Overview
Your support starts at product inception and goes through the complete product development lifecycle. You’ll work closely with cross-functional teams around the globe, including product management, engineering, business development and go-to-market teams. You’ll also partner with subject matter experts within Legal to provide business driven counsel across the product suite. Your work will focus on legal counseling primarily in the areas of data privacy and security, intellectual property rights, market access and related regulatory issues. You will also play a significant role in shaping and implementing strategy and policies that help the Legal team improve go-to-market motions and scale as MIG continues to grow. You will also lead a team of dedicated attorneys and drive talent development, engagement and support across both your team and the broader Legal organization.
What You’ll Do
The Product Legal team differentiates itself through a deep understanding of Cisco’s products and offers. We serve as the primary Legal work with Engineering and the commercial teams that build and commercialize Cisco products. This role will have lead responsibility for supporting MIG, including managing a team of attorneys and directly advising a member of Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team. Daily work includes:
Providing legal advice across intellectual property, data protection and privacy, market access, route to market and applicable regulatory frameworks and issues. Building and maintaining strong relationships with product development and engineering teams and advising multiple levels of management, including regular senior executive level support and communication, with clear risk balancing and business enablement focus. Leading, energizing, and empowering a growing team of dedicated MIG attorneys with a broad range of experience and mentoring and training early-in-career team members across Legal. Developing legal strategy for the MIG business unit in collaboration with other Legal team members and the business. Developing a strong understanding of product functionality and applicable legal/regulatory limitations, including for a growing software and SaaS portfolio and traditional on-premise hardware offers. Building a strong culture of trust across the team and with key business and legal partners. Reviewing and negotiating agreements with strategic partners, vendors and customers, including Sales, OEM, marketplace, alliance, joint marketing and co-development agreements. Building cross-functional relationships with operations, finance, supply chain, communications, marketing, security and trust, government affairs and other members of the Legal team to drive and support product development, including for product launches, external communications and key partnerships. Assisting with acquisition integration and/or divestiture of products, services and technologies.
Who You Are
Cisco is seeking a highly motivated, determined and tech-savvy leader who is excited about working in a dynamic environment and working closely with the Cisco MIG team.
You must have excellent legal and business judgment, proven people leadership capabilities, strong critical thinking and communication (written and oral) skills, and a validated work ethic. You should be able to work directly with executives and early in career team members alike, be self-directed, in addition to collaborative and flexible with the ability to thrive in a collegial, fast-paced and constantly evolving environment. You must be able to develop and support a dynamic legal strategy for the MIG business, taking into account legal and business considerations, customer experience and market conditions. You must problem solve with speed, simplicity and organization and lead with compassion and sound judgment. Advanced executive engagement and interpersonal skills and influencing abilities are a must. Success requires self-motivation, confidence, rigor, diligence and a passion to learn about new technologies and businesses.
Required qualifications include:
12+ years of relevant legal experience, in house or law firm; experience working with service provider customers a plus. Proven knowledge of intellectual property contracting and product development issues, including data use and open source, software and SaaS competency, and go to market experience. Tight-knit collaboration skills for close partnership with product management and engineering teams to develop a deep understanding of the product portfolio. Extensive experience advising and supporting senior executive leadership teams. Extensive experience in building, developing and motivating high functioning teams, including in a hybrid world, and leading key projects. Ability to build credibility, advocate, influence and become a trusted adviser to the business and Legal team members. Intellectual curiosity to learn about new technologies and understand product architecture. Extensive experience negotiating complex licensing arrangements and working with strategic partners, including OEMs, ecosystem alliances, and co-development third parties. Client-centric approach to handling complex legal issues, while demonstrating grace and a positive attitude. Strong organizational and program management skills and the ability to prioritize and handle several simultaneous projects under deadline pressure. Drive and commitment to talent development, legal strategy and cross-functional initiatives across the Legal organization. Humility and a sense of humor.
Why Cisco
#WeAreCisco, where each person is unique, but we bring our talents to work as a team and make a difference powering an inclusive future for all.
We embrace digital, and help our customers implement change in their digital businesses. Some may think we’re “old” (36 years strong) and only about hardware, but we’re also a software company. And a security company. We even invented an intuitive network that adapts, predicts, learns and protects. No other company can do what we do – you can’t put us in a box!
But “Digital Transformation” is an empty buzz phrase without a culture that allows for innovation, creativity, and yes, even failure (if you learn from it.)
Day to day, we focus on the give and take. We give our best, give our egos a break, and give of ourselves (because giving back is built into our DNA.) We take accountability, bold steps, and take difference to heart. Because without diversity of thought and a dedication to equality for all, there is no moving forward.
So, you have colorful hair? Don’t care. Tattoos? Show off your ink. Like polka dots? That’s cool. Pop culture geek? Many of us are. Passion for technology and world changing? Be you, with us!
#LI-RB1