Manager, Strategy - San Francisco, CA

Lensa is a career site that helps job seekers find great jobs in the US. We are not a staffing firm or agency. Lensa does not hire directly for these jobs, but promotes jobs on LinkedIn on behalf of its direct clients, recruitment ad agencies, and marketing partners. Lensa partne ...

Job description

Lensa is a career site that helps job seekers find great jobs in the US. We are not a staffing firm or agency. Lensa does not hire directly for these jobs, but promotes jobs on LinkedIn on behalf of its direct clients, recruitment ad agencies, and marketing partners. Lensa partners with DirectEmployers to promote this job for Cisco. Clicking "Apply Now" or "Read more" on Lensa redirects you to the job board/employer site. Any information collected there is subject to their terms and privacy notice.

The application window is expected to close on: 02/28/2026

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

This is a remote role within U.S.

Meet the Team
Join the newly formed Cisco's AI & Automation Center, a high-priority team at the heart of Cisco's operational strategy. Our mission is to drive a step-change in internal efficiency by embedding AI and automation across all business processes and functions. As part of Cisco Operations, this Center designs and executes an enterprise-wide AI strategy, accelerating adoption while ensuring alignment with our business objectives. This role is embedded within the AI Strategy and Governance team-Cisco's "guardrails for innovation"-providing strategic direction and trusted frameworks for responsible AI adoption across the company.

Your Impact
You will play a foundational role in building and scaling Cisco's AI governance function. You will operate at the intersection of strategy, technology, and policy, shaping the path for responsible AI innovation at scale. Your work will enable hundreds of teams across Cisco to move fast and innovate safely, balancing business acceleration with risk management.

• Develop & Operationalize AI Policy: Partner with Legal to design and implement clear, practical governance policies and technical standards for the entire internal AI lifecycle, from data sourcing to deployment
• Manage AI Tool & Vendor Governance: Own and operate the end-to-end process for evaluating, approving, and managing third-party AI tools and vendors, balancing innovation with risk management
• Orchestrate Cross-Functional Engagement: Act as the central point of contact for AI governance, triaging requests and orchestrating engagement with key partners in Legal, Privacy, Security, and Procurement to ensure comprehensive risk review
• Own the AI Asset Inventory: Manage the central AI asset inventory, providing a single source of truth to guide AI observability & monitoring efforts
• Contribute to AI Strategy: Connect governance work back to the team's strategic mandate by using insights from the vendor and policy landscape to inform our forward-looking research and recommendations
• Champion Responsible AI: Develop and deliver training and communications to educate internal teams on AI risks, policies, and best practices

Minimum Qualifications

• 6+ years experience in Product Management, Technical Program Management, Management Consulting, or Corporate Strategy.
• Demonstrated experience operating at the intersection of technology and business engaging both senior executives and technical engineering teams.
• Experience deploying AI solutions in enterprise environments, focusing on integrating AI capabilities rather than developing AI products.
• Strong background in enterprise or large technology companies driving AI adoption and deployment.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA (or equivalent educational & practical background) with executive presence, skilled at uniting stakeholders and structuring presentation decks.
• Experienced in producing content tailored for senior managers through VP level, effectively driving projects forward.

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, $273,900.00

Non-Metro New York State & Washington State
$161, $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.

Cisco is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.

Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

If you have questions about this posting, please contact