Corporate Strategy Manager

The application window is expected to close on 01/24/2026.

This role is hybrid, you must be able to work onsite in San Jose, CA.

Meet the Team

The Strategy and Planning team at Cisco operates under the leadership of the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). This team is responsible for guiding Cisco’s overall strategic direction, including corporate strategy, development, and incubation efforts. Their focus spans acquisitions, investments, strategic partnerships, and emerging technology incubation to create new markets and drive growth. The team also partners closely with the Executive Leadership Team to accelerate innovation, alignment, and business planning across the company. With a strong emphasis on cross-functional initiatives and operational cadence, the Strategy and Planning team plays a critical role in shaping Cisco’s future and ensuring sustained competitive advantage. 

Your Impact

Responsibilities

Our team's charter drives Cisco’s corporate strategy execution with a focus on advancing the Splunk portfolio. We collaborate with senior leaders across product, engineering, finance, sales, and marketing to define and deliver strategies that fuel innovation, growth, profitability, and market leadership. You will work directly with a diverse group of professionals committed to accelerating Cisco’s and Splunk’s success. Responsibilities include:

• Delivering on projects that identify and explore new technologies and business models to extend Cisco’s and Splunk’s technology leadership and customer relevance, then lead the decision-making, execution and investments to make those opportunities a reality.
• Working closely with Cisco and Splunk business units and cross-functional leadership to formulate long-term strategic priorities and plans related to e.g., organic and inorganic growth strategy, emerging industry trends, competitive dynamics, and internal business performance improvement.
• Providing insights to the business through analytics and market research as required (e.g. market, customer, competitors).
• Working cross-functionally across external and internal collaborators, partnering closely with Cisco’s product, engineering, finance, sales, marketing and other teams.
• Becoming an expert in Cisco’s business and have a deep understanding on the markets we serve and competitors we face.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with a minimum of 2 years of post-MBA work experience.
• Experience working in a top-tier consulting firm, top 5 investment bank or within top venture capital firm.
• Experience with corporate strategy, planning, M&A, investments, etc.
• Proven experience in all facets of strategy development, including project management, business analysis, problem solving, verbal and written communication, consensus building, and people development.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at a top-tier consulting firm or in a strategic role within a Fortune 100 technology company.
• Deep expertise in technology strategy, AI, or licensing, with the agility to quickly master emerging domains.
• Strong analytical, financial, and problem-solving capabilities to address complex business challenges with minimal oversight.
• Exceptional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence and engage senior executives across global teams.
• Self-starter who thrives in fast-paced, collaborative, and high-growth environments, and demonstrates clear potential for future leadership.

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 $174,000.00 to $232,100.00 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

$174,000.00 - $273,900.00

Non-Metro New York State & Washington State

$161,100.00 - $235,300.00

• 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.