Business Development Manager (Investment Strategy)I

The application window is expected to close on: 11/26/2026

Meet the Team

Cisco’s Corporate Development/Chief Strategy Office is a best-in-class, high-impact group responsible for Cisco’s M&A and investment strategy. We act as the link between cutting-edge startup innovation and Cisco’s vast product ecosystem. We aren’t just identifying the "next big thing"—we are actively driving post-investment value to ensure that the technologies we bet on integrate successfully into Cisco’s security, routing, and cloud solutions. We are a small, high-fidelity team where every member operates with independence and speed.

Impact

You will serve as the primary driver for realized value after an investment is made. Your mission is to facilitate technical and business integration, acting as the connective tissue between startup founders/CEOs and Cisco’s internal product and executive leadership.

• Drive Technical and Strategic Integration: Partner with Cisco product and engineering teams to identify teamwork opportunities and accelerate the integration of innovative startup technologies across Cisco’s Security, Networking, Routing, and Cloud portfolios.
• Facilitate Executive Engagement: Lead strategic discussions and technical roundtables with senior executives, including CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, and startup leaders, to validate market opportunities and technology alignment.
• Enable Go-to-Market Growth: Leverage Cisco’s global sales organization, channel ecosystem, and go-to-market programs to accelerate portfolio company growth and create mutual business value.
• Lead Portfolio Strategy: Continuously assess portfolio company progress, identify growth opportunities, and align startups with the most relevant Cisco business units to maximize strategic outcomes.
• Provide Executive Transparency and Mentorship: Operate as a trusted advisor with exposure to Cisco’s senior leadership and executive teams, helping shape investment strategy and portfolio company success.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors +8 years of related experience or Masters +6 years of related experience or PhD 3+ years of related experience.
• Experience with an Engineering or Computer Science foundation, including the ability to evaluate full-stack architectures, AI technologies, and emerging startup innovations, and assess their technical capabilities, scalability, and strategic fit within Cisco’s ecosystem.
• Experience in business development, strategic partnerships, sales, channels, and go-to-market initiatives, collaborating across sales, marketing, and partner organizations.
• Experience working with executive partners and leading sophisticated business relationships.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in product management, venture capital, startup ecosystems, or entrepreneurship.
• Professionals with experience in corporate VC, venture capital value-creation teams, or best-in-class startup leadership roles.

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 $173,400.00 to $231,800.00 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:

$173,400.00 - $265,200.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$161,300.00 - $235,500.00

* 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.