Director, Associate General Counsel : Legal AI Strategy (Hybrid)

The application window is expected to close on :

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

Members of the legal organization at select locations will generally be expected to follow a hybrid work model, which includes two days of in-office attendance each week, with limited exceptions.

We will consider all US locations

Meet the Team

The team reporting to the Director, Associate General Counsel, Legal AI Strategy and LIST Operations is a multidisciplinary and highly skilled group of legal operations professionals. This team is instrumental in driving the strategic vision for AI integration across the legal department, managing the end-to-end operations of a global intellectual property portfolio, and overseeing significant financial stewardship. Members possess expertise in legal technology, AI and automation tools, data analytics (including visualization with tools like Tableau or PowerBI), and project management, collaborating closely with finance, procurement, and IT to translate complex legal and operational data into actionable business intelligence. They are crucial in managing vendor relationships, evaluating outside counsel performance, providing the foundational operations for our IP and innovation platforms, and ensuring the efficient and scalable adoption of innovative solutions within the legal function.

Your Impact

We are seeking a visionary and execution-oriented leader to serve as the Director of Legal AI Strategy and LIST Operations , with a specialized focus on Intellectual Property and AI enablement. In this pivotal role, you will hold a dual mandate : you will be the operational architect across our Legal Innovation, Strategy, & Technology (LIST) teams, and you will serve as the chief strategist for the integration of AI across the entire legal department.

Responsibilities :

• Strategic AI Transformation & Executive Partnership : Serve as strategic partner to the Legal Senior Leadership Team (SLT), as the leader of the "AI for Legal" roadmap you will bring AI transformation into operational reality-moving the department from experimentation to large-scale deployment of Generative AI tools.
• Global IP Operations Management : Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle operations, including the underlying technology stack, of a high-volume global patent, trademark and trade secret portfolio. Contribute to strategic evolution of Cisco IP in support of business goals and roadmaps.
• Financial Stewardship & Forecasting : Manage LIST's operational budget with a focus on IP spend (outside counsel, annuities, filing fees). Implement predictive financial modeling to forecast costs and spend tracking methodologies.
• Vendor & Outside Counsel Management : Lead the Outside Counsel Management (OCM) program. Utilize data analytics to evaluate law firm performance, drive convergence, and negotiate alternative fee arrangements.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration : Serve as the primary bridge between Legal, Procurement, Finance, and IT. Translate complex legal and operational data into actionable business intelligence for the General Counsel and SLT.
• Organizational and Legal Leader : Act as a strategic leader for LIST and Legal through contribution and active participation in the LIST leadership team. Drive strategic vision for enhancing and evolving team engagement, productive AI adoption, and scalable, impactful ways of working by, for example, the use of data analysis and metrics.

Minimum Qualifications :

Preferred Qualifications :

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 $252,600.00 to $320,500.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and / or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation

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

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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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 :

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 :

$280,800.00 - $414,100.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state :

$252,600.00 - $368,600.00