AI frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and LLM development tools. Experience building AI pipelines that streamline the model development and deployment process, ensuring smooth integration with application and infrastructure resources. Experience with hardware accelerators such as GPUs and DPUs, with knowledge of their utilization and sizing to scale AI infrastructure effectively for various use cases.
• Programming Skills: Must possess solid programming experience in Python or Rust, demonstrating the ability to develop, optimize, and deploy AI and data-centric applications.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. An advanced degree is a plus.
• Consultative Approach and Strategic Insight: Exceptional consultative skills to guide education, government, and healthcare institutions through strategic discussions on the value of adopting AI solutions. Capable of uncovering opportunities for AI implementation that align with the institution’s mission and goals.
• Technical Pre-Sales Expertise: Proven experience in a pre-sales role engaging with public sector agencies and institutions to understand their unique challenges and develop comprehensive AI infrastructure solutions. Skilled in communicating complex technical concepts effectively to various stakeholders, from technical teams to senior leadership.
• Experience with AI Software Development: Practical experience developing, deploying, and optimizing AI software. Familiarity with distributed computing frameworks (e.g., Apache Spark, Dask), parallel computing paradigms, and performance optimization for machine learning models. Skilled in Python, C++, and Rust, as well as libraries and tools specific to AI model development.
• AI Hardware Proficiency: Expertise in hardware accelerators like NVIDIA GPUs (e.g., A100, H100) and DPUs, understanding their role in boosting AI performance and scaling large models for various applications.
• Value of Full-Stack AI Solutions: Demonstrated ability to articulate the value of full-stack AI solutions that span the entire lifecycle—from data collection and preprocessing to model training, deployment, and optimization. Emphasize how integrating software, hardware, and infrastructure ensures seamless execution and performance, minimizes compatibility issues, and reduces the time-to-value for AI projects.
• Understanding Datacenter Infrastructure for AI: Understanding of datacenter infrastructure requirements to support AI workloads. This includes familiarity with research computing clusters, scalable storage solutions like NVMe, and ethernet network capabilities needed for data-intensive AI operations and how to optimize resource allocation for AI workloads. understanding of high-performance computing environments in universities and medical research institutions is a plus.
• Cloud and Hybrid Expertise: Ability to design and implement cloud, on-premises, and hybrid solutions that cater to specific needs. Strong ability to highlight the benefits of on-premises solutions, such as enhanced data security, full control over data and resources, lower latency for real-time applications, and cost predictability for high-volume AI workloads.
• Engaging Communication and Presentation Skills: Capable of developing and delivering impactful presentations and workshops that demonstrate the strategic and technical benefits of full-stack AI solutions to diverse audiences.
• Collaborative Team Player: Strong record of working with cross-functional teams, including sales, engineering, and product development, to deliver comprehensive solutions that align with client goals.
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform crucial job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
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
When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.
U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.
Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter. Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.
Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.
