Design Strategist - US Remote

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Our team elevates Cisco’s employee services, products, and solutions by advocating a user-centered mentality. We strengthen design capabilities and empower our People, Policy, and Purpose (3P) organization through maturing our design systems, rigorous research, and a dedication to high standards. As we transition to AI-enabled UX workflows, this role is critical to our "shift left" strategy—ensuring we define the right problems to solve before development begins. You will partner with our Service Teams on top 3P Strategic Initiatives that impact Cisco employees globally. Join us and make a real impact on the future of work at Cisco!

As a Design Strategist, you will move teams from ambiguity to focused execution. You are the bridge between business goals, user needs, and technical feasibility. Furthermore, you will act as a Design System Advocate, serving as a primary user and active contributor who drives the evolution of our design infrastructure to meet the needs of our most complex initiatives.

• Define Strategic Foundations: Develop product roadmaps, Business Requirement Documents (BRDs), information architecture, and user flows that provide clear direction for product development.
• Prioritize with Rigor: Apply desirability, feasibility, and viability frameworks to shape scope early and align stakeholders on MVP requirements.
• Lead Discovery & Facilitation: Facilitate workshops and decision forums across Executives, Service Owners, PMs, IT/Ops, and P&C partners to drive consensus.
• Implement Lightweight Research: Conduct rapid surveys, interviews, and validation studies to de-risk investments and inform direction.
• Prototype & Visualize: Produce lo-fi concepts using our new Design System.
• Drive System Evolution: As a power user, identify gaps and advocate for new features within the Design System. Work directly with our designers to ensure the platform evolves to support high-priority initiatives, effectively acting as a link between strategic needs and system capabilities.
• Orchestrate Design Specialists: Engage UX Researchers and Designers at the optimal stages; validate AI-generated designs and provide expert guidance to reduce rework.
• Ensure Quality & Accessibility: Prioritize ease of use, high quality, and digital accessibility (#a11y) in all product solutions.

• Clear Requirements: Translation of ambiguous business problems into testable, buildable requirements.
• Prioritized Backlogs: Implementation-ready backlogs with no design or technical gaps.
• System Contributions: Direct feedback and feature requests that improve our Design System for all users.
• Discovery Artifacts: Roadmaps, user flows, and frameworks that accelerate delivery readiness.
• Fast Insights: Actionable concepts and research that validate direction and de-risk investment.
• Thought Partnership: Coaching that raises design maturity and enables teams to ask better questions.

• Strategic Leadership: Master the art of navigating complex organizational landscapes, turning high-level business objectives into actionable, user-centered roadmaps.
• AI-Augmented UX: Lead the "shift-left" movement by integrating AI-driven tools and automated workflows to scale design efficiency and quality.
• Enterprise SaaS Ecosystems: Gain deep expertise in leading and orchestrating experiences across Cisco’s core platforms, including Phenom, Workday, and ServiceNow.
• Design System & Maturity Advocacy: Drive the evolution of our design infrastructure as a scalable asset while coaching cross-functional partners to raise design literacy and embed user-centered decision-making into our organizational DNA.
• Inclusive Innovation: Work on global initiatives that prioritize accessibility (#a11y) and ethical AI, ensuring our solutions are equitable for all Cisco employees.

• Typically: Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of related experience, or Master's degree with 4+ years of related experience.
• Background in product/UX strategy, service design, or systems thinking with a strong ability to operate in ambiguity and "shift left" to create structure.
• Strong command of core UX skills & capabilities (Interaction, Visual, Research, Content, and Information Architecture) with a focus on flow design and MVP prioritization.
• Proficiency in industry-standard design and research tools (e.g., Figma for prototyping, Maze for rapid user testing) and project management platforms (e.g., Airtable, ServiceNow).
• Proven track record to drive decisions across cross-functional teams (Executives, P&C, IT, Service Owners), articulate design rationale, and strategically delegate to specialists.
• Expertise in scoping, sequencing, roadmapping, and metrics-tied outcomes.
• Experience using design systems to build products and a proactive desire to contribute to their growth and feature development.

• Track record of coaching non-design teams and advancing organizational design literacy.
• Experience translating complex insights into prioritized work and buildable technical flows.
• Familiarity with agile delivery, technical handoffs, and the application of AI-augmented design tools.
• Experience designing for HR technology, talent acquisition, or other people-focused platforms.
• Shown understanding of UX writing principles and interest in designing for AI/ML-powered features with an ethical lens.
• A user-centered approach with a steadfast appetite for continuous learning and professional development.

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. 

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:

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

* 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.