We are seeking an energetic and self-driven Partner Systems Engineer to join our Germany-based team. In this role, you will act as a trusted technical advisor, driving Cisco preference through proactive enablement, solution design, and relationship management. As a technical field sales professional, you will partner closely with Partner Account Executives (PAEs) to drive partner-led bookings, pipeline acceleration, and competitive wins in the field. By combining hands-on technical expertise with consultative enablement, you will help scale Cisco’s market reach, position our portfolio competitively, and accelerate partner practice development.
As an independent Partner Solutions Engineer, you will own technical relationships with key partner contacts, practice leads, and solution architects. You will translate partner business requirements into compelling multi-architecture solutions across the Cisco portfolio, fostering technical self-sufficiency and driving partner-led revenue growth.
- Solution Architecture & Design: Translate partner and customer business requirements into robust technical solutions, leveraging the breadth of Cisco’s portfolio (with a focus on Secure Networking, Collaboration, and AI-ready infrastructure).
- Partner Enablement & Practice Development: Contribute to the technical track of the Partner Account Plan. Equip partner technical teams with the skills, blueprints, and battle cards needed to independently qualify, design, and close opportunities.
- Joint Solution Co-Creation: Collaborate with partners to integrate Cisco technologies with partner services and intellectual property (IP), creating differentiated, high-value offerings.
- Demonstrations & Solution Validation: Guide partners through solution validation, leveraging Cisco dCloud, interactive labs, and proof-of-concept (POC) environments to showcase technical superiority.
- Cross-Architecture Expansion: Proactively identify cross-sell and upsell opportunities within the partner’s pipeline and installed base to drive quarterly technology adoption.
- Competitive Defense & Positioning: Equip partners with competitive insights and differentiation strategies to successfully defend and win Cisco proposals in competitive bids.
- One Cisco Collaboration: Partner closely with Cisco Portfolio SEs and Account Teams to present a unified "One Cisco" technical front, while gathering partner field insights to share with internal stakeholders.
- Event & Community Leadership: Represent Cisco at regional partner webinars, technical workshops, hackathons, and community forums across Germany.
- 4–6+ years of technical pre-sales, systems engineering, or technical consulting experience in the networking/IT industry.
- Demonstrable expertise in core networking domains (Routing, Switching, Wireless) and fundamentals of Security (Firewalls, Zero Trust/ISE) or Data Center / Cloud infrastructure.
- Proven experience engaging with channel partners, systems integrators, or enterprise technical teams and decision-makers.
- Strong presentation and communication skills with the ability to deliver engaging technical workshops and solution demos.
- Self-driven mindset with a structured approach to building relationships, formulating account plans, and executing independently within the German market.
- Ability and willingness to travel (up to 40–50%) to support partner engagements, workshops, and regional activities across Germany.
- Fluent/Native language skills in German and English (written and verbal).
- Relevant industry certifications (e.g., Cisco CCNP/CCNA, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Expert, or equivalent).
- Practical knowledge of Cisco’s Secure Networking portfolio (Catalyst, Meraki, Hybrid Mesh Firewalls, Secure Routers) or Workplace Experience / Collaboration solutions.
- Understanding of modern IT trends, such as AI infrastructure networking requirements, observability, or API-driven automation.
- Experience utilizing Cisco dCloud or building lab proof-of-concept environments for partner/customer demonstrations.
- Familiarity with the German partner ecosystem and 1-Tier / 2-Tier distribution models.
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.
Skills Required
- 4–6+ years of technical pre-sales, systems engineering, or technical consulting experience in the networking or IT industry
- Expertise in core networking domains including routing, switching, and wireless
- Fundamentals of security, including firewalls and Zero Trust/ISE, or data center/cloud infrastructure
- Experience engaging channel partners, systems integrators, or enterprise technical teams and decision-makers
- Strong presentation and communication skills, including technical workshops and solution demonstrations
- Self-driven and structured approach to relationship building, account planning, and independent execution
- Ability and willingness to travel up to 40–50% across Germany
- Fluent or native German and English language skills, written and verbal
- Relevant industry certification such as Cisco CCNP, Cisco CCNA, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Microsoft Certified Azure Network Engineer Expert, or equivalent
- Practical knowledge of Cisco Secure Networking or Workplace Experience and Collaboration solutions
- Understanding of AI infrastructure networking, observability, or API-driven automation
- Experience using Cisco dCloud or building lab proof-of-concept environments for demonstrations
- Familiarity with the German partner ecosystem and 1-Tier/2-Tier distribution models
Cisco Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Cisco and has not been reviewed or approved by Cisco.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as robust with multiple plan options and access to onsite/virtual LifeConnections Health Centers on major campuses. Company materials also highlight mental-health resources and comprehensive preventive care, supporting strong core medical benefits.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time away includes company‑wide recharge days, a paid birthday, a year‑end shutdown, and paid Critical Time Off for emergencies. Paid volunteer days further expand opportunities to step away and recharge.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies include a global minimum for paid parental leave for primary caregivers, caregiving concierge services, and on‑site children’s learning centers in select locations. In the U.S., family‑building support is consolidated under Carrot with a defined lifetime maximum, indicating structured assistance across fertility, preservation, adoption, and surrogacy.
Cisco Insights
What We Do
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) enables people to make powerful connections--whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible--providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time. Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Today, with more than 71,000 employees worldwide, this tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading products and solutions in the company's core development areas of routing and switching, as well as in advanced technologies such as home networking, IP telephony, optical networking, security, storage area networking, and wireless technology. In addition to its products, Cisco provides a broad range of service offerings, including technical support and advanced services. Cisco sells its products and services, both directly through its own sales force as well as through its channel partners, to large enterprises, commercial businesses, service providers, and consumers.
