Networking Pre-sales Solution Architect

Cognizant•San Jose, CA

About The Position

Cognizant is looking for a highly skilled Networking Pre-sales Solution Architect to drive technical excellence throughout the sales lifecycle partnering with customers to understand their networking needs, crafting scalable and secure solution architectures, and delivering compelling technical presentations that demonstrate clear business value.

Requirements

15–20 years of experience in network engineering, network consulting, or pre‑sales solutioning.
Proven history of designing and proposing complex enterprise networking solutions.
Deep expertise in Cisco technologies and architectures.
Strong understanding of core networking protocols: TCP/IP, VLANs, STP, OSPF, BGP, EIGRP, MPLS.
Hands-on experience with Routing & Switching (Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Aruba), Wireless Networking (Cisco Meraki, Aruba, Ruckus), Network Security (Palo Alto, Fortinet, Check Point, Cisco ASA), SD-WAN (Cisco Viptela/Meraki, Versa, Fortinet), Data Center Networking (Cisco ACI, VMware NSX, VXLAN, EVPN), Cloud Networking (AWS VPC, Azure VNet, GCP Networking)
Familiarity with network monitoring/management tools.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, Electrical Engineering, or related field (Master’s preferred).

Nice To Haves

Excellent communication—able to articulate technical solutions clearly and persuasively.
Strong presentation and customer engagement skills.
Understanding of network automation & scripting (Python, Ansible) is a plus.