Leader, Business Operations

Cisco•Milpitas, CA

4d•$148,500 - $193,300

About The Position

The Finance Operations (FinOps) team within Cisco’s Product organization serves as a strategic business partner, ensuring every dollar of capital and operational investment is maximized across our product portfolio. We drive operational excellence, financial governance, and data-backed decision-making to optimize high-impact growth initiatives across Cisco. We are a high-performing, analytical, and collaborative group that thrives at the intersection of product strategy, engineering delivery, and financial rigor. What makes this team exciting is the unique opportunity to shape the financial operating model and value-realization framework for Cisco’s next-generation enterprise AI investments at global scale.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field with 8+ years of related professional experience (or Master’s degree with 6+ years of experience, or equivalent practical experience).
8+ years of experience in business operations, financial analysis, FP&A, or corporate strategic planning within an enterprise technology or cloud software environment.
5+ years of hands-on experience building complex financial models, scenario forecasts, budget actuals reconciliations, or ROI/business cases.
3+ years of experience developing executive-level data visualizations and management reports using tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or advanced Excel modeling.
Demonstrated experience developing and delivering executive-ready presentations, business reviews, or Board/ELT briefing materials.

Nice To Haves

Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master’s degree in a quantitative or technical discipline.
Direct experience establishing FinOps practices, cloud unit economics, or tracking investments and consumption for AI/ML and infrastructure workloads.
Familiarity with enterprise ERP and planning systems (such as SAP, Hyperion, Essbase, or Anaplan).
Relevant industry certifications in financial management, FinOps (e.g., FinOps Certified Practitioner), or program management (e.g., PMP, Lean Six Sigma).
Strong cross-functional leadership, stakeholder management, and negotiation skills across matrixed engineering, finance, and go-to-market teams.

Responsibilities

Establish the operational discipline, financial governance, and executive insights required to manage and optimize AI investments across Cisco’s Product organization.
Build and maintain executive dashboards and scorecards to provide leadership with standardized visibility into AI spend, usage trends, and budget performance.
Develop dynamic forecasting and scenario models to anticipate adoption growth, vendor cost drivers, and multi-year investment requirements.
Establish a comprehensive value-realization framework to connect AI adoption directly to measurable outcomes, such as productivity gains, cost avoidance, and operational efficiency.
Partner cross-functionally across Finance, Engineering, Product, and IT to eliminate reporting inefficiencies and deliver automated, repeatable processes that drive transparent, data-driven decision-making.

Benefits

medical, dental and vision insurance
a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
paid parental leave
short and long-term disability coverage
basic life insurance
grants of Cisco restricted stock units
10 paid holidays per full calendar year
1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
1 paid day off for employee’s birthday
paid year-end holiday shutdown
4 paid days off for personal wellness
16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year (non-exempt employees)
flexible vacation time off program (exempt employees)
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter
up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to the next
Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer
annual bonuses (for non-sales roles)
performance-based incentive pay (for sales roles)