Customer Delivery Architect
About The Position
The Customer Delivery Architect is a recognized technical authority who defines and leads architecture strategy for Cisco’s largest and most sophisticated customers. The role applies broad expertise across enterprise technology architectures, business priorities, and technology operations to guide decisions and deliver solutions at scale. Working with customer technology leaders, engineers, Cisco teams, and partners, the Architect defines architectures and technology roadmaps that meet current requirements and prepare for future business and technology needs. The Architect evaluates options and tradeoffs, defines target-state architectures, guides design, integration, migration, and implementation, and identifies technical, operational, and business risks. The role establishes architectural direction across highly integrated environments and technology domains, potentially including observability, automation, AI, and data platforms, ensuring individual decisions form a coherent enterprise architecture. The Architect leads multidisciplinary and cross-vendor teams through complex programs and critical technical decisions, working across Cisco, Customer Success, partners, and customer organizations to resolve issues and maintain alignment from strategy through implementation and adoption. The Architect helps customers evaluate and integrate new technologies, including AI and intelligent automation, when they offer clear technical or business value. This involves assessing architectural readiness, integration requirements, security, operational impact, risk, and scalability. Success is measured by architecture quality and adaptability, execution of advanced technology programs, reduced technical and operational risk, customer adoption and realized value, and the ability to influence technical direction within the customer and Cisco.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree and 12 years of related experience, or a master’s degree and 8 years, or a Ph.D. and 5 years, or equivalent meaningful work experience.
- Expert-level certification, such as CCIE, or an equivalent relevant certification is expected.
Nice To Haves
- Technical mastery in core architectures and extensive expertise across the enterprise technology landscape, including integrating Cisco and third-party technologies into cohesive, scalable solutions.
- Architectural authority in large, highly integrated customer environments, including defining long-term technology strategy, establishing architectural direction, and resolving critical cross-architecture challenges.
- Experience leading enterprise-scale technology initiatives and influencing critical decisions across organizations, technology disciplines, and business units while maintaining architectural integrity.
- Credibility with executive and technology leaders, with the ability to translate business priorities and technical concepts into strategies, recommendations, tradeoffs, and outcomes.
- Recognized technical influence, demonstrated by developing experienced technical resources, shaping technology or services direction, establishing reusable architecture practices, or representing technical expertise with executive and industry audiences.
- Expertise in several listed areas: routing and switching (Nexus/NX-OS, SD-WAN, Substation/OT Networking); security and policy (Cisco ISE, SD-WAN Security/Policy, Out-of-Band Management Security); wireless and collaboration (Meraki design, WLAN, Cloud-managed Contact Center solutions); contact center (Healthcare, Observability, AI, Business Alignment, Data Analytics, Splunk Positioning, Technical Leadership); monitoring and analytics (Nexus Dashboard Insights, Splunk, Thousand Eyes, Cisco IQ); or data center (TCAM management, Nexus 9K architecture).
Responsibilities
- Define enterprise-scale architectures, target-state designs, standards, integration patterns, and multi-year roadmaps across Cisco and third-party technologies.
- Steer large, high-impact initiatives from architectural vision through execution, guiding decisions and coordinating systems across Cisco, customer, and provider organizations, regions, and business units.
- Evaluate and resolve cross-architecture challenges, assessing alternatives, dependencies, scalability, security, operational considerations, and tradeoffs.
- Advise customer executives and technology leaders, translating business priorities into recommendations and communicating choices, costs, implications, and consequences.
- Assess and integrate AI, automation, and emerging technologies where they deliver measurable value, considering architectural fit, dependencies, governance, operational implications, and scalability.
- Use customer insight to influence Cisco technology and services strategy by identifying recurring requirements, capability gaps, and emerging needs and communicating actionable input to internal teams.
- Develop architects and engineers, establish reusable practices and knowledge, and promote consistency across engagements.
- Represent Cisco expertise with executive and industry audiences at strategic customer engagements, technical forums, Cisco Live, and relevant industry events.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution
- Paid parental leave
- Short- and long-term disability coverage
- Basic life insurance
- Paid holidays and a floating holiday for non-exempt employees
- Birthday day off, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and personal wellness days
- Paid vacation or flexible vacation time off, depending on employee classification
- Paid sick time
- Additional paid time away may be requested for critical or emergency family issues
- Optional paid volunteer days
- Annual bonuses for eligible non-sales roles
- Eligible employees may receive Cisco restricted stock units
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
