I am seeing lots of opening for Solution Engineers... Is this a new role within Cisco??
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Solution Engineer was touted as a solution to the problem of and SE, and SA and TSA turning up on a call and confusing the customer.
I suspect is more likely to be a way to pool employees for talent/LR rounds.
Cisco is very different from when the original SE/CSE roles were created. Back then the product set was smaller, less complex and those technical roles really knew their stuff.
I'd argue an SE these days is more like an AM from 15 years ago.
What would I do?
3 roles
Technical AM - The brains/strategy person. Needs to actually carry a number so we don't get the waffle monkeys who talk a lot.
Relationship AM - They schmooze and work hand in hand with the Tech AM
SE - Come in later, do the detail work with the customer, but still sales focused.
You cant increase headcount, so I'd see some SEs become Tech AMs, and some stay as SE. (really a CSE in old money)
Both AM roles would be customer focused, either high touch with a small number of accounts, or verticalized.
SEs would be organized into geo's but work on specific tech. So you have a mixed team of specialist. That way when the Wifi project needs an ISE expert you call on a colleague in the same team. Ideally you evolve to a SE maps to solution, so a SASE SE, a hybrid work one. Just depends on the solution if 1 person can master the whole thing.
The management in the BUs seem to be promoting a lot of people (old white guys, back in your lane) to “Principal Product Management Engineer” whatever that is?
Who comes up with this nonsense?
I can't give you names but I'd bet at every company I've ever worked for they made more money than you or I. These were the same people renaming business units every six months. It's so stupid a business college should be offering a graduate degree in it.
D-mbest change ever. Many SA’s viewed this as a downgrade in title, and it bears absolutely no relevance outside of Cisco.
Instead of having SE’s and TSA’s which the customer could understand, you now have several ‘Solutions Engineers’ on a call which just appears confusing and bloated.
Who comes up with this nonsense?
System Engineers, System Architects, Solution Architects, Solution Engineers. The technical person (although getting much less so) that the AM dumps everything on.
Directors and above learned a long time ago that they can stay at a high pay grade if they change something (anything) and then move to another role. It is cultural and expensive.
It's the old SE role, d-mbed down.