Strategy & Planning (NPI), Lead

The application window is expected to close on: 08/21/2026

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

This role can be performed anywhere in the USA

Meet the Team

The Deal Strategy & Execution (DSE) team is a dynamic, cross-functional group that touches billions of dollars in deals annually, uniting professionals across Sales, Operations, Finance, Legal, and Technology to drive revenue and strategic success through deal structuring, business and cloud advisory, technical escalation management, and policy/process/product optimization.

At the heart of this organization is the Global Programs pillar—the strategic engine that ensures operational readiness, process excellence, and seamless alignment across the company. As the Enterprise Policy & Program Liaison, Global Programs represents sales interests in broader enterprise initiatives, provides complex deal advisory, manages knowledge assets, drives AI adoption, orchestrates Splunk+Cisco and leads cross-functional launch and impact assessments to mitigate risk when rolling out new offers, products, processes and policies.

The team sits at the forefront of major Cisco integration and go-to-market efforts, translating enterprise policy into actionable guidance and enabling strategic customer transitions across Cisco's buying programs portfolio—making it a high-impact, highly visible pillar for candidates looking to shape the future of Splunk & Cisco.

Our team members bring diverse skills and perspectives that foster creativity and effective problem-solving. Everyone shares a strong work ethic, dedication to high-quality standards, and a collaborative spirit, ensuring our solutions remain robust, reliable, and adaptable to evolving business needs.

Your Impact

As the Strategy & Planning - NPI (Cloud and AI) Lead, within Splunk Sales Deal Strategy & Execution - Global Programs team, you’ll guide critical initiatives across Splunk & broader Cisco’s product portfolio. Your focus will be Cloud and AI domains, partnering with business and technical teams to deliver impactful GTM initiatives.

You bring deep expertise in cloud infrastructure and SaaS software, a strong track record in AI architecture and development, and solid analysis/executive reporting skills.

Your familiarity with NPI (New Product Introduction) methodologies, GTM (Go-to-Market) processes and business process design will help drive transformation and operational excellence.

● Apply NPI methodologies and GTM process knowledge, while partnering with various Cisco product & cross-functional teams, to ensure sales/deal strategy perspective is baked into launch & scaling of new offers, products and solutions.

● Deliver business writing, reporting, and analysis for executive audiences, leveraging tools such as SFDC and Tableau to drive insights.

● Architect and develop AI solutions that drive business value, especially in sales and finance domains. Experience should be well beyond hobbyist level.

● Lead and manage programs spanning cloud infrastructure, software solutions (SaaS & OnPrem), and advanced AI projects.

● Support deal structuring and negotiation for cloud and AI offerings, collaborating with sales, finance, legal and operations.

● Facilitate workshops, meetings, and program reviews, ensuring alignment and collaboration across business stakeholders.

● Support One Cisco approach, melding Cisco and Splunk portfolios & processes for synergies.

Minimum Qualifications

● Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; advanced degree preferred.

● 5+ years’ experience in program management, cloud infrastructure/software or New Product/Offer Introductions.

● Deep technical knowledge of cloud platforms (public, private, hybrid), SaaS, OnPrem solutions.

● Advanced data analysis skills & presentation (SFDC, Tableau).

● Demonstrated ability to architect and deliver AI projects in business environment at scale.

Preferred Qualifications

● Experience with NPI methodologies and GTM processes.

● Strong business process design, business writing, reporting, deal structuring and negotiation skills.

● Proven ability to collaborate, communicate, influence & enable/train across functions.

● Experience with Cisco/Splunk platforms, products & processes.

● Knowledge of partner led sales motion

● Project Management certification (PMP, PMI-ACP, or similar) is a plus.

● Self-driven, highly proactive, and consistently goes above and beyond

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 $117,400.00 to $172,500.00 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:

$148,800.00 - $238,300.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$143,600.00 - $211,900.00

* 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.